Environment & Safety
Cheap oil is blunting drive for fuel efficiency
Now that the costs of transport fuel have dropped sharply and appear set to remain low for several years, the focus will shift from efficiency to speed, power and convenience.
API poll: High ethanol mandates worry US voters
“Across the political spectrum, voters are concerned about the significant damage the RFS mandate and higher ethanol blends could cause to automobiles, motorcycles and almost every type of gasoline powered engine,” said Frank Macchiarola, downstream group director at the API.
Lyondell cuts Houston refinery output after fire
A large fire broke out Friday morning at LyondellBasell’s 263,776-bpd Houston refinery in Texas. It is the second major refinery fire in two days in the metro Houston area.
Fire erupts at ExxonMobil’s Baytown refinery
Exxon said the fire was later extinguished, no workers were injured and output would not be hurt at the 560,500-bpd oil refinery, the second-largest in the United States.
Keystone pipeline closure leads Phillips 66 to shut Illinois refinery units
Phillips' refinery in Wood River, Illinois, has shut down a 64,000-bpd sour crude unit and a 16,000-bpd coker due to the disruption in supply, two sources told Reuters.
US refiners delaying clean-fuel compliance may face soaring costs
Larger US refiners are in the midst of a multi-billion dollar effort to cut smog-producing sulfur levels in the gasoline pool by Jan. 1, but those efforts have been met by objections to what the rules mean for refinery emissions and slowed by the high price of compliance.
Innovative design configurations for flare system reliability
The function of a flare system in a refinery or chemical plant is to collect gases released during an overpressure scenario, typically resulting from a plant upset.
In-depth and preemptive front-end planning yields positive project results
Despite the challenges that major projects can present (short deadlines, budget constraints and overruns, unforeseen problems onsite and tension throughout executive teams), they can also prove to be a win-win for both the owner and the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm.
Codes and Standards: How much fireproofing do we need?
This article is the first under the Codes and Standards series. The purpose of this series is to make readers aware of code requirements, the interpretations and the limitations as they stand today, and what engineers can do as an alternative engineering. This series is based on the actual implementation of what is narrated and the satisfactory experiences drawn.
Siemens opens cyber security operation centers to protect industrial plants
Siemens' industrial security specialists based at these sites monitor industrial facilities all around the world for cyber threats and warn companies in the event of security incidents.
- AVTL to develop ammonia terminal in Pipavav, India 6/20
- Chevron seeks buyers for 50% stake in Singapore refinery 6/20
- Asian refiners seek more Mideast oil after spot premiums jump on Israel-Iran conflict 6/20
- Mexican authorities discover clandestine mini-refinery in crackdown of illegal hydrocarbon trade 6/20
- Italy's Eni eyes new unit to manage oil refineries 6/20
- Inatech's Techoil implemented by Flint Hills Resources for a modern, integrated future 6/20
