Economics
US petrochemical construction boom and refining margins cushion profits
Domestic refiners and petrochemical producers will face changing supply and demand conditions, particularly as the sharp decrease in oil prices influences drilling decisions.
Update on the catalytic cracking process—Part 2
One of the prime challenges in the operation of a fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) is keeping the catalyst circulating. Compared to other challenges with FCC operations, correcting erratic catalys..
HP Editorial Comment: Accessing the value of methane and the North American petrochemical revolution
The North American (NA) petrochemical industry is experiencing a renaissance of new project announcements and manufacturing expansions. This wave of activity is supported by abundant, low-cost natural gas supplies. In particular, many ethylene projects are under various stages of development.
HP Reliability: The true cost of poor quality
Knoxville, Tennessee-based System Improvements, Inc., has been in the forefront of teaching structured root-cause analysis throughout the world. System Improvements, Inc. has used its proprietary soft..
HP Project Management: Inside look at financing biorenewable projects
Financing biorenewables technology companies and their projects involves a unique set of challenges. The global emergence of biorenewable fuels, chemicals and polymers is driven by public policies, su..
HP Global: India’s fertilizer industry gathering strength
The $2-T Indian economy is forecast to have an annual average GDP growth rate of 8%–9% in 2015 under the new government. The main drivers—agriculture and industrial manufacturing—need r..
HP Petrochemicals: US petrochemical revival slows amid weaker oil
Since the shale revolution, US oil and gas majors have run on all cylinders, drastically curbing US dependency on foreign resources. But the past six months changed it all. A 53% plunge in oil prices ..
HP Viewpoint: Methanex focuses on growth and expanding its operations across the globe
As the world’s largest producer and supplier of methanol to major international markets, Methanex Corp. continues to focus on growing and expanding its operations across the globe. The most recen..
Haldor Topsoe, Ferrostaal to launch downstream project development JV
The JV will offer expertise in project planning, project development and financing with worldwide leading technologies for the petrochemical, refining and environmental technology sectors.
Improve the operation of fired heaters
Fired heaters or “process furnaces” are used extensively by the refining and petrochemical industries. These heat transfer units generate the much needed process energy through the combustio..
- SIBUR produces test batch of first hexane plant in Russia 8/28
- Universal Fuel Technologies’ SAF accepted into ASTM Clearinghouse for qualification 8/28
- Sinopec wins engineering contract for Saudi Arabian green hydrogen/ammonia project 8/28
- Russia's idle oil refining capacity record high after Ukrainian drone attacks 8/28
- Brazil approves temporary antidumping measures against Canadian, U.S. polyethylene resins 8/28
- South Korea petrochemical overhaul likely to shut small, stand-alone naphtha crackers 8/28
