Maintenance & Reliability
Lukoil postpones maintenance of Volgograd refinery unit to 2018
MOSCOW (Reuters) — Russia’s Lukoil has postponed maintenance of hydro-cracking unit at its Volgograd refinery to March or April 2018, three trading industry sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
Reliability: Choices—Treat the symptom or define and eliminate the cause?
In an urgent communication, a paper plant customer reported that the mechanical seals in one of its ANSI pumps were moving axially whenever an unexpected process problem caused the normally liquid pumpage to turn into a thick, odorous gel.
Upgrade the ALARP model as a holistic approach to project risk and decision management
The ALARP (as low as reasonably practicable) model was developed by the UK Health and Safety Executive to establish and justify risk acceptability limits.
FCC collector tray leaks impact column operation
In the collective experience of the authors, one of the most troublesome pieces of refinery fractionation equipment is the collector tray.
Wood Group awarded 5-yr maintenance contract for Phillips 66 refinery
HOUSTON — Wood Group has been awarded a 5-yr, multimillion dollar contract by Phillips 66 to provide supplemental maintenance services and support for small capital construction projects and turnarounds to the Sweeny Refinery, approximately 65 mi southwest of Houston.
XOS launches analyzer for testing critical elements in petroleum refineries
ALBANY, N.Y. — XOS has announced the worldwide release of Petra MAX, a new D4294 analyzer with combined analysis of 13 elements from P to Zn. Petra MAX delivers high-precision sulfur analysis in addition to rapid monitoring of critical elements like Ca, Fe, K, Ni, and V at sub-ppm levels.
S.Korea's GS Caltex shuts heavy oil upgrading unit after fire
SEOUL (Reuters) — GS Caltex, South Korea's second-largest oil refinery, said it has shut a heavy oil upgrading unit after a fire mishap on Thursday.
Rosneft's Tuapse plant suspends oil refining from Aug. 7–10
MOSCOW (Reuters) — Unplanned maintenance works have suspended oil refining at the Tuapse refinery, owned by Russia's largest oil company Rosneft, from Aug. 7–10, data released by the Russian Energy Ministry showed on Wednesday.
Major turnaround at Neste refinery to complete planned production structure change
In mid-August, Neste will begin a two-month shutdown at its refinery in Naantali, Finland. The major turnaround will complete the plan first introduced in 2014 to implement closer integration of the operations of the two Finnish refineries under uniform management. The Finnish refinery operations of Neste consist of four production lines at the Porvoo refinery, and one in Naantali.
Rethinking the risk mitigation process and revitalizing operational safety
For the past 2 yr, oil prices have been in free-fall. At the time of writing, the WTI price is around $50/bbl, up slightly since OPEC’s May 2017 announcement to extend its September 2016 production cut of 2.2%.
- Tasnee's Saudi Ethylene and Polyethylene Co. commences planned maintenance of ethylene plant 1/2
- Advanced Biofuels Canada Association welcomes federal biofuels production incentive coming into force 1/2
- Technip Energies completes acquisition of Ecovyst’s Advanced Materials & Catalysts business 1/2
- Peru opens state-owned Petroperu to private investment after reorganization 1/2
- Brazil's Petrobras cuts jet fuel prices by 9.4% 1/2
- Norway's new car sales were 96% electric in 2025 1/2
