Crude oil
What is the impact of US shale oil on global markets and refinery configurations?
One of the most important factors in determining a refinery’s profitability is its ability to access low-cost feedstocks. This is not to be confused with survivability. Some uneconomic refineries..
Optimize field upgrading of oil sands with slurry-phase combi-cracking technology
Slurry-phase combi-crackers are able to process a much wider range of feeds—including those with very high levels of metals, asphaltenes and sulfur—that cannot be economically upgraded in fixed-bed or ebullated-bed reactors, which makes this process ideal for upgrading oil sands.
Overcome the imbalance between diesel and gasoline production
A number of strategies can be applied to increase the overall product selectivity to middle distillates.
Hydrogen perspectives for 21st century refineries
As refining market trends continue to support increased demand for H2, its availability and cost are critical for many refiners, creating a tough environment for securing reliable, efficient and environmentally-friendly H2.
Improve refining of tight oil via enhanced fluid catalytic cracking catalysts
Crude oils from tight formations are relatively light, low in concarbon, and contain different contaminants. They have high naphtha and distillate yields, lower vacuum gasoil (VGO) content and almost ..
Mitigate H2S exposure from unconventional crudes
Personal exposure risks associated with hydrogen sulfide (H2S) historically have been a concern during the refining, storage and transportation of hydrocarbons. Recently, with the surge in production,..
Can the downstream achieve growth and sustainability?
The global hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI) is transforming beyond typical technical and management forms. This industry is making progress, and it is achieving more sustainability practices. Suc..
Choose the right metering technology for ethylene furnaces
An ethylene plant’s main purpose is to convert hydrocarbon feedstock, usually natural gas liquids or naphtha, into a “cracked gas” that contains ethylene and other higher value products..
HP Boxscore Construction Analysis: Refining overview: Leading nations by capacity
BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy 2014 showed total global refining capacity of just under 95 MMbpd. The top five countries with the highest refining capacities are the US, China, Russia, India and Japan. Combined, these countries account for nearly 45 MMbpd of capacity, which represents almost half of the world’s total refining capacity.
HP Global: Review of the Middle East refinery industry
The refining business in the Middle East (ME) is very different. The average utilization rates in the ME generally run at maximum and regularly exceed 90%. Also, unlike other regions, refining margins..

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