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ADVANCED FCC TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE REFINERY PROFITABILITY
Publication date:March 2005
Item#: C00501
Gasoline Reformulation (year 2005 and beyond), Higher Gasoline and LCO Production, Raising Light Olefins Yield, Bottom-of-the-Barrel Processing, NOX and SOX Emission Abatement, and Unit Reliability and Revamps.
Thanks to strong demand and high oil prices, global refining margins have been very robust. How long will it last and what can refiners do to keep it going? This multi-client strategic report (published in March 2005) identifies and analyses the latest technologies to maximize and maintain fluid catalytic cracker operating margins.
The FCCU continue to perform "miracles" for refiners in light of increasingly stringent fuel standards, changing market conditions, and competing technologies. Its role has expanded from a gasoline-machine to an olefins maker, a sulfur remover, a residue upgrader, and possibly a significant contributor to the ULSD pool in the future. We consider the FCC technology advances are as drivers of the perpetual refinery profit cycle.
- Environmental regulations to mitigate air pollution and acid rain problems have mandated gasoline reformulation, i.e. removal of sulfur and olefins from FCC gasoline. Many options are available to reduce these compounds, but only a few of them are economical.
- Meanwhile, recent record crude prices--at times in excess of $65 a barrel-- reflect a fundamental shift in fuel demand around the world. The primary driving forces are rising popularity of fuel guzzler sport-utility vehicles in the US and unprecedented vehicle purchases in China and India. Refiners are forced to find ways to augment motor gasoline production. Also diesel make is being raised to meet the growing trend of dieselization in many parts of the world.
- To fulfill an insatiable demand for polymer-grade propylene (expanding at 4-5% a year for the rest of the decade) and expanding production of refinery alkylate and isooctane to increase gasoline volumes, propylene and butylenes yields in FCCUs must be improved.
- Refineries equipped to process heavier crudes so far have reported the highest refining margins because they can take advantage of less expensive heavy oils in light of strong global demand for light crudes. Residue upgrading gives higher profits as light/heavy oil price differentials continue to widen.
- On the other hand, failure to meet strict stationary pollution control especially in the FCCUs can sink the bottom line. Three US independent refiners are required to spend about $1 billion to upgrade emission-control technologies at their refineries according to consent decrees they agreed with the EPA in June.
- Finally, enhanced reliability by revamps to prevent unscheduled shutdowns is paramount to avoid turning a profitable operation into a loss. The shutdown of a 50K-b/d RFCCU could lower profits by $250K-500K a day.
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Keywords: bitumen, bottom-of-the-barrel, extra heavy oil, fluid catalytic cracking or FCC, high acid crude, hydrotreating, hydrocracking, resid, oil sand, opportunity crude