Professional Documents
Culture Documents
SUNDAY
36:30 p.m. Registration/Badge Pick up
5:306:30 p.m. Q&A Kickoff Networking Event
MONDAY
7 a.m.6:30 p.m. Registration
88:55 a.m. General Session
Presentation of the Lifetime Service Awards:
RecipientJ.W. Bill Wilson, refining advisor-FCC,
BP Products North America
Keynote Address: James M. Stump, vice president,
refining operations, HollyFrontier Corp.
910 a.m. Plant Automation: Keynote Address
Climate change, Steven Sondergard, refinery manager,
Sinclair Oil Corp., and author of Climate Balance:
A Balanced and Realistic View of Climate Change
9 a.m.12 p.m. Principles and Practices: Measurement and
Instrumentation Q&A: Gasoline Processes
Panelists: Patrick Bullen, UOP, LLCA Honeywell Company;
Ronald Gropp, GE Water & Process Technologies; Craig Meldrum,
Phillips 66; Eric Streit, KBC Advanced Technologies, Inc.
1010:15 a.m. Coffee Break
10:15 a.m.12 p.m. Plant Automation: The Great Shift Change
Asset Virtualization, Paul Oberle and David Reinhart, INOVx
Gray 2K: The Great Shift Change, Blair Morgan, Innovatia
Steam System Management: A Case Study in Procedural
Automation, Doug White, Emerson Process Management
122 p.m. Lunch in Exhibit Hall
23:30 p.m. Plant Automation: Risk Management
Real Time Process Safety Risk Monitoring,
Emerson Process Management
Improving Safety and Communication with Industrial
Wireless at a Leading Chemical Facility, Chris Witte,
BASF Fina Petrochemicals
25:15 p.m. Principles and Practices: Gasoline Processes
Q&A: Hydroprocessing
Panelists: David Gates, Motiva Enterprises; Glenn Liolios,
DuPont; Danna Sharpe, Flint Hills Resources, LP;
Rajesh Sivadasan, UOP LLCA Honeywell Company;
Montri Vichailak, Criterion Catalysts & Technologies;
Brian Watkins, Advanced Refining Technologies
3:303:45 p.m. Refreshment break
3:455:15 p.m. Plant Automation: Risk Management
Management of ChangeFor More than Just Process Safety,
David Drerup, Operational Sustainability
Lessons from Surviving a 300 gbps Denial of Service Attack,
Matthew Prince, CloudFlare, Inc.
5:156:30 p.m. Reception in Exhibit Hall
SCHEDULE OF SESSIONS
AND SPECIAL EVENTS
Publisher
Bret Ronk
Editor
Billy Thinnes
Billy.Thinnes@GulfPub.com
Production Manager
Angela Bathe
AFPM Contacts
Rebecca Adler
Diana Cronan
Sandra Garcia
Contributing Editors
Adrienne Blume
Ben DuBose
Stephany Romanow
2 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1020
Houston, TX 77252-77046
713-529-4301
Advertisers:
AFPM ................................................... 19
Albemarle ............................................ 11
Alfa Laval ............................................... 8
Baker Hughes ...................................... 10
BASF ................................................... 20
Cameron .............................................. 13
Criterion Catalysts & Technologies ....... 14
Grace ..................................................... 1
Haldor Topse ........................................ 9
Johnson Matthey ................................... 2
Linde ................................................... 15
UOP ....................................................... 7
www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Published by Hydrocarbon Processing
as three daily editions, October 6/7,
October 8 and as an electronic edition on
October 9. If you wish to advertise in this
newspaper, or to submit a press release,
please contact the editor via email
at Billy.Thinnes@GulfPub.com.
2013 Q&A AND
TECHNOLOGY FORUM
NEWS IN BRIEF
4 Sunday/Monday, October 6/7, 2013 American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers | 2013 Q&A and Technology Forum
Mark Adams, HollyFrontier Corp. is a senior eco-
nomics and planning engineer for HollyFrontier in
Dallas where he does economic analysis, short-term
and strategic planning, project evaluation and plan-
ning process improvement. He received a master of
arts degree in economics from The University of
Texas-San Antonio, an MBA degree from The Univer-
sity of Houston-Clear Lake, and a BS degree in
mechanical engineering from Michigan Technologi-
cal University.
