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Safety

Total shuts some units at Gonfreville refinery following incident

French oil and gas company Total has shut down some units at its 247 Mbpd Gonfreville refinery in northern France following a technical incident.

Marathon Galveston Bay contractor killed in scaffold collapse

A contractor working for Marathon Petroleum Corp.'s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas was killed Monday in the collapse of scaffolding under construction at a dock in the port of Texas City.

Petrobras refinery mishaps hurt Brazil fuel output

Serial failures at a Petrobras refinery have hobbled about 10% of Brazil's crude-processing capacity, raising safety and efficiency concerns at the financially troubled state-led oil company.

Engineering Case Histories: Case 92: The danger of pneumatic testing complacency

Consulting Engineer: Sofronas, A.

With proper safety, planning and implementation, pneumatic testing of piping and vessels has been performed successfully for many years.

Reliability: Consider amended warranties for rotating equipment

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

If you have ever encountered a situation where an equipment manufacturer declined to offer warranties, allow us to share three case histories.

Prospective costs of the EPA’s proposed RMP chemical accident prevention requirements

Vinson & Elkins LLP: Wilkinson, G.  |  Pullins, T.  |  Snow, C.

On March 14, 2016, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published proposed revisions to its Risk Management Plan (RMP) facility safety program in the US Federal Register.

Review of the CSB report on the 2010 Tesoro refinery fire

PetroTech Consultants: McGovern, S. J.

On April 2, 2010, a catastrophic fire occurred within the naphtha hydrotreating unit in the Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, Washington. The final CSB report, including recommendations, was issued in May 2014, more than four years after the incident that resulted in the tragic loss of seven lives. This work critically reviews the CSB analysis of this incident and several of its resulting recommendations.

No damage, injuries reported in Iran petrochemical fire

An explosion and fire in a naphtha storage tank at Iran's Bu Ali Sina petrochemical refinery has been extinguished. News reports claim that no personnel fatalities nor damage to the plant have been sustained.

Rompetrol to perform scheduled maintenance work at Petromidia Refinery

Rompetrol has begun scheduled maintenance at its Petromidia refinery and conducting an investigation into the August 22 explosion.

Sulfur tank explosion and fire at Tesoro Carson refinery

HP Editorial Staff: HP News

A fire erupted at Tesoro’s Carson refinery after a 1-ton sulfur tank exploded.