December 20, 2012:

RICHMOND -- Two metallurgy experts have concluded that metals proposed by Chevron to repair a crude unit burned in an Aug. 6 fire meet industry and local standards. The conclusion was shared at a public meeting in the City Council chamber Wednesday night aimed to make more transparent the permitting process for rebuilding the refinery unit, which burst into flames when a carbon steel pipe more than 30 years old sprung a leak. "It is (our) opinion that Chevron's logic and procedures used in their materials selection process is consistent with industry practices," said Jim McLaughlin, the city's metallurgical consultant, reading a statement provided by David Hendrix, a metallurgical engineering consultant also retained by the city. The finding affirms Chevron's plans to replace the carbon steel piping in the burned unit with 9-Chrome Alloy, which will carry high-temperature, sulfur-containing fuels. But residents, political leaders and environmental watchdog groups criticized the findings as ambiguous and not in compliance with a city resolution approved last month calling on the refinery to use only the "best available technology" in rebuilding the burned unit. Experts from Communities for a Better Environment, a local watchdog group, continue to push for 300-series stainless steel to be used, which they say is a more durable material and more likely to ensure against another accident. CBE members cite a letter to the city from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, an investigatory agency probing the cause of the fire, that suggested stainless steel may be the superior technology.

"The council called for the highest standards, not the minimum standards," said CBE's Andres Soto.

Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, of Richmond, joined those questioning the findings, saying that county air quality and hazardous materials officials could not endorse Chevron's plans because they did not have "sufficient information." Gioia also noted the independent experts' findings did not say conclusively that 9-Chrome provided the "lowest risk ... of a catastrophic event." "I have read these reports carefully," Gioia said. "And the consultants did not (conclude) this."

In his report, McLaughlin said 300 stainless steel may be susceptible to "stress corrosion cracking" that is difficult to detect. 9-Chrome is "immune to that," McLaughlin said. Barbara Smith, a senior manager for Chevron, delivered her own presentation Wednesday, saying 9-Chrome "in this type of service has been validated by internationally recognized and universally adopted engineering and fire-safety standards" used industrywide.

Nine-Chrome "is more expensive on an installed basis than stainless steel pipe, but we made the determination that it was more appropriate for service based on a number of factors," Smith said.

Many in the crowd of more than 200 scoffed during Smith's remarks. During a public comment period, several residents urged the city to fast-track the permits so that work could resume, which they said would support local jobs. The findings by the city's consultants could pave the way for the remaining city building and fire permits to be issued early next month, which would allow Chevron to complete repairs and resume full production of gasoline and other products. The Chemical Safety Board's findings on the fire's cause, maintenance practices and other procedures is also expected to be completed in January.

The Aug. 6 fire occurred when a 5-foot-long section of 8-inch carbon steel pipe carrying high-temperature gas oil sprung a leak, releasing hydrocarbons that soon ignited. The fire resulted in injuries to several workers and sent thousands of residents to hospitals to seek treatment. Chevron has reported that the leak resulted from accelerated sulfidation corrosion, exacerbated by low silicon content in the carbon steel. City Manager Bill Lindsay said Thursday that he did not have a timetable for when the permits would be issued.

By InsideBayArea

December 20, 2012:

While City Manager Bill Lindsay said Wednesday he’s still not ready to issue permits to allow Chevron to begin replacing the pipes that failed in the Aug. 6 fire, the city held a public meeting Wednesday evening to offer information about and a chance to comment on the debate over what type of material to use in the pipes. The meeting came a day after the city’s metallurgical consultants backed the piping material choice proposed by Chevron to repair the No. 4 crude unit at the Richmond Refinery. Jim McLaughlin and David Hendrix were hired to analyze the materials report submitted by Chevron. In letters sent to the City Manager on Tuesday, both agreed that Chevron’s basis for using 9-chrome alloy in the refinery repairs was in compliance with industry standards and fit the requirements of the California Fire Code.

At the meeting Wednesday, County Supervisor John Gioia said that findings from the metallurgical consultants failed to address the more important issue of whether the piping material that Chevron is recommending is the best material to avoid another accident.

The reports are “limited to whether the piping is industry standard and meets the fire code,” he said. “Which is a very different issue from what has the lowest risk to avoid catastrophic failure.” McLaughlin said that he was supporting the use of 9-chrome steel over the 300-series alternative not only because it met industry standards but also because of its immunity to stress corrosion cracking.

By SF Gate

December 20, 2012:

CHENNAI: The November numbers don't bring too much festive cheer for the petroleum industry with refinery throughput down across the public and private sectors. As per the data released by the Petroleum Planning& Analysis Cell, refinery throughput declined by 2.9% in November 2012 compared to October which hit a record high of 18.7 million tonne. The November data shows refinery throughput came down to 18.2 million tonne. Most refineries reported a decline in throughput during the month. Bharat Petroleum's throughput was down 13.1% in November 2012; its Mumbai and Kochi refineries together processed 1.8 million tonne of crude oil as against two million tonne totted up the month before. Refinery throughput for Hindustan Petroleum was down to 1.3 million tonne from 1.4 million tonne in October 2012- down 11.3%. Among the smaller public sector refineries, Chennai Petroleum and Numaligarh refinery reported a 2.2 and 7.9% fall in throughput respectively.

