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.
In April, ExxonMobil launched its 2018 Basestocks Industry Pulse Report.
According to multiple industry reports, the global refining sector will add between 7 MMbpd and 8 MMbpd of new crude distillation unit (CDU) capacity by the early 2020s.
According to Hydrocarbon Processing’s Construction Boxscore Database, there are nearly 470 active refining projects around the globe.
Readers have witnessed that throughout the life of the publication, Hydrocarbon Processing has always published information on new technologies to increase efficiency, safety and profitability in downstream processing operations, while introducing techniques to decrease environmental footprint and emissions and produce high-quality, clean fuels and petroleum products for consumers around the world.
Recent storage tank and industrial plant explosions around the world bring into focus the importance of engineering and building standards.