Europe
Intelligent severity optimization project pays off in two months
Major olefin producer uses new process control to fine-tune energy consumption
Refinery configurations: Designs for heavy oil
Conceptualization and economic models looked at scenarios to process clean gasoline, diesel from domestic feedstock
HPIn Europe: Europe warily prepares to enter a newly globalized age of biofuels
Biofuels are growing up in Europe. From an exotic outlet for European Union (EU) agricultural product in the 1990s, to a boutique fuel for the green consumer in the 2000s, now today’s industry ha..
HP Reliability: Suction specific speed choices have consequences
A refinery engineer was in a quandary over requests from a project group. High volume/pressure/temperature pumps in hydrocarbon service were involved and the refinery’s standards had, in 2007, be..
HP Integration Strategies: Automation-related lessons learned from March 11 disasters in Japan
On July 22, four months after the unprecedented earthquake and tsunami struck the Pacific Coast side of eastern Japan, Japanese engineers from various process and other industries gathered in Tokyo to..
HP Impact: European refiners’ safety performance in 2010
European oil company association CONCAWE started compiling statistical data on safety performance for the European downstream oil industry 17 years ago. The group recently released its safety report f..
HP Construction: Europe
A subsidiary of Foster Wheeler AG’s Global Engineering and Construction Group has a contract with Aibel AS to provide detailed design engineering services to support Aibel, which has been appoint..
Siemens JV opens compressor plant in Russia
The RusTurboMash joint venture of Siemens Energy and Iskra-Avigaz has opened a new compressor manufacturing plant in the Russian city of Perm. Siemens holds a 51% stake in the joint venture and Iskra-Avigaz the rest. The combined investment of the two companies is €60 million.
Braskem closes on deal for Dow polypropylene unit
Dow Chemical said on Friday that it closed on the $340 million sale of its global polypropylene (PP) business to Brazil-based Braskem. In addition to the transaction, which was first announced in July, the two companies said they would continue to evaluate potential future collaborations.
European process safety guru says 'macho culture' creates more accidents
Trevor Kletz, one of the world’s most revered experts on process safety, has cited industry’s ‘macho culture’ as one of the main causes of recent accidents. Kletz, who spent almost forty years at ICI before forging a second career as an author on process safety and loss prevention, says that while there has been no deliberate decision to spend less on safety, many senior managers have taken their eye off the ball and that a macho approach to ‘get stuck in’ has been the underlying cause of recent incidents.
- Allied Biofuels signs PIA with Uzbekistan to advance $6-B biofuels refinery project 4/10
- Nufarm strengthens strategic collaboration to support long term growth in biofuels production 4/10
- Pertamina and CRecTech sign MoU to explore pilot biogas-to-biomethanol facility in SEZ, Indonesia 4/10
- Shell Chemicals and Syensqo partner to deliver low-carbon ethylene oxide solutions 4/10
- HAMR Energy’s nationally significant fuel projects selected for Australian Government’s Investor Front Door Pilot 4/10
- HD Hyundai Heavy Industries builds world's first ammonia-powered vessel 4/10