Jeff Bull, Valero Energy Corp. is the senior manager
of refinery models in San Antonio, Texas. He is
responsible for leading the effort to build and main-
tain kinetic models and refinery flowsheets to sup-
port unit monitoring, short and long term planning
and process studies across Valeros refining system.
He holds a BSChE degree from Case Western
Reserve University and has over 20 years of experi-
ence in the refining industry.
Patrick Bullen, UOP is manager of the technology
service gasoline group in the technical service
department of UOP. He holds a BSChE degree with a
minor in chemistry from the University of Delaware.
David Gates, Motiva Enterprises is a process engi-
neering manager for Motiva Enterprises in Convent,
Louisiana. He leads a technical team in support of
refinery process safety management, technical
assurance, project identification, catalyst manage-
ment, operations technical monitoring and turn-
around support. He has worked in refineries in North
and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Mr.
Gates holds a BSChE degree from Iowa State Univer-
sity of Science and Technology.
Steve Gim, Technip Stone and Webster, is a man-
ager of financial and technology valuation for Tech-
nip Stone and Webster. He oversees the process
modeling group for the refining technologies division
and holds a BSChE degree from the University of
Texas and a MBA degree from Rice University.
Ronald Gropp, GE Water & Process Technologies
is the fuel additives leader at GE Water & Process
Technologies Center of Excellence in The Wood-
lands, Texas. He leads a team responsible for techni-
cal applications support and marketing for GEs fuel
additive and H2S abatement programs. Mr. Gropp
holds a BS-ME degree from the University of Texas
at Austin and has over 31 years of experience in the
hydrocarbon production and processing industries.
Jon Herlevich, Jr., Marathon Petroleum Co. is the technical services
department manager for Marathon Petroleum Co. at the Detroit, Michigan,
refinery where he is responsible for the refinery optimization, process design
engineering and process control teams. He holds MSChE and BSChE degrees
from Michigan Technological University.
Steve Hodges, Athlon is the director of marketing and strategic accounts
for the company. He joined Athlon when it was spun off after the Champion
Technologies merger in 2013 and he now oversees both the global market-
ing and strategic accounts units. Mr. Hodges received a BSChE degree from
the University of Texas.
Catherine Inkim, PETROTRIN
Jeff Koebel, Grace Catalysts Technologies worked
for a process licensor for 14 years. During that time,
he engaged in a variety of roles related to the FCC
process, including design engineering and technical
service. Mr. Koebel joined Grace in 2004 and works
with customers in North America to optimize FCC
unit operations. He has BS degree in mechanical
engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign.
Mel Larson , KBC Advanced Technologies
Glenn Liolios, DuPont is the global business man-
ager for DuPont with over 35 years of experience in
technology licensing in the petroleum refining indus-
try. He focuses on building multi-cultural technical,
sales and business teams and providing leadership
and strategic direction for global licensing busi-
nesses. Mr. Liolios has authored numerous papers in
the refining industry and is a recipient of the 2008
Lifetime Service Award.
2013 AFPM Q&A AND TECHNOLOGY FORUM PANELIST BIOS
2013 Q&A and Technology Forum | American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers Sunday/Monday, October 6/7, 2013 5
Craig Meldrum, Phillips 66 is a principal engineer
in the refining technical services department based
in Houston, Texas. He has been the alkylation net-
work lead for the past six years and also has duties
as a principle advisor with the reforming and isom-
erization networks. Mr. Meldrum holds a BSChE
degree from the University of Utah, a MBA degree
from Colorado State University and is a professional
engineer in New Mexico.
Phil Pribnow, CITGO Petroleum Corp. is an area
manager of the cracking department at CITGO Petro-
leums refinery in Lemont, Illinois. Mr. Pribnow holds
a BSChE degree from the University of Purdue and
has over 18 years of experience in the refining
industry.
