Environment & Safety
HPIn SHE: 'Lies for children'
The expression "lies for children" is sometimes used to refer to the simplified ideas that are introduced early in the student's development, paving the way for more sophisticated ideas, which will be..
HP Insight: How much sulfur is 'too much' for clean fuels?
In the first half of '99, U.S. refiners have been hit with some tough blows. Last month, troubles began brewing when California requested to be excused from using MTBE in the RFG program and proposed ..
HPIn SHE: The sleep of reason
As Goya's famous etching reminds us: The Sleep of Reason Brings Forth Monsters*. Alas, the sleep of reason seems endemic in Europe, if not globally. Recently, in London, a young woman was shot in myst..
HP Insight: Killing the messenger – MTBE
Some amazing developments are unraveling in California. To a great surprise, California Gov. Gray Davis has banned MTBE usage in gasoline. After holding public hearings concerning the University of Ca..
HPIn SHE: E = M2C*
In process plants – as opposed to personal relationships – it is energy that makes the world go round. Energy makes pumps whizz, furnaces roar, and with a little help from catalysis, molecul..
HP Insight: More news on ethylene
Lots of activity is occurring within the HPI. In March, several major announcements were released concerning ethylene manufacturing. At their March ethylene technology seminar, Kellogg Brown & Root (K..
HPIn SHE: We haven't got a button
Recently, I was in Birmingham, England, attending Maintec 99, the international maintenance conference and exhibition. One morning, I found myself running short of pounds sterling. Thus, I had either ..
HPIn SHE: Open with care – tales from the mailbox
Open with care — tales from the mailbox
Modernization project yields a more competitive plant
Refinery is meeting its key business drivers: higher product quality, lower operating costs, increased manufacturing flexibility and improved regulatory compliance
HP Insight: Déjà vu all over again
It's February; accordingly, many HPI consultants are preparing their forecasts for 1999 and the next few years. From reading the headlines, there are very few surprises, especially for petrochemicals...

- Refinery closures may lead to higher gasoline prices on the U.S. West Coast 7/9
- INNIO Group, Gföllner Group establish JV, offering power solutions to the U.S. market 7/9
- Using lightning to make ammonia out of thin air 7/9
- bp sells 300 Dutch petrol stations to Catom 7/9
- U.S. crude stockpiles increase, gasoline falls on July 4 driving demand 7/9
- Nigeria's Dangote refinery plans 1.6-MMbbl fuel storage tanks in Namibia 7/9