The largest private sector player Reliance Industries saw its throughput come down by 2.1% to 5.8 million tonne. Essar Oil processed 1.6 million tonne of crude oil, down 3.3% over the previous month. Bharat Oman Refineries' Bina refinery processed 2.2% less oil during the month. Its throughput stood at 0.5 million tonne.

By Times of India

December 20, 2012:

The oil and gas refining industry is witnessing a lot of all changes all over the world. Global refining technology is essential for the future of oil and gas refineries worldwide. Fleming Gulf will be highlighting expertise in refinery technology at the 3rd Annual Global Refining Technology Forum in Doha, Qatar.  Refineries play a major role in producing commercial fuel that we use by converting crude oil into heating oils, liquefied petroleum gas, gasoline, kerosene, aviation fuel, diesel fuel etc. Refineries are diversifying their role now as they have to keep in mind the production of biofuels and the increase of heavy oil contents in conventional light oil reserves. According to an article featured on Hydrocarbon Processing, the amount of crude oil passing through refineries all over the world is forecasted to increase in the fourth quarter of 2012. As reported by the International Energy Agency (IEA), China and India are leading the growth in refining. India recorded refining output of 4.5 million barrels per day (bpd), whereas China recorded 9.5 million bpd. In the United States, Ergon Inc. is planning to expand its Vicksburg, Mississippi refinery with an investment of upto $147m. This expansion will help increase the productivity and quality through new lab facilities and development units. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco Total Refinery and Petrochemicals Company - SATORP, a joint venture between Saudi Arabian Oil Company and Total will focus on increasing refining capacity and processing heavy crude from Aramco's Manifa oilfield.

A recent article featured on Oil and Gas Journal's website stated that Saudi Aramco and China's Sinopec entered into a joint venture to form Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company (YASREF), which will hold a refining capacity of 400,000 bpd. YASREF operations will serve the markets of Asia, Middle East, Africa, Europe and the United States. In light of these developments taking place in the refinery industry, Fleming Gulf will be organizing the 3rd Annual Global Refining Technology Forum in Doha, Qatar from 29 April to 1 May. The conference will bring together oil and gas professionals from around the world to discuss the latest developments in the refining industry. The conference will serve as a platform for companies to showcase their latest technologies as well as learn what the other players are working on. The conference will cover topics like key trends and benefits of investing in advanced refining technology, emphasis on quality upgrading of heavy crude oil refining, key drivers for refining and petrochemical integration, ensuring process safety in refineries by implementing latest technologies and many more. Confirmed speakers hail from Borouge, Sulzer Chemtech, Chevron, Saudi Aramco, Petrobras, Kuwait National Petroleum Company, Sasol, Kuwait Oil Company and Indian Oil Corporation among others.

By AME Info.com

December 20, 2012:

KARACHI: Byco Oil Pakistan Limited has announced that the company has completed its oil refinery at Lasbella district, Balochistan, which is the country’s largest and will have the capacity to refine 120,000 barrels of oil per day. According to a press release issued on Wednesday, the refinery is in the pre-commissioning stage as plants and equipment are being checked and tested. Cold circulation of crude oil has already been established and sustained. Also furnaces of different processing units have been test-fired. “The refinery is ready for hot commissioning and start-up,” Byco said. Combined with the existing and fully operative smaller refinery, the cumulative refining capacity of Byco will be over 155,000 barrels per day, 55% higher than the existing largest refinery in Pakistan.

This will enhance overall crude oil refining capacity of the country from existing 12.25 to 18 million tons per year and will significantly contribute to reducing import of refined petroleum products. In his comments, Byco Oil CEO Qaiser Jamal stated, “This milestone, for sure, has been made possible with sheer hard work of our employees and support and cooperation of all our contractors.”  Byco said along with the new refinery, whose capacity can be expanded to 180,000 bpd, the country’s first isomerisation plant was also being started. Isomerisation technology will not only enable the refinery to produce higher volumes of motor gasoline to meet demand, but this will be the first environment-friendly motor gasoline. First parcel of crude oil for the refinery will arrive at the single-point mooring 10 km into the Arabian Sea, for direct discharge to the refinery’s storage tanks. With an investment of over $600 million, Byco also operates a petroleum marketing network comprising 222 retail outlets.

Amir Abbassciy, CEO of Byco Industries Incorporated said, “These are the first significant steps towards achieving our aim to be an integrated oil to chemicals and related infrastructure business.”

By The Express Tribune