Danna Sharpe, Flint Hills Resources i s a
hydrotreater subject matter expert for Flint Hills
Resources in Corpus Christi, Texas. She is respon-
sible for technical support of operations, process
safety management and catalyst selection. Ms.
Sharpe also mentors operations engineers. She
holds a BSc degree from Texas A&I University.
Bob Shenkle, Flint Hills Resources provides pro-
cess engineering support to the Flint Hills Resources
refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, for the crude, coker,
SRU, and ULSD hydrotreater area and is currently the
refinery optimization lead. Mr. Shenkle is a graduate
of Montana State University with a BSChE degree.
Rajesh Sivadasan, UOP is a senior technology specialist for UOP in Amster-
dam, The Netherlands. He has over 15 years of experience in the hydropro-
cessing area and is responsible for providing technical services to licensees
and customers in the EMEA region. Mr. Sivadasan holds a BSChE degree
from Kerala University.
Andrew Sloley, CH2M Hill
Srini Srivatsan, Foster Wheeler USA is a process
manager for heavy oils and coking technology. In this
role, he provides input for optimizing overall unit
design by finalizing design parameters and assess-
ing technical risks. While at Foster Wheeler, Mr.
Srivatsan has worked on a number of delayed coking
projects (both grass roots and revamps). He has a
MSChE degree from Oklahoma State University.
Eric Streit, KBC Advanced Technologies is a senior
staff consultant. He specializes in the hydrotreating
and naphtha reforming areas and has experience in
crude distillation, steam-methane reforming, hydro-
cracking and utilities. He has expertise in process
modeling and has developed many unit-specific and
full-refinery process simulations for use in opportu-
nity identification and evaluation. Mr. Streit holds a
BSChE degree from Texas Tech University.
Montri Vichailak, Marathon Petroleum Co.
Brian Watkins, ART
2013 AFPM Q&A AND TECHNOLOGY FORUM PANELIST BIOS
Yokogawa Electric Corp. recently released an
enhanced version of the companys fagship pro-
duction control system platform, CENTUM VP
R5.03. Yokogawa is continuously developing
CENTUM VP as the foundation of its IA business
VigilantPlant vision for operational excellence.
New features in the CENTUM VP R5.03 up-
date are integrative and intuitive:
A wide-area communication router enables
a CENTUM VP system to remotely monitor and
control equipment over a wide-area network. The
router enables reliable, secure and inexpensive
monitoring and control of widely distributed fa-
cilities, such as the production platforms in deep-
water offshore oil and gas production; pumping
and compressor station controls along pipelines;
and wellhead, gathering treatment and separation
facilities in shale oil and gas onshore felds.
The CENTUM VP R5.03 batch package is
based on ISA-88 and has enhanced functions that
allow greater fexibility when accommodating
changes in production procedures. The number of
operating procedures has been increased, and the
recipe procedure has been provided with addition-
al levels of granularity, simplifying the process of
making recipe changes. CENTUM VP R5.03 is
ideal for companies that employ complex batch
production processes and are engaged in special-
ty chemicals, pharmaceuticals and foods.
The platform supports the IEC 61850 com-
munication protocol, enabling it to integrate data
from intelligent electrical devices. This allows
better integration with the electrical equipment in
process plants, eliminates the need for multiple
systems in the plant, and enables the monitoring
of electrical energy in process plants, enabling
better plant energy management.
A new keyboard has been released with sets
of dedicated function keys that can be used to
simultaneously adjust eight control loops. This
keyboard has been designed to make it easier for
plant operators to perform tasks.
ENHANCED CENTUM SOFTWARE RELEASED
6 Sunday/Monday, October 6/7, 2013 American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers | 2013 Q&A and Technology Forum
Achieve maximum FCC profitability
with unconventional feeds
The North American refning industry has been
revitalized by the boom in production of domes-
tic, unconventional oils and natural gas. The de-
livery of crude by rail has opened up new markets
not only for shale or tight oils but also for other
unconventional feed stocks such as condensates,
waxes and oil sands. While the industry undergoes
a renaissance, the new feeds present challenges as
well as opportunities. The new crudes can be high-
ly paraffnic and lower molecular weight than con-
ventional feeds. Many refners report that while
they are beneftting from favorable crude prices
they often are struggling to keep downstream pro-
cess units full. The fuid catalytic cracking unit
(FCCU) may have spare capacity due to insuff-
cient vacuum gas oil (VGO) and resid yield from
the crude unit. At low FCC utilization rates, the
alkylation unit can be unconstrained, leading to an
octane shortage.
