Refinery Profitability, Flexibility, and Optimization I

Key issues facing refineries today include maintaining the profitability and increasing the flexibility of their operations. The availability of opportunity crudes & tight oil forces the need for flexibility in product mix, as well as changing environmental regulations have led to increased activities in these areas. Profitability improvements through optimization and investments in plant and energy efficiency are a major focus. This session invites papers that discuss how existing refineries can be made more profitable and/or flexible. Papers should address these items using existing systems with minimal capital investment required, as well as major changes in processing schemes and tools.