Management
Which margin levers impact Group I and Group II base stock competitiveness? Part 1
As much as the lubricants industry might wish it otherwise, base stocks production is becoming more commoditized, and it is intertwined inextricably with mainstream refining operations. The vast major..
HP Reliability: Normalization of deviance can kill
On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger (mission STS-51-L) broke apart just 73 seconds after launch. The seven-member crew of the shuttle lived until 3 minutes and 58 seconds after launch, w..
HP Project Management: Better strategies avoid project delays—Part 3
The first two parts of this series analyzed the root causes of project delays and proposed strategies to avoid schedule overruns. This final part reviews construction planning.Construction planningOne..
HP Water Management: What should cooling tower owners do about legionella?
The first awareness of the risks of legionella bacteria in cooling water was the outbreak of Legionellosis at the hotel hosting the Legionnaires’ Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1976..
HP Viewpoint: Transformation of downstream automation and information systems
One of the more interesting aspects about working in the energy sector, as I have done for the last 36 years, is that this industry is always changing—technically, economically and even political..
HP Industry Perspectives: Is the glass half full or half empty?
This year is nearly half over; however, the energy industry is more optimistic about the market and economy according to Ernst & Young’s (EY’s) recent 10th biannual Oil and Gas Capital Confi..
HP News
Chemical companies honored with energy efficiency awardsThe American Chemistry Council (ACC) honored 16 of its member companies for implementing energy-efficiency improvements in 2013. The ACC present..
HP Industry Metrics
The total liquid supply growth by non-OPEC countries continues to rise and is estimated to reach 54 million bpd (MMbpd) in 2014. Increasing crude oil supplies from North America are contributing to sh..
HP People
BASF SE’s supervisory board has elected Dr. Jürgen Hambrecht as its new chairman. Dr. Hambrecht succeeds Dr. h.c. Eggert Voscherau, who took over as chairman following the 2009 annual shareh..
China: The next shale gas boom
The shale gas boom has largely been associated with North America. The luck of this region regarding shale gas is the result of 20 years of hard R&D efforts by Texas oilman George P. Mitchell and the ..

- 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