Unconstrained downstream units are one of
the many challenges faced by refners processing
unconventional crudes. Unconventional oils can
vary widely in composition. Receiving crude in
batches via rail, truck or barge can result in FCC
feed changing rapidly over the course of weeks
or even days. The lighter shale oils can result in
refnery imbalances. To increase utilization rates,
heavier crudes may be blended with lighter tight
oils, resulting in barbell crude, which has high
levels of material boiling at each end of the boil-
ing point curve, but little in the middle, reducing
VGO yield for the FCC. Some refners have even
tried to charge whole crude to the FCCU in order
to boost utilization rates, to the detriment of other
key yields such as FCC naphtha octane.
At the FCCU, the challenges range from dif-
fculty maintaining heat balance when the feed is
very light to unexpected coke make when con-
taminant metals rise rapidly. When operating
with light feeds, the FCC may become circulation
constrained due to low regenerator temperatures.
Refners have reported spikes of both conven-
tionalsodium (Na), nickel (Ni) and vanadium
(V)and unconventional metalsiron (Fe) and
calcium (Ca)when processing shale oil. Na and
V deactivate zeolite and suppress activity; Ni pro-
motes dehydrogenation reactions, leading to high
gas and coke make. Fe and Ca deposit on the cata-
lyst surface and prevent feed from reaching ac-
tive sites, leading to a lower conversion and an
increase in coke and bottoms. To maximize proft-
ability with rapidly changing feed quality, catalyst
fexibility is key.
Graces broad FCC catalyst portfolio can effec-
tively alleviate the risk associated with unconven-
tional feedstocks. Increasing catalyst activity, via
zeolite or rare-earth exchange can relieve a circu-
lation constraint and restore the heat balance to a
comfortable level. Increasing regenerator tempera-
ture via catalyst severity is preferred over use of
torch oil, which can cause localized hot spots and
accelerate catalyst deactivation. Catalyst severity
can be increased through higher catalyst addition or
with a more active fresh catalyst.
Conventional metal impacts are well under-
stoodmetal traps and high stability zeolites can
offset the negative impacts of Ni, V, and Na. ZSM-
5 based additives, such as Grace OlefnsUltra, can
be used to boost octane, but the associated yield of
propylene is not always desirable. A more desir-
able solution is to boost zeolite isomerization ac-
tivity within the catalyst to selectively increase the
yield of FCC butylene and iso-butane and keep the
alky unit full. Moreover, high-porosity matrix is
critical to mitigate the negative impacts of Fe and
Ca poisoning.
Robust functionality is absolutely critical for
processing unconventional feeds. Graces newest
FCC catalyst family Achieve is designed to provide
the fexibility to meet the challenges associated
with processing these new hydrocarbon sources.
Achieve features an optimized matrix technology
to provide coke-selective bottoms cracking espe-
cially in high metals environments, without a coke
or gas penalty. The high diffusivity matrix is based
Graces successful Midas technology, which has
been commercially proven to be more iron toler-
ant than competitive offerings. Achieve FCC cata-
lyst is also formulated with ultra-stable zeolite that
will retain activity in the face of contaminant met-
als spikes. Achieve catalyst can be tailored over
a range of rare-earth exchange levels and isom-
erization activities, to deliver an optimal balance
of LPG to gasoline yield and an optimum level of
butylenes to keep the alky unit full and maintain
refnery pool octane. Moreover, Achieve FCC cata-
lyst contains best-in-industry metals traps for Ni
and V, which are highly effective to minimize coke
and gas formation.
