Maintenance & Reliability
Phillips 66 shuts gasoline-producing unit at Westlake refinery
Phillips 66 shut a gasoline-making reformer unit at its Westlake, Louisiana refinery earlier this month, and advanced planned work on the unit.
Saudi's Sipchem says production back to normal
A technical problem at Sipchem’s International Gases Co. unit, which had disrupted operations at two other units since mid-August, had been resolved and production was back to normal.
AESSEAL obtains 5-year service agreement with SABIC Geleen in the Netherlands
SABIC has awarded AESSEAL a 5-year managed reliability contract for their mechanical seals and seal support systems at the Geleen petrochemical complex in the Netherlands.
Exxon's Baton Rouge refinery delays shutdown
ExxonMobil Corp. put off plans to shut its Baton Rouge, Louisiana refinery after it managed to start a LPG processing unit in the adjoining chemical plant.
BP Whiting refinery reformer production cut for repairs
BP Plc. curtailed production on the reforming unit at their refinery in Whiting, Indiana, for repairs.
Reliability: Monitor electric motor vibration and optimize motor bearing lubricant application
Follow our discourse with a reliability professional employed by an owner-operator with a number of ammonia and urea plants in locations where blinding sandstorms are prone to occur.
Reliability: Overcome biases and challenges facing industry
When asked about the challenges facing the hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI), our answer was swift and direct: The trials we face are bundled, or can be found, in lessons some of us learned decades ago. However, lessons learned and explained decades ago were often disregarded by managers with a short-range focus.
Innovations
Unintended fugitive emissions from pressurized plant components have long been a key concern for operators as well as regulators.
Improve refinery compressor performance with a reengineered rotor
When a scheduled maintenance task at a refinery in Germany revealed the need for a new rotor assembly, working with local independent specialists enabled the team responsible to improve the design and performance of the compressor without further interruption to service.
How small deviations and lack of management access compromise reliability
In 2013, Refinery “X” was experiencing serious pump distress—the third or fourth in a 12-month period. We received calls about the latest thrust bearing failure event on this important 3,560-rpm process pump. Soon after, a surprisingly similar incident happened at Refinery “Y” in 2015. Both incidents are considered here.
- SkyNRG starts construction on its first SAF plant in Delfzijl, the Netherlands 2/13
- India's Reliance wins U.S. license for Venezuelan oil 2/13
- Singapore light distillates stocks hit over 3-yr high on robust imports 2/13
- Three contractors injured at ExxonMobil facility in Beaumont, Texas (U.S.) 2/13
- China's epic renewables boom lifts it into rare clean capacity club 2/13
- TotalEnergies booked loss in France due to refining activities, CEO says 2/13
