Safety
DCS migration: Lessons learned
In 2005, TOTAL’s Port Arthur refinery (PAR), like many present-day refining and petrochemical facilities, found itself with an obsolete, at-capacity distributed control system (DCS). As shown in ..
Avoid counterproductive project management practices
For many years, reliability-focused engineers have observed flawed procurement processes for mechanical equipment. Many requirements are supposedly aimed at the lowest possible lifecycle cost; however..
Fine-tune monitoring of critical compressors
In this case history, a new monitoring system was installed on a critical service hyper compressor for a Middle East (ME) ethylene complex. This unit supported two 400 Mton polyethylene (PE) units; do..
Consider technology to reduce compressor vibration and noise problems
Industrial centrifugal compressors installed in hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI) complexes absorb significant amounts of mechanical power when compressing gases. A small part of the mechanical en..
HP Automation Strategies: Control on the wire(less)
Since the industrial revolution, process/industrial control had relied on tightly coupled systems to transmit control signals. Industrial plants have used “modern” control via wired electron..
HP Innovations
Conductivity meter resolves SDA dosingA major Asian refinery approached Stanhope-Seta and D-2 Technologies to assess its options for automatic dosing of static dissipater additive (SDA) in the jet fue..
Improve execution of capital projects with advanced technologies
The E&C industry is now poised for a major leap forward in utilizing advancements in information technologies and, thus, enabling itself to greatly boost project performance.
Replan: Modernizing Brazil’s largest crude oil refinery
The project included installing two hydrodesulfurization (HDS) units for the cracked naphtha produced by two catalytic cracking units, a coker naphtha hydrotreating (HDT) unit, and a catalytic reforming unit.
3D laser scanning impacts asset lifecycle management
Few technologies have leaped from research lab to everyday use quite as rapidly as 3D laser scanning. Only a few years ago, this technology was a prototype method that captured fuzzy images of plant e..
Mexico’s major grassroots effort: Ethylene XXI project
The federal government, through Pemex Gas and Petroquímica Básica, using the law that regulates Mexican oil, decided to promote private investment to build a new major petrochemical complex called Ethylene XXI.
- John Cockerill, Johnson Matthey and ETFuels partner for 120,000-tpy Texas (U.S.) e-methanol project 12/24
- Saudi Arabia was top buyer of Russian fuel oil and VGO in November 12/23
- Digital Exclusive (sponsored): NXRe™: A novel recycling technology to support the plastics industry in creating efficient and effective circular value chains 12/22
- Portugal's Galp plans to start producing biofuels in 2026 12/20
- Prax and Shell call off deal on stake in PCK Schwedt oil refinery 12/20
- Nigeria's Dangote Refinery hits 85% refining capacity 12/20
