Survey responses will be reviewed surrounding crude and coker unit production, covering a wide range of topics to include operations, technology, reliability/maintenance, digitalization.
Facilitators:
Hector Gamboa-Arizpe, CITGO
Steve Williams, Marathon Petroleum Company
Successfully processing a changing crude diet can be a challenge from the tank farm through distillation. Upsets and performance reductions lead to processing cost penalties downstream, loss of production, and environmental impacts through greater emissions and brine water quality issues. Optimizing the design, operational parameters and chemical injection schema from crude receipts through the hot train can minimize these cost penalties and ensure performance is maintained.
Facilitators:
Greg Cantley, Marathon
Jeff Zurlo, Veolia
Corrosion types, mechanisms, and areas impacted will be examined. Additionally, corrosion related to triazines in the crude oil and potential mitigation practices will be discussed.
Facilitator: Harold Eggert, Haliburton
Speakers:
John Acord, Marathon Petroleum Corporation
Amit Patel, Phillips 66
Net Zero CO2 emissions by 2050 will require large investments in the oil industry on technologies. New technologies must be developed to reach the target but still need to scale up and mature. Improving the performance of Existing Assets will contribute to reduce the impact on carbon footprint now and advancements in cleaning techniques can restore more lost heat transfer more efficiently than traditional methods.
Petroval will discuss technologies to preserve heat transfer by maintaining clean surfaces further into the run, while Clean as New will discuss the varying benefits & limitations of techniques to restore lost heat transfer from fouling.
Facilitators:
Sam Lordo, Becht
Jacob Young, Petroval
Speakers:
Nicolas Aubin, Petroval
Roberto Tomotaki, Clean as New
Many refiners are processing larger volumes of attractively priced unconventional crudes produced from fracking operations. Contain polymers and other additives that upstream processors are often used to enhance oil recovery or address hydraulic limitations in their operations. These additives can disrupt refining unit operations such as Crude Desalters or restrict the ability of the refiner to meet key product specifications such as JFTOT or NACE Spindle Corrosion test.
Facilitator: Sam Lordo, Becht
Speakers:
Bob Falkiner, Becht
Wesley Teasdale, Halliburton Multi-Chem
Processing crudes from different sources leaves the possibility of blending incompatible mixtures. Compatibility models uses correlations to estimate the potential to create incompatible mixtures. Understanding the potential for compatibility effects without physically testing the crude provides the ability to choose the crude mix and purchase it while the market factors are favorable and the ability to safely purchase distressed cargos. The paper will discuss the basis of model correlations and the application to actual blends.
The federal government is considering levying a range of tariffs on products imported into the United States, potentially including a 25% blanket tariff on all items imported from our North American neighbors, Canada and Mexico. If such tariffs were to include crude oil and refined products, the consequences could be significant.
About 60% of the crude oil that runs through U.S. refineries is extracted right here at home. However, our refineries run on many different types of crude oil, some of which we don’t produce here or can’t economically transport. In those cases, we use imports.
There are hundreds of varieties of crude oil around the world. Different types of oil require different refining processes to make the fuels we need in the quantities we need. Many American refineries need heavier crudes than what is largely produced in the United States.
This presentation will focus on the key performance indicators (KPIs) essential for optimizing delayed coker unit operations. It will examine the influence of feed properties on coke quality and heater fouling, while highlighting strategies to improve heater performance and maximize coke drum capacity utilization. Particular emphasis will be placed on minimizing coke drum outages and optimizing cycle time management to enhance unit throughput and reliability. The discussion will also address fractionator and gas plant performance, with a focus on maximizing liquid recovery, as well as evaluating blowdown system. Collectively, these KPIs provide a comprehensive framework for driving operational excellence and improving overall coker profitability.
