Environment & Safety
Take a quicker approach to staggered blowdown
The design of a reliable blowdown system for a large sour gas-processing facility is one of the most important aspects of plant design. Safe design is vital for facility operation. With the developmen..
Conceptually, accidents are a fallacy
Webster’s unabridged dictionary defines accident as “Literally, a befalling; an event that takes place without one’s foresight or expectation; an undesigned, sudden and unexpected event..
HP Water Management: Update: Online measurement of oxidizing biocides
Nearly all owners of industrial cooling towers feed oxidizing biocides—chlorine (Cl) and bromine (Br)—to kill bacteria in the recirculating cooling water. Minimizing the populations of bacte..
HP Industry Perspectives: Are Arctic projects safe?
Key industry officials answer a poll question from HydrocarbonProcessing.com
HP Innovations: Innovations
Flowmeter uses Coriolis force in measurementThe Sitrans FC430 flowmeter from Siemens AG is capable of measuring liquids and gases using the Coriolis principle. Flows can be measured with a precision o..
Exxon pipeline ruptures in Arkansas, spilling crude
Exxon said the weekend breach caused a few thousand barrels of oil to spill into Mayflower, a town of less than 3,000 about 25 miles northwest of Little Rock. The Environmental Protection Agency called it a "major spill," a category that includes any spill larger than 250 barrels.
US refiners decry latest EPA proposal for tougher auto pollution standards
The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to announce the proposal as early as Friday. It is expected to require refiners to reduce the amount of sulfur in gasoline to 10 parts per million, down from the current standard of 30 ppm, people familiar with the issue said.
Chevron cuts executive pay amid safety woes
Chevron's board is cutting compensation for its CEO and other top executives in the wake of a string of accidents and other operational problems since late 2011.
Chevron recovers less oil than first expected from Utah diesel pipeline leak
Chevron is dealing with the fallout of the March 18 leak, which resulted in 600 bbl of diesel from its refinery in Salt Lake City spilling into marshes close to a freshwater lake in Willard Bay State Park. The company has to date recovered 354 bbl, down from the 500 bbl it said it had collected Friday.
EU sees 2020 clean energy target as unachievable
"While progress has been made until 2010, there are reasons for concern about future progress," the European Commission said. "Current policies alone will be insufficient to trigger the required renewable energy deployment in a majority of member states. Hence, additional efforts will be needed."

- CNOOC completes construction on $2.9-B, 1.8-MMtpy integrated complex in east China 8/22
- bp's Whiting refinery (U.S.) continues to flare days after severe thunderstorm 8/22
- Bachmann introduces latest version M-Target for Simulink 8/22
- U.S. to rule on biofuel waivers, but big oil refiners may need to wait 8/22
- Chinese independent refiner Hongrun buys Canadian, Brazilian crude 8/22
- Ukrainian attack suspends Russian oil flows to Hungary, Slovakia 8/22