Project Management
KBC wins consulting contracts to improve margins at Middle East refineries
KBC was awarded a three-year, $8.5-million consulting contract to assist a major Middle Eastern client with margin improvement and workforce capability development across three refineries.
CB&I wins early works contract for Axiall, Lotte’s Louisiana ethane cracker
The companies are evaluating the construction of a cracker with the capacity to produce 1-million tpy of ethylene employing CB&I's latest, proven ethylene technology, including highly selective SRT cracking heaters and its innovative recovery section design.
Enabling the refinery of the future—Safety first
Within this “new” economy, automation systems must be capable of delivering new levels of productivity and scalability, while ensuring safety, managing globalizations and addressing new workforce demographics.
Implement best practices in enterprise-wide operations management
Several lessons learned were identified during the refinery project implementations.
Create an operator ownership culture to achieve continuous improvement in reliability—Part 2
Operators have a significant influence on a plant’s reliability.
Improve refinery flexibility and responsiveness
The hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI) has changed significantly with an abundance of available discounted crude oils, a rise in markets served beyond the traditional local or regional demands, and a renewed focus on being both competitive and profitable while complying with ever-changing regulations.
Proposed US water definition may alter future of HPI
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) proposed Rule 33 CFR Part 328, a regulation intended to redefine and clarify the reach of the EPA’s jurisdi..
HP Automation Safety: Conducting audits to confirm safety standard compliance
The ISA 84 (IEC 61511) standard on safety instrumented systems (SISs) in the process industries states that assessments and audits are required to determine that functional safety has been achieved and maintained.
HP Global: First phase of Middle East refinery projects nearly complete
The first phase of new refining capacity in the Middle East has already come onstream, with more than 1.1 MMbpcd of incremental capacity in Saudi Arabia (at SATORP and YASREF refineries) and the UAE (..
HP Business Trends
To satisfy its growing refined fuel demand, Latin America has relied heavily on imports from the US. Major refinery projects have been announced to curb this reliance, but the drop in crude oil prices has limited capacity expansions.
- Ineos to invest £150 MM at Grangemouth site 12/17
- KBR’s methanol technology selected by Fikrat Al-Tadweer for the first biomethanol plant in Saudi Arabia 12/17
- Digital Exclusive: Root cause analysis on hydrochloric acid corrosion in a diesel hydrotreater unit 12/16
- Digital Feature: Enabling growth through strategic cost optimization for petrochemical and refining companies 12/16
- Rohm awards NextChem feasibility study for PMMA-polymer chemical recycling plant project 12/16
- Westlake to rationalize certain North American chlorovinyl and styrene assets 12/16
