Compressors
Reliability: Things rarely heard at reliability conferences
We can only guess how many reliability conferences we have attended since accepting job offers in the refining or chemical processing industries. In my case, starting in 1965, it is somewhere between 60 and 80. If, in each of these conferences I listened to six presentations, the number of sessions attended is perhaps 400.
Business Trends: EPC 2030: Five vital characteristics that will define the EPC firm of tomorrow
The state of the global engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) industry can accurately be described as “challenging.” Operating in an environment of volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous conditions, EPC firms are facing unsustainable levels of stress.
Improved cooling system performance begins with data
Refineries consume large amounts of energy and water to refine crude oil into products. Up to 10% of crude oil’s energy content is consumed during processing, and it takes 1.5 bbl of water to process one barrel of crude oil. Refining processes also generate large quantities of excess thermal energy that needs to be expelled into the environment using a once-through or recirculating cooling system.
Hydrocarbon Processing Awards
<i>Hydrocarbon Processing,</i> the downstream processing sector’s leading technical publication, has announced the finalists for its third annual awards.
Case study for a high-performing refinery loss control program
Most refineries have some sort of mass balance and loss control program in place for accounting, planning and scheduling, as well as for financial and operational evaluation purposes.
Innovations
Alfa Laval has introduced wide-opening design plates in its Packinox heat exchangers.
Understand net gas compressor control logic from a process engineering standpoint
In a refinery or petrochemical plant, certain equipment can create “gray areas” between process engineers and instrument engineers.
Resolving vibration problems in a crude booster pump
The pumps referred to in this article are 2,600-HP vertical pumps utilized as booster pumps for the shipment of crude oil.
Confirm best practices for compressed air in refineries
Within a refinery, four main utilities are considered essential to operations: electricity, natural gas, water and compressed air.
Maintenance and turnaround planning critical to successful ejector vacuum system operation
Steam ejector vacuum systems are generally considered to be reliable and require little maintenance.

- Shell Aviation, Accenture, and Amex GBT expand Avelia into a multi-supplier SAF solution 7/16
- ORLEN and Krajowa Grupa Spożywcza sign MoU to accelerate biomethane production in Poland 7/16
- New plants, U.S. trade worries to drive China's 2025 naphtha imports to record 7/16
- Blue Water significantly reduces CO2 emissions by switching to HVO in port operations 7/16
- Swire Shipping launches new carbon insetting program – ‘Voyage to Zero’ 7/16
- China's surplus crude oil surges in June, giving refiners options 7/16