Hot spots – localized areas of overheating in pressure equipment – can lead to deformation or even loss of process containment. It is important to understand the effects of elevated temperature caused by hot spots on the mechanical integrity of equipment.

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Summertime requires refiners to push even harder on certain equipment, such as the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU), alkylation unit, and reformers to be able to meet increased demand. Warmer ambient temperatures can negatively affect process units in many different ways. Effectively managing these temperatures can save operators time and money during the heat of summertime operations.

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Sinopec has begun construction of a 4.2-million-tonnes per year catalytic cracking unit at the Sino-Kuwait Guangdong refinery project, the company newspaper said on Friday. Sinopec expects to complete the cracking project sometime in September of this year.

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Total SA may restart the gasoline-producing unit at its 225,500-barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery by midweek, Gulf Coast market sources said on Monday.

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PBF Energy plans to complete the shutdown of the gasoline-producing cat cracker at its 190,000 bpd Chalmette, Louisiana, refinery by the weekend, sources familiar with plant operations said on Tuesday.

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Several major U.S. Gulf Coast refineries were restarting operations on Wednesday as temperatures warmed following record lows across the region overnight, freezing instrumentation and snapping power lines, according to refining sources.

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Indian Oil Corp has shut the fluidized catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) at its 300,000 bpd Paradip refinery, a company spokesman said. The FCCU was shut after a fire broke out at a nearby facility at about 1100 hours local time.

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Optimal cleaning to an "inspection clean" status ensures operational efficiency and a longer duration between heat exchanger cleaning requirements. Fouling left behind after inadequate cleaning activities will attract additional fouling at a greater pace once put back into service, leading to reduced heat transfer and a negative impact on production.

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Royal Dutch Shell Plc has canceled a plan to permanently close the gasoline-producing unit at its 227,586 barrel-per-day (bpd) Convent, Louisiana, oil refinery, two sources familiar with plant operations said on Thursday.

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Total SA expects production soon from its 225,500-barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, which has been shut since an Aug. 30 power outage during Tropical Storm Harvey

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Royal Dutch Shell Plc plans to begin permanently shuttering the gasoline-producing unit at its 227,586 barrel-per-day (bpd) Convent, Louisiana refinery in January 2018, said sources familiar with the company's plans on Thursday. Shell has rescheduled planned repairs on the heavy-oil hydrocracking unit (HCU) from spring 2018 to summer of that year

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Today, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) released its final report into the February 18, 2015, explosion at the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, California. The blast caused serious property damage to the refinery and scattered catalyst dust up to a mile away from the facility into the nearby community. The incident caused the refinery to be run at limited capacity for over a year, raising gas prices in California and costing drivers in the state an estimated $2.4 billion.

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Phillips 66's 66,000 bpd refinery in Billings, Montana is currently undergoing a massive turnaround, with plans for major maintenance, unit replacements, and upgrades to enable it to process more heavy crude oil.

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Facilities are facing increasing challenges, including justifying inflated budgets, managing contractor hours, ensuring regulatory compliance and qualifying the work being completed. To help facilities manage evolving inspection requirements, PinnacleART offers Fixed-Price Inspection (FPI), meaning we will develop and execute a comprehensive Risk-Based Inspection plan for one fixed-price. Yes, you read that right – one fixed-price.

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Operations at the alkylation unit at Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA's El Palito refinery resumed on Sunday, according to the refinery's Twitter account.

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Exxon Mobil Corp plans to overhaul a gasoline producing unit and the hydrocracker at its 560,500 barrel per day (bpd) Baytown, Texas, refinery in March...

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Gazprom Neft has opened an engineering center for the testing of secondary-refining catalysts in Omsk. Russia’s first ever pilot facility for catalytic cracking has begun work within the center, allowing catalysts to be tested...

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Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s 285,500-barrel-per-day (bpd) joint-venture Deer Park, Texas, refinery plans to restart the gasoline unit on Wednesday after repairing thin piping found last week at the end of a planned overhaul, sources familiar with plant operations said.

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BASF has introduced a new patented Portable Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) Catalyst Addition System for Refinery Catalysts. This new system allows refineries to conduct catalyst and Co-Catalyst trials, while minimizing the potential risks of changing to a new catalyst.

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How long does it take for you to receive reports after an inspection has been completed? A week? A month? Does the data come from multiple sources with no way of knowing if it has been manipulated? Traditional inspection contractors do not have the ability to provide reliable and real-time data once an inspection is complete. The only way to ensure accurate, reliable data is with technology.

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Royal Dutch Shell Plc's joint-venture 285,500 barrel-per-day (bpd) Deer Park, Texas, refinery began a planned overhaul on Monday of the gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit, said sources familiar with plant operations.

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A catalytic cracking unit at Petroleos de Venzuela's (PDVSA) 955,000 bpd Paraguaná Refinery Complex was reportedly taken offline on Tuesday following an mechanical issue with a valve.

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Motiva Enterprises' 235,000 barrel per day (bpd) Convent, Louisiana refinery plans a partial restart of the heavy oil hydrocracking unit (HCU) by year-end, but full production is not expected to return before fall 2017 as repairs are made from an Aug. 11 fire, Gulf Coast market sources said on Monday.

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French oil and gas company Total has shut down the fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) at its 102,000 bpd Grandpuits Refinery for maintenance, a company spokesman said.

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Torrance Refining Co., the 155,000 bpd southern California refinery PBF Energy recently acquired from ExxonMobil, has been forced to shut down this week after a series of equipment failures struck the facility following a software update.

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Marathon Petroleum reportedly experienced an upset in a fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) this week at the company's 451,000 bpd Galveston Bay refinery.

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