• How to increase petrochemical yield of refinery operations?
  • We see three ways for players to increase the petrochemical yield of refinery operations: change individual process units, change the mix of process units, or build more direct crude-to-chemicals plants. The individual process unit that receives the most attention is the fluid catalytic cracker (FCC), the longtime workhorse of refining.
  • How do refiners shift product yield to petrochemical feedstock?
  • Beyond individual unit changes, refiners can further shift their product yield toward petrochemical feedstock by changing the mix and arrangement of refinery process units. A typical modern refinery employs dozens of process technologies, each focused on a different product yield.
  • Are refineries ready for the future?
  • Unfortunately, Couch said that even the most advanced plants today are not ready for the future because information is not typically presented in a form that enables the most economic operation every minute of every day. A typical refinery has three shifts of operating teams, and each has its own opinion of what works best.
  • How can the refinery of the future maintain sustainable profitability?
  • Finally, capital invested in the plant must generate attractive returns to maintain high profitability and secure capital for future investment. To maintain sustainable profitability, the Refinery of the Future must respond quickly to changing market conditions, switching from one product slate to another as profit margins change.
  • How do refiners become sustainable and integrated with petrochemicals?
  • Driven by the endless quest to capture more value from every drop of oil, many refiners aim to become sustainable, connected and integrated with petrochemicals. But the path they take to get there is unique to each refinery and defined by staged capital investments over a period of time.
  • How many crude oil refineries are there in the world?
  • At the end of 2018, there were 615 crude oil refineries in the world, with a combined refining capacity of roughly 92 million barrels per day (bpd) 17. This equates to an average single refinery, based on crude oil processed, having a capacity of about 150,000?bpd, or about 20,700?tons per day (based on 7.25 barrels per ton).