Hydrocarbon Engineering - July 2020

3 / 76

CONVERSATION
JOIN THE
2020 Member of ABCAudit Bureau of Circulations
Copyright © Palladian Publications Ltd 2020. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. All views expressed in this
journal are those of the respective contributors and are not necessarily the opinions of the publisher, neither
do the publishers endorse any of the claims made in the articles or the advertisements. Printed in the UK.
CONTENTS
THIS
MONTH'S
FRONT
COVER
July 2020 Volume 25 Number 07 ISSN 1468-9340
03 Comment
05 World news
12 Southeast Asia: riding the oil price storm
Ng Weng Hoong, Contributing Editor, examines the effect of
drastic oil price changes on Southeast Asia’s oil industry.
19 Creating a seamless digital patchwork
Duncan Micklem and Andrew McIntee, KBC, a Yokogawa
Company, outline why three words have become
synonymous with digitalisation initiatives and their value:
analytics, connectivity, and collaboration.
22 Hitting a moving target
Scot J. Laney, Elliott Group, USA, presents a targeted
approach to anti-fouling coatings.
27 Getting the most out of compressors
Jeff Monych, Sulzer, USA, looks at the issues that can
impair performance and the most cost-effective solutions
to optimise the performance and reliability of screw
compressors in downstream applications.
31 It only takes a spark
Nigel Philpott, Zeeco, Europe, presents an ignition system
that can be used in process facilities where instantaneous,
safe, and reliable ignition of flare gas is required.
35 Three-point plan
David Ducharme, Advanced Energy, USA, outlines the
top three considerations for flare pilot monitoring in the
downstream industry.
39 High precision
Tom Watson, AMETEK, USA, examines a method to measure
component concentration and monitor Btu values in flaring
operations.
43 Keep costs under control
Troy Davis, Athlon, a Halliburton Service, USA, presents an
overview of how a belt filter press can be optimised to
reduce the cost of solids disposal.
47 Keeping cool
Rainer Haug, Javier Martinez, and Pere Izquierdo,
Kurita Europe, examine a new technique for combatting
biofouling in downstream cooling systems.
51 Level measurement comparison
Phil Deaton, VEGA Americas, looks at the advantages and
disadvantages of differential pressure and guided wave radar
technologies for level measurement in steam boiler drums.
54 Stepping out from the cultural leadership
shadow
Dr Jason Shirley, ECP Energy & Chemical Professionals, UAE,
explains the challenges to and the importance of a suitable
process safety culture.
59 Improving plant and worker safety
Joshua Hernandez and Amanda Alexander, Emerson, explain
how adding new personnel location systems and toxic gas
monitoring functions via existing wireless networks can help
ease implementation and save money.
63 Creating a culture of safety
Craig O’Neill and Steve Beynon, FLIR Systems Inc., USA,
explain how hydrocarbon gas imaging can provide valuable
detail to help ensure personnel safety at refineries.
66 Pumps, valves & seals review
Hydrocarbon Engineering presents an overview of some of
the recent developments and technologies in pumps, valves
and seals for the downstream sector.
An Elliott compressor rotor treated
with protective coating for fouling and
corrosion resistance, and prevention of
corrosion pitting.