Economics
HP Viewpoint: IT/OT integration—Is it safe?
Information technology (IT) includes conventional computers, operating systems, networking components and software platforms. All IT developments continue to increase in importance for industrial cont..
HP Viewpoint: Increase the visibility and reliability of all major plant assets
Turbomachinery, essential to refining and petrochemical operations, has significant impact on plant production, maintenance and energy consumption. One of the most effective ways to improve turbomachi..
HP Industry Perspectives: POLL FINDINGS: Pipelines remain crude route of choice for North American refiners
While the Keystone XL pipeline project remains in limbo, the concept behind it is very much alive.Roughly 70% of industry respondents predict that pipelines will be the most popular crude oil transpor..
HP Brief
Changes on the horizon at Harburg refineryNynas has received approval from the European Commission to take over production and responsibility for the base oil plant and associated production units at ..
HP Impact: Lukoil projects energy trends out to 2025
Lukoil recently offered an outlook on the long-term prospects for the global hydrocarbon processing industry. The outlook’s objective is to analyze trends that will (in Lukoil’s view) determ..
Case history: Optimization of FCCU with multivariate statistical modeling
Process models and simulation methods can be used to simulate the fluidized-bed catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) process.a,b Likewise, kinetic or multivariate statistical models have been used. Rigorous..
Mitigate fouling in crude unit overhead—Part 1
In a refinery crude distillation column, up to 40% of the total heat removal may be found in the tower overhead condenser. The quantity of duty available makes heat integration (HI) between the column..
Improved oxidation process increases sulfur recovery with Claus unit
Since its development in 1936, the “modified Claus” technology has been the preferred process used by refineries and gas processing plants for the recovery of sulfur from acid-gas streams. M..
Update: Russia’s capacity and modernization program
Since 2008, Russian regulations regarding the crude oil and refining industry have changed substantially. At present, Russia has 22 large refineries, each with an individual throughput capacity exceed..
Novel use of sulfiding agent prevents refinery shutdown
When an insufficient supply of acid gas threatened to shut down operations at a US refinery, quick thinking, along with the novel use of a sulfiding agent and a strong supply chain made all the difference.

- Aster Chemicals declares force majeure at Singapore naphtha cracker 8/29
- Orlen signs 1-yr deal with Equinor for supply of 15% oil it uses 8/29
- Novatek partially resumed processing at Ust-Luga complex 8/29
- Phillips 66 to begin winding down Los Angeles-area refinery next week 8/29
- Update: Mexico's Minatitlan refinery back online, Olmeca still down 8/29
- SIBUR produces test batch of first hexane plant in Russia 8/28