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

Refining

Optimize value from FCC bottoms

PRO-TECH Associates: Paraskos, J.
General Atomics: Scalco, V.

Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) is one of the most versatile and profitable upgrading processes in a refinery. FCC has maintained its place in the refinery through a series of evolutionary changes to m..

HP Reliability: Fact-checking list from recent reliability conferences

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

Whenever HP editors attend technical conferences, their primary goals include observing industry practices, finding facts and spotting trends. Fact or fictionUnfortunately, presenters sometimes relate..

HP Brief

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Thinnes, Billy

LyondellBasell plans to expand North American ethylene capacityLyondellBasell will raise its ethylene capacity in North America by 18% in coming years through several debottlenecking projects. Locatio..

HP Impact: Promising forecast for the US re-refining industry

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Thinnes, Billy

With a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) exceeding 23% over the next five years, the future of the US re-refined basestocks market looks promising, according to a recent study by Kline & Co..

Exxon pipeline ruptures in Arkansas, spilling crude

Exxon said the weekend breach caused a few thousand barrels of oil to spill into Mayflower, a town of less than 3,000 about 25 miles northwest of Little Rock. The Environmental Protection Agency called it a "major spill," a category that includes any spill larger than 250 barrels.

Saudi oil minister welcomes new energy sources

Mr. Naimi said that prospects for global production of shale gas and oil -- including in China, Ukraine and Poland -- were so promising that the kingdom might not need to continue with its decades-long policy of maintaining an output cushion in case of disruptions in global supply.

Gasoline prices fall on high supply, lower crude

HP Editorial Staff: HP News Services

US pump prices for gasoline are dropping as refiners are boosting production and crude-oil prices are down from a year earlier, according to domestic travel group AAA.

Japan refiners likely to reduce April production with maintenance shutdowns

The country's top oil refiner by capacity plans to cut crude runs by 8% to 1.11 million bpd, while closing two crude distillation units at its Mizushima B refinery in western Japan from late March to late July.

US refiners decry latest EPA proposal for tougher auto pollution standards

The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to announce the proposal as early as Friday. It is expected to require refiners to reduce the amount of sulfur in gasoline to 10 parts per million, down from the current standard of 30 ppm, people familiar with the issue said.

Suncor, Total kill plan for Alberta bitumen upgrader

Amid the ongoing US oil boom, Suncor executives said it may not make sense to spend money on a new upgrading facility, which was to be located in Alberta. Instead, Suncor said it could be more economical to simply send unprocessed heavy bitumen to refiners equipped to handle it.