Economics
HP Industry Perspectives: A sad turn of events
Many pages in Hydrocarbon Processing have and continue to discuss the technical solutions required by the US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and similar legislation. At a time when developed nations str..
Streamline plant information for brownfield assets
Brownfield assets suffer from handling large volumes of unstructured information. Often, such projects do not have up-to-date/as-maintained 3D models, data warehouses or integrated operation systems, ..
Optimize your compressor maintenance program
One deviation alone might not be enough to bring on a compressor failure, but, when several more deviations combine, the failure risk is known to increase exponentially.
Case history: Failure analysis of a syngas compressor
A first-stage impeller in a synthetic gas compressor failed after 20 years of service. The compressor is a six-stage centrifugal compressor driven by a steam turbine. This case history discusses the i..
HP Reliability: Four-stage, low-flow process centrifugal compressor can fill important industry gaps
In the 1970s and 1980s, multistage centrifugal compressors in the 3,000 acfm (about 5,000m3/hr) and lower flow ranges were largely confined to instrument and plant air duties. Three stages with interc..
HP Integration Strategies: Consider procedural automation at a commercial-scale pilot plant
“All processes are batch processes to some degree. Even in ‘continuous’ process plants, processing units will need to be shut down at some point and then restarted to resume production...
HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 74: How to determine impact forces when troubleshooting
When troubleshooting failures, it is not unusual for the metallurgical report to indicate that the failure was the result of an impact type of force. The investigator who receives this information mus..
HP Industry Perspectives: US oil and gas executives energized for the year ahead
A recent survey of US executives by the KPMG Global Energy Institute supports growing optimism in the domestic energy and manufacturing industries. Much of the renewed enthusiasm is strongly linked to..
HP Brief
Train accident raises concerns on safetyThe train derailment that killed at least 38 people in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, has heightened safety concerns about crude oil shipments by rail. It has been ..
HP Impact: Dilbit poses no extra pipeline risk
Diluted bitumen (dilbit) has no greater likelihood of accidental pipeline release than other crude oils, says a new report from the National Research Council. The report found that diluted bitumen has..

- 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