Until a few years ago, the term Industrial Revolution referred to the significant technological changes that began in the late 1700s with the advent of the steam engine, leading to the mechanization of work and the unprecedented economic growth and prosperity that followed.
The oil and gas industry is no stranger to the power of Industry 4.0 solutions that aggregate sensor and planning/forecasting data into a single shared view, as well as deliver valuable analytics and real-time alerting capabilities.
As the technology surrounding unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones (FIG. 1), continues to advance, so too do the ways they are used.
Jenny Hebert and George Yaluris of Albemarle accept the HP Award for Best Catalyst Technology.
The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) 2020 regulation has been described as the most disruptive change to impact the oil industry in the past 30 yr.
As the 2020 deadline set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for the implementation of low-carbon shipping regulations inches closer, African refineries are still grappling with the question of how to finance the upgrading of oil processing plants to enable them to produce the required low-sulfur marine fuels and reduce reliance on noncompliant import fuels for powering the region’s shipping industry.
Should the chemical industry be satisfied with its existing safety programs, or is change needed to create a new paradigm?
If a fire, smoke or gas leak is detected in a hydrocarbon processing facility, prescriptive actions must be taken by the fire and gas (F&G) safety system, as well as by the process control system (PCS), to mitigate and control the hazard.
Even for pressure relief valves (PRVs) discharging directly to the atmosphere through short tailpipes, API 520 Part 11 warns that choked flow may develop at the outlet flange, resulting in high backpressure.
Major incidents continue to strike the oil and gas industry at regular intervals.