December 2005

Case history of a delayed coking unit's main fractionator details a method that delivers a shorter schedule and lower cost, while retaining current best practices

Here are projections on likely market size and constraints facing the participants

This engineering and construction planning tool can reduce schedules, overall costs and exposure to potentially hazardous onsite environments

This method has been applied successfully in operating facilities to increase dynamic reliability and plant life

A stronger pump can block out the weaker one

Here are some uncommon applications for the technology

Better design methods and repair efforts reduce failure of these systems

This methanol plant implemented a system that supported its strategic objectives of managing risk and improving profitability

By using new technologies for intermediate feedstocks, polycarbonate producers can improve manufacturing-chain costs

New methods consider applying higher ratios of H2S to SO2 to increase processing flexibility for this refinery unit

Follow these guidelines to render the unit operational for a significant period before a rebuild is required

Oil continues to be the world's most important energy source. For the US Gulf Coast, Hurricanes Katrina's and Rita's destruction reinforces the uncertainty and vulnerability of crude oil supplies and ..

I recently helped commission a coker multivariable predictive control (MVPC) application at the ROG Horst refinery in Germany (see acknowledgment). Commissioning new advanced process control (APC) app..

 Fig. 1     Bearing mounting options. A well-known trade journal recently published a page on thrust-bearing orientation..

Monitor cooling water quality – Part 2Operations personnel are responsible for monitoring cooling water to ensure system reliability. Core focus areas include testing water quality and chemical i..

With the cost of oil hovering around $65/barrel, national energy policies are welcoming an old friend, coal. Coal is the world's most available and geographically distributed energy source. It is also..

TIM LLOYD WRIGHT, EUROPEAN EDITOR    Comments? Write: editorial@HydrocarbonProcessing.com Join me at this festive time in sparing a thought for ..

High-pressure hose pump The PetroProof pump claims to be the first industrial high-pressure hose pump that can pump petrochemicals such as hydrocarbons and oils. Its new oil-resistant hose m..

Marathon Oil Corp. is expanding its 245,000-bpd Garyville, Louisiana, refinery. Project cost is approximately $2.2 billion and will increase the refinery's crude throughput capacity by 180,000 bpd to ..

The joint venture (JV) between KBR and JGC Corp. has a contract with Peru LNG Co., LLC (PLNG) to prepare a lump-sum turnkey (LSTK) price for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility to be located in Pam..

Huntsman Petrochemicals (UK) Ltd. is purchasing what is claimed to be one of the largest reciprocating compressors ever built from GE's oil and gas business. The compressor is for a new facility in no..

Siemens Power Generation (PG) is building two steam power plant units for Office Cherifien des Phosphates (OCP) in Morocco. The two units, which Siemens PG will build as turnkey projects in Jorf Lasfa..

GE Energy has a contractual service agreement providing maintenance services for two GE Frame 6B gas turbines operating at a Gulf Cogeneration Co. Ltd., a Gulf Electric Public Co. Ltd. subsidiary, pow..

Foster Wheeler Energy Ltd. (FWEL) and Foster Wheeler Arabia, Ltd., both Foster Wheeler Ltd. subsidiaries, have a contract with Eastern Petrochemical Co. (SHARQ), a SABIC affiliate, for the engineering..

How to evaluate and repair damaged insulation Adequate insulation is critical to controlling process temperature and protecting workers, as well as saving energy. The Industrial Insulation Group's (II..

  Investments key in Middle East/ Africa Noting that a lack of investment in upstream and downstream cap..

Discussions of future trends for the Chinese methanol market were featured at the annual Methanol Forum, Houston, Texas. China is the second largest consumer of methanol and quickly advancing to be th..

For US-based integrated oil companies, 2005 has been a year of surprises. Third-quarter and nine-month performance figures show exceptional earnings by several corporations. Some of these companies en..

Asia-Pacific will continue to play an important role in global demand growth: the region's demand growth is forecast to account for 38% to 46% of incremental global demand from 2004 – 2006, says ..

A gathering of ethylene producers in Prague, The Czech Republic, thrashed out its concerns over mercury corrosion in aluminum heat exchangers. "There was a good paper on the subject and a discussion a..

Two natural disasters, hurricanes Katrina and Rita, are forcing US policymakers to address the nation's major energy issues. "Petroleum refining in the US is at a crossroads, a crucial turning point w..