News & Publications

The industry we serve is dynamic, and the technologies and practices of Carmagen Engineering, Inc. are continually growing and evolving to keep pace with needs and developments in the industry. In this part of our website, we include news from our office as well as current industry topics. The latter portion comes in the form of issues of The Carmagen Engineering Report articles, papers, and newsletters. Titles of those publications are listed below, and the text of each can be found by clicking on the title of the publication.

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News from
Carmagen Engineering, Inc.

The following is a representative list of work we have completed. Other items are included in our engineering articles and newsletters.

Process Engineering Items

• Provided hydroprocessing and Process Control Specialists on a grassroots start-up team in Asia.
• Carried out a technical assessment of the HDS reactor internals replacement for a European client.
• Identified the root cause of coking incidents at a major European refinery's VPS unit.
• Joined HTRI. Thus, Carmagen Engineering has the in-house capability to design and analyze heat exchangers and fired equipment for improved operational performance.
• Jointly with an affiliated European firm, carried out a performance analysis of a complex refinery located in the Former Soviet Union, with an emphasis on the effectiveness of the capital projects and the overall refinery profitability trends.
• Plot plan layouts developed for major expansion projects. In one case, significant changes were required to contractor-developed proposals due to numerous inadequacies that would have had serious safety, operability, and/or maintenance consequences.
• Performed several process technology and licensing assessments to determine suitability for specific client needs. Also, performed process assessments at several refineries to optimize operations to meet production goals considering various feeds.
• Identified primary cause for capacity limitation of a crude unit as an undersized furnace transfer line. Developed additional design changes to debottleneck the unit.
• Developed design notes that will be used by contractors to develop process design specifications for a client's hydroprocessing units.
• Identified causes of operations and capacity limitations on multiple gas treating units and developed plans to correct them. Recommendations verified during subsequent unit shutdowns and repairs.
• Led Profit Improvement Studies at multiple locations for a major integrated refiner. Documented a methodology for systematic approach to profit improvement activities.
• Conducted combined Process/Mechanical Engineering audit of a large FCCU in the US to identify design, operations, and mechanical reliability improvement items to increase unit run length.
• Performed an engineering screening study to define the expandability of a coking unit for a major domestic refiner.
• Performed independent Cold Eyes Reviews of the start-up plans for several refinery projects involving fractionation, Alkylation, and FCC technologies. Participated in selected start-up activities.
• Prepared “Schedule A”-like documentation for a novel fluid solids process developed by a major company.
• Carried out an assessment of a novel clean fuels refining technology on behalf of a major technology licensor.
• Provided a safety engineer to provide onsite support for a large refinery on the East Coast of the US.
• Conducted HAZOP reviews for several new projects.
• Provided onsite process engineering support for the startup and/or troubleshooting of hydrodesulfurization units and FCCUs.
• Supplied a refinery technology advisor for a major European client. The multi-year on-site assignment permitted more effective resolution of current refinery challenges and afforded an opportunity to identify other operating excellence/profit improvement initiatives.
• Provided technology input to a 3rd party study addressing the benefits of a major modernization initiative at a large European refinery.

Equipment-Related and Project Management Items

• Carried out a multi-disciplinary integrity audit of a North American FCCU. The audit results helped to identify the maintenance requirements and retirement schedules for the various plant components to ensure it’s reliability.
• Performed several construction safety management/heavy lifting reviews for clients in various phases of major construction projects.
• Developed detailed engineering design and installation standards covering refractory lining of process units. Also provided onsite turnaround assistance dealing with major refractory repairs and replacements.
• Designed and provided vendor follow-up engineering consulting for an FCCU regenerator cyclone/grid replacement project.
• Performed several Right Track Reviews™ for clients in a number of technical areas, including:
• Project construction safety
• Project contracting strategy
• Project cost reduction
• Process/materials corrosion evaluation
• Prepared revisions to reliability and maintenance (R&M) procedures for major international oil company.
• Continuous onsite technical support being provided for all fired heaters at a major Gulf Coast refinery. Among other things, this work involves implementing the results of an Energy Management Survey (EMS) that will achieve significant savings in operating costs.
• Completed an EMS of fired equipment at another Gulf Coast refinery. This effort lasted approximately six weeks and involved a review of equipment condition, operating parameters, procedures and history, and operating costs. Significant cost savings are anticipated after the resulting recommendations are implemented. Similar audits were conducted at multiple other locations.
• Developed a guide for the practical application of API RP 579, “Fitness-for-Service”.
• Published: WRC Bulletin 449, "Guidelines for the Design and Installation of Pump Piping Systems," by J.R. Payne and V.A. Carucci.
• Performed equipment Fitness-for-Service evaluations to determine their suitability for operation at new process conditions. Client purchased three complete process units that had been shut down for five years, transported them to new location, and intended to use them in a new operation.
• Prepared a Risk Based Inspection (RBI) program for a client in Europe.
• Conducted several Turnaround Planning audits that resulted in several million dollars savings in each case and recommendations which, if fully implemented, would increase refining margin credits by several million dollars per year.
• Providing three full-time mechanical engineers, one fired equipment engineer, and one fired equipment technician for supporting small refinery projects, maintenance support, and troubleshooting activities.
• Provided fired equipment engineers to conduct contractor and vendor design audits for multiple low-sulfur fuels projects being engineered in the US, and an expansion project being engineered in Canada.
• Carried out several failure analyses for different refining clients. These included testing/analysis of boiler tubes and heat exchanger tubes for root causes of failure. Also performed remaining tube life studies for refinery process heaters.
• Carried out a materials corrosion study for a refining client in Venezuela.
• Carried out a number of design reviews and troubleshooting visits associated with heat exchangers and fired heater equipment for refining clients in the US, Canada, and Europe.
• Developed recommendations for repair of reformer furnace outlet pigtails that developed weld cracks during operation, forcing shut down of a fertilizer plant in the Far East.
• Performed finite element stress analysis of FCCU Regenerator grid to develop permissible operating envelope relating differential pressure and operating temperature.
• Performed extensive, onsite, third party auditing of piping flexibility analyses performed by a contractor for a client in the Far East.
• Provided several man-months of project management planning support for a major gas project being undertaken by an international, integrated petroleum company.
• Provided on-site, full-time, cost estimating project scheduling support for multiple refining clients located in the US.
• Developed customized, mechanical engineering training courses for a major integrated oil company. One course covered Fitness-for-Service evaluations. Another covered the design and maintenance of pressure vessels, piping systems, and aboveground atmospheric storage tanks.
• Presented a paper titled “FCCU Audits Augment Conventional R & M Activities to Improve Profitability” at the 10th Annual Process Plant Reliability Conference.
• Presented a paper titled “Corrosion Considerations for Aboveground Atmospheric Storage Tanks” at the NACE Corrosion 2002 conference.
• Published: WRC Bulletin 470, “Recommendations for Design of Vessels for Elevated Temperature Service”, by V.A. Carucci, R.C. Chao, D.J. Stelling.
• Developed upgrade recommendations and a mechanical specification for an FCCU Regenerator Cyclone/Grid Replacement Project for a major US refinery.
• Led a cost reduction study for a low sulfur diesel project at a European refinery.
• Placed a project/field engineer on a major construction project for a domestic refinery.
• Provided design reviews for several domestic refinery clients engaged in thermal DeNox projects.