Search | American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers

Refinery Earnings Are Up. Why?

July 11, 2022

The return of fuel demand to pre-pandemic levels and the slower rebound of crude oil and fuel production has created concerns about whether supplies of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel will be sufficient to meet global demand. U.S. refineries are up and running at near maximum utilization. Other major refining countries, for a variety of reasons, have not kept pace bringing their facilities back into operation or resuming sales of fuel to the market. As a result, wholesale fuel prices have increased and so have refinery “crack spreads."

Hurricane Ian: Be Prepared

September 27, 2022

All eyes are on Hurricane Ian, which is expected to approach Florida’s west coast later Wednesday and into Thursday bringing high winds and massive amounts of rain. Although our nation’s refiners and petrochemical manufacturers do not have facilities in the affected region, we’d like to urge the people in the area to prepare for the storm and heed all evacuation notices. Florida residents can get critical preparedness and evacuation information here.

U.S. refinery utilization is the quiet hero in a tight refined product market

March 4, 2023

In a tight refined product market it has been U.S. refiners that have stepped up. Our industry ran full-out for most of 2022 making sure American consumers, our domestic economic centers and our allies had enough gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to keep everyone moving. Our refining sector leads the world in liquid fuel production and is effectively doing more than any other to bring better balance to the global market.

Q&A: Making more sustainable plastics

May 1, 2025

Bridget Confait-Smith is the Associate Director of Research, Innovation, Technology and Global Sustainability with Westlake Corporation.

Q&A: Discussing the largest-of-its-kind solar complex in the United States

October 24, 2024

Pundits and politicians often frame energy technologies like solar generation and liquid fuels as competitors, not companions. But a visit to Flint Hills Resources’ Pine Bend refinery might change their minds.

What Every New Reliability and Maintenance Engineer Should Know

Reliability & Maintenance Bootcamp

Speakers:
Bill Clark, Phillips 66
Dean Roberts, Ergon Refining, Inc.

Join us for the first ever Reliability & Maintenance Bootcamp!

This series is designed for new engineers in reliability and maintenance who seek practical technical skills, hands-on experience, and exposure to real-world scenarios.

Stay informed. Register early for the 2025 Reliability & Maintenance Bootcamp Webinar.

Speakers

Bill Clark

Dean Roberts

Session Start End

Tue, 10/15/2024 - 10:45 - Tue, 10/15/2024 - 11:30

Topic

Reliability & Maintenance Bootcamp

Hands on Technology Demonstrations and Discussions: Exploring Maintenance Scenarios in a Simulated Environment and How Wireless Technology Influences Equipment Monitoring

Reliability & Maintenance Bootcamp

Facilitator:
Bill Clark, Phillips 66

Speakers:
Carlos Acosta, Phillips 66
Abby Esterly, AFPM

Participate in the Bootcamp Technology workshop to explore a simulated potential leak scenario and learn immediate response actions within the initial five minutes. Additionally, discover the benefits of using an acrylic pump to resolve inspection challenges.

This session will help and encourage attendees to:

Understand what good looks like

Increase knowledge on new technology tools

Identify and share good practices

Speakers

Bill Clark

Carlos F. Acosta

Abby Esterly

Session Start End

Tue, 10/15/2024 - 11:45 - Tue, 10/15/2024 - 12:30

Topic

Reliability & Maintenance Bootcamp

PSM: Going Beyond Compliance and Why It Matters

Reliability & Maintenance Bootcamp

Facilitator:
Bill Clark, Phillips 66

Speaker:
Larry Webb, Flint Hills Resources, LLC

We will explore scenarios of when things go wrong, delve into PSM regulations, discuss RAGAGEP (Recognized and Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practices), and emphasize the significance of going beyond compliance.

Participants will learn:

How to move beyond compliance

How to ‘fail safely’

How “risk” can be assessed differently – the importance of different points of view

Speakers

Bill Clark

Larry Webb

Session Start End

Tue, 10/15/2024 - 14:00 - Tue, 10/15/2024 - 14:45

Topic

Reliability & Maintenance Bootcamp

Seeing the Unseen With Motion Amplification Technology

Reliability & Maintenance Bootcamp

Facilitators:
Jaxson O'Brien, CHS Inc.

Speaker:
Paul Barna, RDI Technologies
Vlad Derkach, Flint Hills Resources, LLC

This Bootcamp Technology session will explore and demonstrate the advantages of utilizing motion amplification in a refinery.

Attendees will learn about:

Enhanced visibility

Non contact measurement

Enhanced safety

Portability

Speakers

Jaxson O'Brien

Paul Barna

Vlad Derkach

Session Start End

Tue, 10/15/2024 - 15:00 - Tue, 10/15/2024 - 15:45

Topic

Reliability & Maintenance Bootcamp

OPCO Panel Discussion: How Healthy Is Your MI Program?

Reliability & Maintenance Bootcamp

Facilitators:
Bill Clark, Phillips 66
Jimmy Jernigan, LyondellBasell Industries

Speakers:
Brian Batts, Phillips 66
Keneth Marden, Valero Energy Corporation
David Nixon, LyondellBasell Industries
Brian Novicki, Valero Energy Corporation

This panel of reliability, inspection and operational excellence managers will discuss the scope of healthy MI programs.

Attendees will learn:

What a good MI program looks like

Metrics/KPIs

Audit/assessments

Barriers to a healthy program

Use of technology to improve your program

Speakers