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

Engineering & Design

The lost art of proportional band, and the accidental art of performance monitoring

APC Performance LLC: Kern, A.

Most control engineers know that proportional band and controller gain are largely interchangeable terms—both terms refer to the proportional setting of a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller and are commonly used by control system manufacturers.

Does your control valve talk?

Palmela: Almas, A.

Pneumatic operated control valves (POCVs) are consistently the most used control final element for process control across most industries—in some cases, they are also part of the safety instrumented systems (SISs) layer.

Considerations for revamping shell-and-tube heat exchangers

Summum Projects: Garrido, E.

Revamp projects are complex in nature, and demand a great deal of resources for successful completion.

Revamp fired heaters with a common air-preheating system to increase capacity

Bechtel Corp.: Ahamad, S.  |  Vallavanatt, R.

In any process plant, fired heaters are generally considered to be one of the most optimally designed pieces of equipment.

Analyzing axial cooling fans’ high noise, vibration and failures

Saudi Aramco: Allah, W. K.

Shipping pumps with 1,800 hp are equipped with five cooling fans that cool the oil going to the lube oil pumps to lubricate the bearings.

Business Trends: Ethylene production economics from optional feedstocks

Gulf of Suez Petroleum Co.: Sorour, F. H.
Cairo University: Abdelmonem, N. M.
National Research Center (NRC): Tewfik, SH. R.
British University in Egypt: Ashour, F. H.  |  Gadalla, M.A.

The petrochemicals industry is witnessing enormous growth worldwide. Ethylene is produced by cracking a range of hydrocarbons. Naphtha is the main raw material used in European and Japanese crackers, while the US utilizes ethane as its primary feedstock.

African government asking Dangote to complete refinery before 2019

LAGOS, Nigeria — The federal government in Africa has said it relies heavily on the Dangote refinery to fulfill its promise to Nigerians to end fuel importation by December 2019.

SNC-Lavalin transitions into EPC phase of ammonia plant contract with Salalah

MONTREAL — SNC-Lavalin announced that it has received a notice to proceed from Salalah Methanol Company LLC (SMC) with the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) phase of its anhydrous liquid ammonia plant project, located in the city of Salalah, Sultanate of Oman.

MMEX Resources Corp. announces land acquisition for Pecos County refinery project

FORT STOCKTON, Texas — MMEX Resources Corp., a development-stage company focusing on the acquisition, development and financing of oil, gas, refining and infrastructure projects in Texas and South America, announced a purchase of 126 acres in Pecos County, Texas for the construction of its Phase I 10,000 bpd crude distillation unit near Fort Stockton, Texas.

S.Korea’s Hyundai Heavy wins ship contract from Vitol worth up to $600 MM

SEOUL (Reuters) — South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries Co has won a contract worth up to $600 MM from Vitol, the world's largest independent oil trader, for as many as eight gas tankers.