Conferences dedicated to the subject of oil residue upgrading technologies are amongst the key events in Euro Petroleum Consultants’ portfolio. These conferences are held in Asia, Europe, Russia and the Middle East. Established 17 years ago, EPC’s BBTC – Bottom of the Barrel Technology Conference series remains the only event focusing on technologies, project trends and equipment innovations relating to residue upgrading in refineries.
For sure, the start of oil production in Iran and the consequent export of crude has substantially changed the market landscape and has affected current oil price and is also a significant factor impacting future oil prices.
BBTC-MENA has become a key conference for oil residue upgrading technologies for the MENA region and took place on 3-4 December 2018 in Bahrain. The event was held under the patronage of His Excellency Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Khalifa, Minister of Oil, Kingdom of Bahrain and with the support of National Oil & Gas Authority (NOGA), Bapco, Wood, ExxonMobil and Axens. The event was attended by representatives from the leading refining companies in the region - ADNOC, Bapco, KIPIC, KNPC, Oman Oil Company, Saudi Aramco, SATORP, YASREF and others.
In addition to presentations by leading international engineering and refining companies of the region, a roundtable was held during the conference, where the audience was invited to vote on issues relevant to the oil residue upgrading.
The first poll was: What do you see currently as the most important driver for implementing a residue upgrading project? For more than 60% of the audience, the key issue is improvement of efficiency - the continued need to increase conversion to improve margins and remain competitive. At the same time, for 25% of the audience the key issue is an adaptation to new market realities - decrease in fuel oil consumption post 2020.
Today, there are many good technologies available when looking at upgrading your bottom of the barrel, in this context, more than ever the relevant question is – What factor do you consider the most important when selecting a process? The top poll results from the audience included; the best way to integrate technology into the existing configuration (50%) and solid industrial experience (25%). It is notable that only 10% voted for the importance of announced performance and results.
Regarding the question of technology selection for residue upgrading, the roundtable participants noted the importance of the limitations that exist at the refinery. First of all, there are financial constraints, since most of the plants for residue upgrading are capital-intensive projects, and in some cases this factor can be determinative for refineries.
Another aspect is the restrictions on the sale of products from residue upgrading plants, first of all this concerns delayed coking units and the sale of petroleum coke. The world community is becoming more and more concerned about environmentally friendly energy and wants to replace “dirty” fossil fuels (oil and coal) with “cleaner” alternatives (gas and renewable energy). In latest news – in October 2018 two of Korea’s pension funds - Teachers’ Pension and Government Employees Pension System - announced they will not consider financing any new coal-fired power plants, becoming the first Korean financial institutions to boycott coal financing amid the global movement to tackle climate change and air pollution problems. Earlier, in 2017, Deutsche Bank, the World Bank, ING Group and AXA declared they would not invest in coal projects. This year, HSBC and Citibank joined the move. Most recently, Standard Chartered published their new energy policy in August, saying they will not directly finance any new coal-fired power plant projects. Further developments in a similar way could have a negative impact on the petroleum coke market, which is a solid fuel for electricity generation, as is coal.
Another issue that has been troubling refiners for several years is the introduction of new regulations by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on emissions from ships, which is scheduled for 2020. In this regard, the next question was - How much of an impact will the IMO regulatory changes have on the refining industry? It can be said that the audience showed enviable optimism – 50% believe that impact will be important but relatively short, while only 33% think that the impact will be major and long lasting. Nevertheless, the roundtable participants noted that the strengthening of requirements for bunker fuel may significantly affect the competitiveness of a number of refineries and lead to their closure; this applies mainly to small and simple refineries in Europe.
The final question was the audience’s attitude to digitalization - What role is there for digitalization in Bottom of the Barrel technologies and units? By the number of answers, the leaders were: important - of potential benefit but time is needed to implement correctly and minimize risks (41%) and; very important – asset digitalization and connectivity will totally transform plant operations and business (33%). It is interesting to compare these values with the results of a similar question that was brought to the attention of representatives of the oil refining and petrochemical industries at the Asia-TECH technology conference held by ЕРС in Bangkok in October 2018. There, 25% of the audience defined the role of digitalization as very important, and 60% - as important. EPC plans to continue to explore the attitude of the industry to digitalization issues at its future conferences.
To find out more about modern bottom of the barrel technologies, please don't miss out on attending EPC’s specialised and focused events: ME-TECH taking place from 26-28 February 2019 in Abu Dhabi and IDW – International Downstream Week taking place from 27-29 May 2019 in Sardinia.
Euro Petroleum Consultants is a technical oil and gas consultancy with offices in Dubai, London, Moscow, Sofia and Kuala Lumpur. Euro Petroleum Consultants also organises leading conferences and training courses worldwide. For further details please visit www.europetro.com.