Maintenance & Reliability
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.
U.S. crude stockpiles build on ongoing refinery maintenance
U.S. crude oil inventories rose last week as refinery maintenance continued, while gasoline stockpiles posted a surprise draw.
Lyondell completes shutdown of Houston refinery
Lyondell Basell Industries has completed the final shutdown of its 263,776-bpd Houston, Texas (U.S.) refinery.
EIA: U.S. crude inventories surge amid refinery maintenance season
U.S. crude oil inventories rose sharply last week as demand softened on ongoing refinery maintenance, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.
Alfa Laval to acquire NRG Marine, offering ultrasonic anti-fouling solutions
Alfa Laval has signed an agreement to acquire NRG Marine, a leading provider of ultrasonic anti-fouling solutions for marine, oil and gas, and industrial applications, headquartered in the UK.
Pertamina partners with ABL to enhance asset management at its Cilacap refinery (Indonesia)
Pt. Kilang Pertamina Internasional has appointed ABL’s asset integrity management unit to further enhance asset management at the Indonesian national energy company’s Cilacap Refinery Unit IV, located in Central Java, Indonesia.
- YPF, Eni and XRG sign joint development agreement advancing 12-MMtpy Argentina LNG project 2/12
- Maire launches new technology to produce PTMEG, the key polymer composing the spandex fiber. 2/12
- Verde Clean Fuels announces suspension of development of Permian Basin gas-to-gasoline project 2/12
- Vietnam's largest refinery to operate at 120%-125% of designed capacity in Q1 2/12
- Indonesia's Medco expansion plans bet on rising energy demand in Southeast Asia 2/12
- Brazil to rebuild ethanol stocks in new harvest after 21% drop in 2025-2026 2/12
