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

Maintenance & Reliability

Global diesel prices to rely on refinery closures for support in 2025

The global diesel market will likely find price support in 2025 from the closure of about 1% of refining capacity, traders and analysts said, offsetting current weakness and structural downward pressure as the world shifts to cleaner fuels.

Chevron upgrades Pasadena refinery to increase capacity, feedstock and product flexibility

Chevron U.S.A. has completed a retrofit of its refinery in Pasadena, Texas (U.S.), which is expected to increase product flexibility and expand the processing capacity of lighter crudes by nearly 15% to 125,000 bpd.

Digital Feature: A Case Study on achieving visibility into OT cybersecurity policy compliance

This case study details how a U.S.-based Fortune 50 petroleum refiner used PAS Cyber Integrity® to improve OT cybersecurity. By automating asset inventory and vulnerability assessments, the company reduced manual processes, enhanced visibility into cyber risks and improved safety-ultimately saving millions in program costs.

Crude unit at Tupras's Izmir oil refinery expected to restart mid-December

A 151,000-bpd crude unit at the Izmir oil refinery operated by Turkey's Tupras is tentatively expected to restart in mid-December after a fire on Nov. 25.

Taiwan's Formosa operates refinery at reduced rate due to maintenance

Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp. is operating its refinery at a reduced rate of 410,000 bpd due to maintenance at its delayed coker unit (DCU) this month.

Australia's Ampol ends Lytton refinery repairs, provides output forecast

Australia's top fuel retailer Ampol said on Friday it had completed repairs at its fluidized catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) at the Lytton refinery in Queensland, and now expects total production for 2024 to be 5.2 B liters (l).

Russian oil refinery runs in Nov. up 6% m/m

Russian refinery oil processing volumes in November are up by 6% versus October to 22.1 MM tonnes (5.4 MMbpd).

Reduce costs by following grab sampling best practices

Swagelok: Dixon, M.

Accurate grab sampling practices are necessary to validate the quality of chemical products with precise compositions. Operators must follow proper procedures to avoid compromising the sample. Otherwise, the result may be an inaccurate analysis of their product, leading to quality lapses and potentially costing a facility thousands of dollars in revenue.

Improving ammonia production sustainability

Emerson: Machuca, M.

While approximately 70% of ammonia production is used to make fertilizers, it is also identified as the largest carbon dioxide (CO2)-emitting chemical industry process. This article examines several novel technologies to improve the sustainability of the ammonia production process.

Safe design and operation of burn pit flare systems

Saudi Aramco: Al-Tijani, A. H.  |  Al-Mubayedh, M.  |  Al-Sanad, A.
Zeeco: Seefeldt, G.

This article will mainly focus on horizontal flare systems and grade-level burn pits. Design considerations, operational challenges and several lessons learned will be discussed.