Maintenance & Reliability
Plant maintenance and design
This article will review various maintenance activities, including emergency repairs, routine preventive and predictive maintenance, annual turnaround and computerized maintenance management.
Control valve maintenance: Tips and general guidelines to ensure efficient operations
Control valves play a critical role in manufacturing units as a final control element. Each valve’s performance impacts production quality and quantity. However, it can also have detrimental effects on a plant’s environmental footprint, as poor control valve maintenance can lead to the escape of fugitive emissions. This article provides tips and guidelines to ensure efficient control valves operations.
Mexico's new Olmeca refinery operated at 17% of capacity in November
Mexican state energy company Pemex resumed refining operations at is new Olmeca refinery in November, working at nearly 17% of its 340,000-bpd capacity after being fully offline in October.
Japan's Taiyo Oil to shut two CDUs at Shikoku refinery for maintenance
Japanese oil refiner Taiyo Oil plans to shut down two crude distillation units (CDUs) at its 138,000-bpd Shikoku refinery in western Japan this week for scheduled maintenance.
Global diesel prices to rely on refinery closures for support in 2025
The global diesel market will likely find price support in 2025 from the closure of about 1% of refining capacity, traders and analysts said, offsetting current weakness and structural downward pressure as the world shifts to cleaner fuels.
Chevron upgrades Pasadena refinery to increase capacity, feedstock and product flexibility
Chevron U.S.A. has completed a retrofit of its refinery in Pasadena, Texas (U.S.), which is expected to increase product flexibility and expand the processing capacity of lighter crudes by nearly 15% to 125,000 bpd.
Digital Feature: A Case Study on achieving visibility into OT cybersecurity policy compliance
This case study details how a U.S.-based Fortune 50 petroleum refiner used PAS Cyber Integrity® to improve OT cybersecurity. By automating asset inventory and vulnerability assessments, the company reduced manual processes, enhanced visibility into cyber risks and improved safety-ultimately saving millions in program costs.
Crude unit at Tupras's Izmir oil refinery expected to restart mid-December
A 151,000-bpd crude unit at the Izmir oil refinery operated by Turkey's Tupras is tentatively expected to restart in mid-December after a fire on Nov. 25.
Taiwan's Formosa operates refinery at reduced rate due to maintenance
Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp. is operating its refinery at a reduced rate of 410,000 bpd due to maintenance at its delayed coker unit (DCU) this month.
Australia's Ampol ends Lytton refinery repairs, provides output forecast
Australia's top fuel retailer Ampol said on Friday it had completed repairs at its fluidized catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) at the Lytton refinery in Queensland, and now expects total production for 2024 to be 5.2 B liters (l).

- LyondellBasell to sell select European petrochemical assets to AEQUITA 6/9
- Shell reports June 4 fire at ethylene cracker plant in Pennsylvania (U.S.) 6/9
- Plug Power, Allied Green Ammonia partner for $5.5-B, 2-GW electrolyzer project to produce SAF, green urea and green diesel 6/9
- Carbon Clean, MODEC to accelerate the scale-up of CycloneCC for offshore carbon capture 6/9
- Ebara Elliott Energy signs high-speed balancing bunker agreement to expand Middle East footprint 6/9
- Rotork joins Rockwell Automation’s Technology Partner Program 6/9