Construction
Editorial Comment: Hydrocarbon Processing’s 2020 Top Projects award nominees revealed
<i>Hydrocarbon Processing</i> has announced the nominees for its annual Top Projects awards.
Shape the refinery of the future through integration—Part 2
Part 1 of this article, which appeared in the September issue, discussed various aspects of evaluating options that enable an existing refiner to make investment decisions to optimally diversify into petrochemicals through integration. Part 2 will detail a case study that illustrates the synergies of refinery-petrochemical integration through a propylene recovery unit from an FCC-based refinery, as well as financial, configuration and sensitivity analyses.
Driving FCCU value through fresh and flushing catalyst activity modeling
Refiners are continually challenged to maximize economic gain in the face of cost pressures and plant operating constraints. The fluidized catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) plays an integral role in the optimization of the facility. FCC catalyst is often one of the largest budget items in the refinery. Therefore, the balance between FCCU performance and catalyst costs has a significant impact on refinery profitability.
Shape the refinery of the future through integration—Part 1
The negative impact of fossil fuels on the environment has become widely accepted, and our global society has begun to focus on alternative fuels. The pollution of the local, regional and global environment has become a primary concern.
Industry Perspectives: Save the date: Hydrocarbon Processing’s Top Projects Awards
Over the past several years, <ital>Hydrocarbon Processing</ital> has honored the feats of capital project excellence with its Top Projects Awards. The winners and nominees encapsulate important contributions to the global hydrocarbon processing industry, whether that is through significant capital intensity, diversifying product offerings or adding a significant amount of refining and/or petrochemical processing capacity.
Editorial Comment: Optimizing operations and recognizing achievements
Over the next two months, <ital>Hydrocarbon Processing</ital> will host two separate events for a global audience. One will gather the brightest minds in the industry to share the latest innovations and technologies in the industry, while the other will recognize the leaders in advancing the industry toward safer and more reliable, sustainable and profitable operations. Both events—<ital>Hydrocarbon Processing’s</ital> IRPC and the HP Awards—will be streamed on digital platforms and free to view.
Business Trends: Managing risk and uncertainty: The importance of optimizing your value chain
No doubt exists that COVID-19 is disrupting the oil and gas industry. Oil prices are falling, demand is down, supply is up, and storage capacity is limited. In these difficult times, the industry must swiftly act to keep business viable to come back strong when conditions improve.
Piping and instrument diagrams (P&IDs): Part 2—Causes and management of change
It is difficult to categorize or group the many reasons for routine or late changes to a P&ID. Some causes are listed here.
Intensification of sulfur processing units by oxygen enrichment and process flowsheet optimization
The consistent global trend toward improvements in air quality and tighter regulations on emissions, as well as the International Maritime Organization’s shipping regulations, continue to mitigate sulfur levels—not only in conventional transport fuels (petrol and diesel), but also in jet fuels, fuel oils and other heavier distillates.
Global Project Data
<i>Hydrocarbon Processing’s</i> Construction Boxscore Database is tracking nearly 1,600 projects around the world.

- OCI Global completes $1.9-B sale of OCI Methanol to Methanex Corporation 6/30
- Partnership for sustainability: Pekutherm and POLYVANTIS launch circular economy initiative 6/30
- Univation Technologies and C3 AI collaborate to deliver enterprise AI solutions for advanced predictive maintenance across the global petrochemical industry 6/30
- Lloyd’s Register signs strategic collaboration with DAI Infrastruktur for green ammonia Project Ra 6/30
- Alleima expands product portfolio for the urea industry with SAF™ 2906 6/30
- UK's Lindsey oil refinery insolvent, 420 jobs at risk 6/30