Crude oil
Automate furnace controls to improve safety and energy efficiency
Furnace firing is the biggest single operating expense in any refinery. Consider a medium-size refinery (250,000 bpd) that consumes 2,000 MMBtu/h. At a cost of $5/MMBtu, that’s $87.6 MM/yr being ..
Russian straight-run fuel oil supply collapse complicates Gulf Coast feedstock choices
In the next couple of years, collapsing Russian supply of straight-run fuel oil (SRFO) will undermine foreign supply of feedstock to the US Gulf Coast.
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 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..
Study shows Bakken crude fits safety standards for current rail cars
In particular, Bakken crudes are well within the regulatory limits for pressure, flashpoint, boiling point and corrosivity for use in Department of Transportation (DOT) approved railcars.
IRPC 2014: Defining the course of the global HPI
Leading hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI) executives and technical experts will come together June 24–26 in Verona, Italy, to share ideas, innovation and vision for the global downstream indu..
Innovative catalyst solution mitigates FCC operational issue
Marathon Petroleum Co.’s (MPC’s) Catlettsburg fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) experienced a catalyst circulation constraint due to partial blockage of an intra-regenerator standpipe. Th..
HP Global: Russian executives to build country’s first waste oil refinery
The 4-MMtpy Kirishi-2 refinery is anticipated to cost $3.14 B to construct. Plans call for the refinery to be expanded to a capacity of 12 MMtpy at a later date, at an additional cost of $5 B–$7 B.
HP Petrochemicals: Ammonia production booms on cheap natural gas
Thanks to the availability of a steady supply of affordable natural gas as a feedstock, the ammonia and fertilizer industries in North America are experiencing a renaissance that has not been witnesse..

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