Finally, an equally critical component to mini-
mizing risks and challenges associated with pro-
cessing unconventional feeds is solid technical
service support. Grace has been providing indus-
try-leading technical service to the refning indus-
try since 1947. Grace retains qualifed, experienced
engineers to support FCC customers by providing
application and operations expertise, as well as
start-up and optimization assistance and industry
benchmarking. With the backing of advanced R&D
facilities and high throughput testing labs, Graces
technical service team can help you assess poten-
tial challenges before they occur in your FCCU via
feed characterization and pilot plant studies. Un-
derstanding feed impacts earlier allows opportu-
nity to optimize the operating parameters and cata-
lyst management strategies, enabling a more stable
and proftable operation.
Achieve maximum proftability with the latest
offering from Grace, the leading FCC catalyst sup-
plier in the world.
technology.
The new TK-609 HyBRIM catalyst designed for hydrocracker pretreat service
and high pressure Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel is 40% more active for both sulfur
and nitrogen removal compared to our current BRIM
catalysts. The higher
activity can be used to:
Achieve longer cycles at the same feed rate
Process tougher feeds
Increase volume swell
Increase throughput
Improved protability from new HyBRIM
catalyst technology
40% activity increase
with Haldor Topsoe's new TK-609 HyBRIM
catalyst
TOPSOE.COM
One solution available is to add
wireless temperature and differential
pressure measurements for online pro-
cess conditions throughout the crude
unit heat exchanger train. Wireless
technology has considerably lowered
cost barriers to implementation, mak-
ing it easy to implement and monitor
the condition or health of process
equipment, not just heat exchangers
but also process pumps, control valves,
and other assets. However, having the
process measurements online is just
the frst step. There still needs to be
analysis of the data, alerts (awareness)
and, fnally, action. The action for heat
exchangers is to identify when there
is accelerated fouling, and when it
makes sense to clean a heat exchanger
bundle based on cleaning costs versus
additional fuel use in the fred heater
downstream. Some refners have in-
stalled block and bypass valves to al-
low tube bundle cleaning without shut-
ting down, but might have to cut back
on production. Typically refners will
need to reduce throughput and wait
to clean until the next scheduled turn-
around when the fred heater is limited,
unless the fouling is severe enough to
warrant a shutdown for cleaning.
When faced with selecting an as-
set management strategy, the ideal
approach for increased availability
and minimal maintenance costs is an
automated monitoring strategyone
that provides online indication of an
assets health (FIG. 2). Online indica-
tion of asset health provides advanced
warning and allows enough time for
spare equipment to be safely brought
online, eliminating process upsets,
off-spec product and safety incidents
that result from an unexpected trip.
Advanced warning arms maintenance
staff with the information they need to
determine when servicing is necessary
to prevent a failure, even on assets
that do not have spares. An automated
monitoring strategy can bring asset
management where it is needed: to
the crude unit process engineer, turn-
around manager, reliability engineer
or maintenance superivisor.
Manual data collection in the feld
can be minimized (FIG. 3). This is
important for the crude unit heat ex-
changer train as many refners use an
infrared temperature indicator where
metal is exposed, which can introduce
error if it is not always measured at the
right place, or may have to use a step
ladder around hot heat exchnagers to
use a handheld thermocouple in avail-
able empty thermowells. The latter
provides more accurate temperatures,
but generates a higher probability of
a safety incident. Also, those refners
using a differential pressure survey
require opening and closing available
access points which may not always
close properly after usea potential
for leaks. Also, these manual checks
may not be done unless there is sus-
picion of accelerated fouling or just
prior to a turnaround to determine
which tube bundles should be pulled
for cleaning. The better option is to
have online measurements, automated
analysis, and automated alerts for ab-
normal operation. Those solutions are
available today with the use of added
wireless process measurements with
monitoring and analysis software.
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Controlling parafn buildup in barges, tanks,
and pipelines mitigates HSE risk and reduces
operating disruptions by minimizing the need
for pigging and cleaning services.
Contact Baker Hughes today to nd out
how we can help you reduce transportation
and storage costs and improve your
renery economics.
