Management

Inspection: Establish an inspection plan for flare burners

Anwer, A., Ruwais

Flares are prominent in hydrocarbon processing operations. From afar, they can be spotted burning with a high or low flame, supported by a tall steel structure

Reliability: A good time to do reliability upgrading from home

Bloch, Heinz P., Hydrocarbon Processing Staff

An experienced writer of technical procedures for many years, “KM” recently gave us a stunning glimpse of the probable volume of “ripe, low-hanging fruit” that still exists in some hydrocarbon processing facilities, ready to be harvested from home.

Shell improves asset management of instrumentation through digital transformation

de Leeuw, V., ARC Advisory Group

In May 2019, ARC Advisory Group hosted a meeting of the European Digital Transformation Council (DTC) in conjunction with the ARC Industry Forum in Barcelona, Spain.

Highlights from a maintenance and reliability audit

Bloch, Heinz P., Hydrocarbon Processing Staff

Staffers in many plants in modern industry are assigned to job functions related to reliability assessment and implementation.

Refinery tower inspections: Discovering problems and preventing malfunctions

Cardoso, R., Phillips 66; Kister H. Z., Fluor Corp.

A previous survey identified installation mishaps to be one of the top five causes of tower malfunctions.

People

The board of directors of Haldor Topsoe A/S has appointed Roeland Baan as new CEO as of June 1.

Maintenance: How to conduct successful turnaround maintenance at refineries

Diacumakos, S., Ingersoll Rand

PricewaterhouseCoopers reports that, since 2014, the oil and gas industry has put off noncritical spending to reduce costs.

Business Trends: The downstream dilemma: Past, present and future of downstream energy

De Vries, A., Global Strategy Consultant; Mohamed, K. F., IHS Markit

The oil industry’s interest in the downstream segment of the business has known ups and downs. This article reviews the past, present and projected future of the downstream sector and its companies.

Safety: Where foresight replaces hindsight: How AI impacts the future of oil and gas safety

Stewart, H., Advisian Digital, part of the Worley Group; Aitken, C., SaltGrid

According to the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP), there were 31 fatal incidents across the industry in 2018.

Consider purpose-driven methods for communicating with engineers

Johnston, G., Laporte Consultants Corp. USA; Shahani, G., ShureLine Construction

Technology has dramatically transformed communication methods and, more importantly, the ways that engineers share information with colleagues and clients.