Environment & Safety Gas Processing/LNG Maintenance & Reliability Petrochemicals Process Control Process Optimization Project Management Refining

Petrochemicals

Engineering Case Histories: Case 96: Career paths—technical and management

Consulting Engineer: Sofronas, A.

I have spent most of my career in the mechanical engineering technical area because that is what I do best. I was a manager of advanced engineering for many years, but then realized that it was not my calling.

Global: The future growth of Argentina’s oil and gas industry hinges on additional investments

Contributing Writer: Nogarin, M.

Attracting new investments is vital to revive the Argentine oil industry. It is essential to involve multinationals, due to the lack of financial resources of the Argentinian government. The modernization of the country’s downstream infrastructure is crucial to improve productivity, and the nation will need international support to obtain profitable results.

Business Trends: Human reliability—a disruptive innovation

Small Hammer Inc.: Snider, B.

Annual bottom-line losses due to equipment failures total more than $100 MM at major refineries and petrochemical complexes. Corporate executives charge plant personnel with improving the reliability of the facility.

Editorial Comment: Maintenance—a value-added expense

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Nichols, Lee

This issue of <i>Hydrocarbon Processing</i> tackles one of the most integral aspects of the downstream industry (or any industry, for that matter): maintenance and reliability. These two terms go hand-in-hand and help to ensure efficient and safe operations.

Industry Perspectives: Hydrocarbon Processing’s IRPC returns to Europe in June

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Nichols, Lee

Founded in 2009, Gulf Publishing Company and Hydrocarbon Processing’s International Refining and Petrochemical Conference (IRPC) provides a series of events for the international downstream industry covering technical innovations, and exploring both the challenges and opportunities found in today’s market.

Extend unit life at ammonia-urea plants with debottlenecking and equipment replacement

Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd.: Kumar, K. R. R.  |  Anand, G. V. S.

Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd. (NFCL) operates a large, modern, integrated ammonia-urea complex with an annual capacity of 1.6 metric MMtpd of urea from natural gas feedstock. The facility is laid out in two units, located in Kakinada in India’s coastal state of Andhra Pradesh.

Judge says Exxon owes $19.95 MM for Texas refinery pollution

(Reuters) -- A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that ExxonMobil Corp should pay a $19.95 MM penalty for pollution from its Baytown, Texas, refining and chemical plant complex between 2005 and 2013.

BASF still out for agchem deals after missing out in auction

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- German chemicals giant BASF said it would continue to push for acquisitions to shore up its crop protection business, after the antitrust-related sale of assets from the merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont left it empty-handed.

Dow, Aramco JV achieves commercialization of entire plastics franchise

MIDLAND, Mich. - April 27, 2017 - The Dow Chemical Company announced that its JV in the Middle East—Sadara Chemical Company—has achieved a milestone with the commercialization of Sadara’s entire plastics franchise. The start-up of Sadara’s high-pressure low-density polyethylene plant adds to Sadara’s mixed feed cracker and the three additional polyethylene trains currently in operation.

BP sells stake in China petrochemical venture to Sinopec for $1.7 B

LONDON (Reuters) -- BP has agreed to sell its 50% stake in the Shanghai SECCO Petrochemical Company to a subsidiary of its joint venture partner Sinopec for $1.68 B, the British oil major said.