Cut the parafn in
shale oil, not the prot
bakerhughes.com/shaleoilprocessing
Technology converts syngas directly to fuels
Primus Green Energys proprietary
STG+ technology combines and im-
proves upon prior commercially prov-
en methanol synthesis and methanol-
to-gasoline (MTG) processes into a
single-loop process that converts syn-
thesis gas (syngas) directly to gaso-
line. The STG+ process promises to
be more effcient, less expensive to
build, and more scalable than other
technologies for converting syngas to
gasoline. In addition to the gasoline
product, the STG+ process can pro-
duce jet fuel, diesel and high-value
chemicals with simple changes to the
catalysts and operating conditions.
How STG+ technology works.
The Primus STG+ technology con-
verts syngas to liquid fuels through
a proprietary catalytic thermochemi-
cal process that minimizes complex-
ity, improves product quality and
increases yield. The technology con-
verts more than 35% of syngas by
mass, or more than 70% by mass of
natural gas, into liquid fuelswhich
is the highest documented conversion
effciency in the industry. The plus
in STG+ stands for the multiple end
products yielded by the process. FIG. 1
shows a schematic diagram of the Pri-
mus STG+ process.
The Primus STG+ process follows
four principal steps in one continuous
process loop. This process comprises
four fxed-bed reactors in series, in
which a syngas is converted to a high-
octane synthetic gasoline:
Reactor 1 (methanol synthesis):
Syngas is fed to Reactor 1, the frst of
four reactors, which converts most of
the syngas (CO and H
2
) to methanol
(CH
3
OH) when passing through the
catalyst bed.
Reactor 2 (dimethyl ether syn-
thesis): The methanol-rich gas from
Reactor 1 is next fed to Reactor 2, the
second STG+ reactor. The methanol
is exposed to a catalyst and much
of it is converted to dimethyl ether
(DME), which involves dehydra-
tion from methanol to form DME
(CH
3
OCH
3
).
Reactor 3 (gasoline synthesis):
The Reactor 2 product gas is next
fed to Reactor 3, the third reactor
containing the catalyst for conver-
sion of DME to hydrocarbons includ-
ing paraffns (alkanes), aromatics,
naphthenes (cycloalkanes) and small
amounts of olefns (alkenes), mostly
from C
6
(number of carbon atoms in
the hydrocarbon molecule) to C
10
.
Reactor 4 (gasoline treatment):
The fourth reactor provides transal-
kylation and hydrogenation treatment
to the products from Reactor 3. The
treatment reduces durene (tetrameth-
ylbenzene)/isodurene and trimethyl-
benzene components that have high
freezing points and must be minimized
in gasoline. As a result, the synthetic
gasoline product has high octane and
desirable viscometric properties.
Separator: Finally, the mixture
from Reactor 4 is condensed to obtain
gasoline. The noncondensed gas and
gasoline are separated in a conven-
tional condenser/separator, which is
the far right element in FIG. 1. Most of
the noncondensed gas from the prod-
uct separator becomes recycle gas
and is sent back in the feedstream to
Reactor 1, leaving the synthetic gaso-
line product comprising paraffns,
aromatics and naphthenes.
The advantages of STG+ tech-
nology. The STG+ process has sev-
eral advantages over other gas-to-liq-
uids (GTL) technologies, including
higher yield, lower capital and op-
erating costs, reduced process com-
plexity and higher product quality. In
addition, the STG+ technology can
use fexible feedstocks and produce
multiple products.
Syngas is produced by several
commercially available technologies
from a wide variety of feedstocks
(e.g., natural gas, biomass and munic-
ipal solid waste). The STG+ process
can also produce different products,
such as jet fuel, diesel and chemicals,
in addition to gasoline, by simply
changing the catalysts and operating
conditions of the process. For more
information on Primus Green Energy
and the STG+ technology, visit www.
primusge.com.
FIG. 1. The Primus STG+ process converts syngas directly to liquid fuels.
Dont miss two great networking
opportunities at this years Q&A.
Sunday evening at 5:30 is the kickoff
networking event. Monday evening
at 5:15 is when the gala reception
will commence. Finger foods and
adult beverages will be available as
delegates catch up with old friends
and make new business contacts.
