Maintenance & Reliability
Chinese CNOOC to launch $2.7-B upgraded refinery complex
State-controlled China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) is set to launch a refinery and petrochemicals complex later this year, following a $2.74-B upgrade.
Lubrication Engineers to acquire industrial brands and products of Royal Purple
Lubrication Engineers Inc. (LE), a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance industrial lubricants and asset reliability solutions, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the industrial brands and products of Royal Purple (RPI), a leading provider of specialty synthetic performance lubricants and greases for diversified industrial applications.
Improve reliability with predictive maintenance insights
Machine-learning-equipped advanced analytics platforms empower SMEs to solve some of the toughest process problems efficiently, implement effective process improvements, transition from reactive to predictive maintenance strategies, increase productivity and uptime, and operate more profitably.
IT dependencies complicate OT security
Cyber-securing oil and gas automation to ensure safe, reliable and efficient physical operations is becoming more challenging. This article explores the modern yet evolving threat environment, how expectations for cybersecurity are changing, how information technology/operational technology (IT/OT) dependencies have emerged as an important issue in most cybersecurity programs, and how owners and operators are addressing this new issue.
Strategies to resolve process variability via regulatory process control
This article discusses strategies to address process instability for effective process control.
Straight talk on fire risk assessments
For refineries, chemical plants, oil and gas pipelines and oil/gas exploration, fire and explosion hazards are omnipresent. Process hazard analysis (PHA) and fire risk assessments (FRAs) play a vital role in managing fire risk at an acceptable level. While there are various causes for fires and explosions, robust FRAs based on pragmatism and optimum allocation of resources could help minimize fire/explosion mishaps.
Gas turbine maintenance and inspection model enhancement
Improving asset performance is a major concern throughout industry and is associated with maintenance costs, experience, machine/equipment age, and operational and environmental conditions. This article will focus on improving the reliability and availability of a plant gas turbine by applying best maintenance practices, operational enhancements and performance monitoring. Moreover, an inclusive maintenance and inspection model is proposed compared with the current common model.
S. Korea's SK Energy shuts crude unit for 2-week overhaul
South Korea's SK Energy plans to restart the 170,000-bpd crude distillation unit (CDU) at its Ulsan refinery in next two weeks after maintenance work.
Japan's Eneos shuts 141,000-bpd Sakai CDU after a fire
Japan's biggest refiner, Eneos Corp., shut down a 141,000- bpd crude distillation unit (CDU) at its Sakai refinery on February 17 after a fire there that day.
U.S. Republican senators call for $1,000 tax on new EV sales to pay for road repairs
A group of Senate Republicans on Wednesday proposed a $1,000 tax on new electric vehicle purchases to account for the cost of federal road repairs. Most revenue for federally funded road repairs is collected through taxes on diesel and gasoline, which EVs do not pay.

- Phillips 66 Independent Board Director pens letter to shareholders regarding dispute with Elliott Investment Management 3/28
- Russia increases fuel, diesel supply to Bolivia amid rising energy crisis 3/28
- Cenovus refinery in Ohio (U.S.) plans to shut multiple units for six weeks of work 3/28
- Motiva Texas refinery (U.S.) preparing second attempt to restart FCCU 3/27
- bp plans to sell its mobility and convenience business in Austria 3/27
- BASF starts up its first plant for recycled polyamide 6 3/27