And be sure to stop by and say hello
to all of the tabletop exhibitors!
2013 Q&A and Technology Forum | American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers Sunday/Monday, October 6/7, 2013 11
Need more information on the products, services, and know-how
Albemarle can provide to your operation? The guru is in.
REFINERY CATALYST SOLUTIONS
CALL (281) 480-4747 OR VISIT WWW.ALBEMARLE.COM TO DISCOVER
ENLIGHTENING SOLUTIONS TO YOUR REFINING NEEDS.
your guru is here.
Searching far and wide for answers to rening challenges? Relax.
Your quest is over. Because in addition to Albemarles top-ight HPC,
FCC, and isomerization offerings, weve expanded our capabilities
to provide more catalysts and services, and new products for use in
more processes. In order to achieve this, Albemarle has reorganized
our Renery Catalyst Solutions group into two business units:
Heavy Oil Upgrading and Clean Fuels Technologies. These new
areas reect a holistic approach, combining a wealth of knowledge
and resources that allow us to offer the industries we serve
an even more robust portfolio of refining solutions, all while
continuing to provide the rst-rate value and technical support
they expect from Albemarle.
POPULATION
Dallas is the 9th largest city in the
US and the third largest in Texas with
a population of 1,241,162.
METROPOLITAN
STATISTICAL AREA
The Dallas-Fort Worth Arlington
MSA consists of 12 counties: Collin,
Dallas, Delta, Denton, Ellis, Hunt,
Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall,
Tarrant and Wise and has a popula-
tion of 6,700,991. The Dallas-Plano-
Irving MD (metropolitan division) is
slightly smaller with a population of
4,426,611 and is composed of 8 coun-
ties: Collin, Dallas, Delta, Denton, El-
lis, Hunt, Kaufman and Rockwall.
LOCATION
Dallas is located in the Central
Time Zone in North Central Texas, 35
miles east of Fort Worth, 245 miles
north, northwest of Houston and 300
miles north of the Gulf of Mexico.
ELEVATION
450750 feet
TAXES (SALES,
HOTEL OCCUPANCY)
Sales8.25%; Hotel Occupancy13%
ANNUAL VISITORS
29.97 million domestic visitors
HOTEL ROOMS
There are more than 30,000 hotel
rooms in the city of Dallas; with over
75,000 available throughout the area.
CLIMATE
Average minimum temperature is
55 degrees Fahrenheit ; average maxi-
mum temperature is 76 degrees Fahr-
enheit. Dallas has an average annual
rainfall of 33.3 in.
BUSINESS CLIMATE
The Dallas area is home to 18 For-
tune 500 companies including Exxon
Mobil, JC Penney, AT&T, Texas In-
struments, and others. The Dallas area
is also home to seven of the worlds
most admired companies.
SPORTS AND RECREATION
Dallas is home to fve professional
sports teams: The Dallas Cowboys
(NFL); Dallas Stars (NHL); Dallas Mav-
ericks (NBA); FC Dallas (MLS) and the
Texas Rangers (MLB) plus NASCAR
and Indy racing. The area is also home
to more than 200 golf courses.
DALLAS FUN FACTS
The frozen margarita machine
was invented in Dallas
The integrated circuit computer
chip (which became the microchip)
was invented in Dallas in 1958
The 52 foot Big Tex statue that
greets visitors at the annual State Fair
of Texas is the tallest cowboy in Texas
With the roof enclosed, the en-
tire Statue of Liberty could ft into the
Cowboys Stadium
During the winter holiday sea-
son, the Galleria Dallas is home to the
countrys tallest indoor Christmas tree
The largest permanent model
train exhibit in the country is on dis-
play in the lobby of Dallas Childrens
Medical Center
The Dallas Arts District is the
largest urban arts district in the US
The Trinity River Corridor Proj-
ect, when completed, will be more
than 10 times the size of New Yorks
Central Park
Highland Park Village Shopping
Center, developed in 1931 has the
distinction of being the frst planned
shopping center in America
The frst convenience store,
7-Eleven, got its start in Dallas and
the corporation is headquartered there
today
Lamar Hunt, founder of the
American Football League and son
of oil tycoon H.L. Hunt, was a noted
Dallas resident when he coined the
phrase Super Bowl.
A few celebrities from the area:
Angie Harmon, Luke and Owen
Wilson, Nastia Luikin, Lee Trevino,
Norah Jones, Erykah Badu, Jessica
Simpson
A few of the movies/TV series
filmed in the area: Dallas; Silk-
wood; Places in the Heart; Robo-
Cop; Born on the Fourth of July;
Walker, Texas Ranger; Prison Break
(more listed at http://www.dallas
filmcommission.com/)
The Dallas area is the largest
metropolitan area in the nation not on
a navigable body of water
The Dallas-Fort Worth Arlington
Metroplex is the No. 1 visitor and lei-
sure destination in Texas.
The Dallas Public Library perma-
nently displays one of the original cop-
ies of the Declaration of Independence,
printed on July 4, 1776, and the First
Folio of William Shakespeares Com-
edies, Histories & Tragedies
The Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex is
home to 23 of the richest Americans.
NEWS BRIEF
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14 Sunday/Monday, October 6/7, 2013 American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers | 2013 Q&A and Technology Forum
US energy sector
vulnerabilities
exposed
The US Department of Energy
(DOE) has released a report that as-
sesses how critical US energy and
electricity infrastructure is vulner-
able to the impacts of climate trends.
Historically high temperatures in re-
cent years have been accompanied
by droughts and extreme heat waves,
more wildfres than usual, and several
intense storms that caused power and
fuel disruptions for millions of people.
These trends are expected to continue,
which could further impact energy
systems critical to the US economy.
The US Energy Sector Vulner-
abilities to Climate Change and Ex-
treme Weather report notes that an-
nual temperatures across the US have
increased by about 1.5F over the last
century. In fact, 2012 was the warmest
year on record in the contiguous US,
and it also included the hottest month
since the country started keeping re-
cords in 1895. Implications for the US
energy infrastructure are explored in
this report.
Climate conditions have increased
the risk of temporary partial or full
shutdowns at thermoelectric power
plants because of decreased water
availability for cooling and higher
ambient air and water temperatures.
A study of coal plants, for example,
found that roughly 60% of the existing
feet is located in areas of water stress.
Energy infrastructure located along
the coast is now vulnerable to damage
from rising sea levels, increasing inten-
sity of storms and higher storm surge
and fooding. Such weather patterns
can disrupt oil and gas production,
refning and distribution, along with
electricity generation and distribution.
Energy companies and consumers
also now face increased risks of dis-
ruption and delay to fuel transport by
rail and barge during more frequent
periods of drought and fooding that
affect water levels in rivers and ports.
Another potential problem pertains to
higher air conditioning costs and risks
of blackouts and brownouts in some
regions if the capacity of existing
power plants does not keep pace with
the growth in peak electricity demand
due to increasing temperatures and
heat waves.
In addition to identifying critical
areas at risk from climate change and
extreme weather, the report identifes
activities already underway to address
these challenges, and discusses poten-
tial opportunities to make the energy
sector more resilient.
Potential future opportunities for
federal, state and local governments
could include innovative policies
that broaden the suite of available,
climate-resilient energy technologies
and encourage their deployment; im-
proved data collection and models
to better inform researchers and law-
makers of energy sector vulnerabili-
ties and response opportunities; and
enhanced stakeholder engagement.
The report says these activities will
increase the resilience of the US energy
infrastructure by hardening existing
facilities and structures to better with-
stand severe droughts, foods, storms
or wildfres, and by contributing to
smarter development of new facilities.
Hurricane Sandy is one recent ex-
ample of energy sector vulnerability.
Sandys storm surge caused eight mil-
lion customers in the US Northeast to
lose power while fuel pumps at gas
stations ceased functioning across the
region. Six refneries with a cumula-
tive capacity of 862,000 bpd were
forced to shut down or severely re-
duce output.
beyond
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