Warren R. True
Pipeline/Gas Processing Editor
With completion later this year of a second refined products line into Colorado, Diamond Shamrock Inc., San Antonio, will have added more than 600 miles of product and crude-oil pipeline on its system and expanded charge and production capacities at its two state-of-the-art refineries, all within 30 months.
The projects aim at improving the company's ability to serve markets in the U.S. Southwest and increasing capacities and flexibility at its two refineries.
Construction began last month on a new 254-mile products pipeline to serve the Colorado Front Range and Rocky Mountain areas.
In 1991, Diamond Shamrock commissioned a 98-mile products pipeline to Laredo, Tex., from its Three Rivers Tex., refinery south of San Antonio.
In September 1992, the company completed a 271 mile crude-oil pipeline from a major supply hub near Wichita Falls, Tex., to its McKee, Tex., refinery in the Panhandle.
Related to these two new lines are modifications and expansions begun last year at the company's Three Rivers and McKee, Tex., refineries, as well as a new terminal at Laredo.
The refinery modifications will increase Diamond Shamrock's total refining capacity by 20% along with its processing flexibility.
The company declined to reveal the cost of any of these projects or how much in total it was spending.
NEW PRODUCTS SERVICE
At the end of 1992, Diamond Shamrock operated 2,290 miles of refined products pipelines to transport gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel to 15 products terminals in New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas (Fig. 1).
Additionally, the company operated 2,110 miles of crude oil pipelines.
The company moved 164,684 b/d of crude into its two refineries. Fig. 2 shows the product split for last year. It had refined product sales of 199,193 b/d.
The new products line is the second into Colorado. An 8-12 in. line can carry as much as 45,000 b/d out of McKee northward to a 124,000-bbl storage facility near Denver. It is jointly owned. with Phillips Pipe Line Co.
Other product lines include a 6-10 in., 23,000-b/d line to Albuquerque, N.M,, operated by Diamond Shamrock Refining & Marketing Inc.'s subsidiary West Emerald Pipe Line Corp. and owned jointly with Phillips Pipe Line Co. and Texaco Pipeline Inc.
To Turpin, Okla., Diamond Shamrock owns and operates a 6-in., 12,000 b/d line.
Into the Dallas-Ft. Worth areas, the company owns an 8-in., 32,000 b/d line.
Upon start-up in September, the new 254 mile, line will be able to move as much as 32,000 b/d of jet fuel, diesel, and gasoline from Diamond Shamrock's refinery near McKee.
The line will be expandable to 50,000 b/d.
It is being built with 10.750-in. OD, API Grade 5LX-60, 0.188-in. and 0.219in. W.T. pipe manufactured by Geneva Pipe Mill at its Orem, Utah, plant. Primary lay contractor on the first 30 mile spread is Okemah Pipeline Co., Okemah, Okla. Contracts for remaining spreads have yet to be awarded except that Okemah has been awarded an additional 78 miles.
The line will be coated for 30 miles with 0.125-in. TGGF-3 coal-tar enamel and for 224 miles with 17 mils of fusion-bonded epoxy (FBE). Coating is by Energy Coatings Co., Houston.
Pump stations will be located adjacent the McKee refinery (1,450 hp) and at Pritchett, Colo. (1,500 hp).
Diamond Shamrock vicepresident Bob Mehall said that the line answers a need created by the shutdown of refining capacity in the Rocky Mountain states.
The company is designing the products terminal in the Colorado Springs area but has not released details as to type or number of tanks or planned storage capacity.
ANOTHER NEW LINE
In October 1992, the company commissioned a 98.1-mile refined products pipeline between its Three Rivers refinery and Laredo.
Enerpipe Corp., Amarillo, was primary lay contractor of the 8.625-in. OD, API Grade 5LX-46, 0.188-in. W.T pipe. The line was coated with 0.125-in. TGF-3 coal-tar enamel manufactured and supplied by Reilly Coal Tar Enamel and HMS Felt & Glass.
Product at initial throughput of 12,000 b/d is flowing the entire length from the 500-hp pump station at the refinery.
At Laredo, Diamond Shamrock has built a 203,000 bbl terminal consisting of six tanks with the following capacities: two with 55,000 bbl, three with 30,000 bbl, and one with 3,000 bbl.
Each tank has an internal floating roof with primary and secondary tank seals. The loading rack is connected to a vapor combustor with a 98% efficiency.
The company notes that this is the only pipeline connected terminal in Laredo. Before the pipeline, says Diamond Shamrock, it moved product by truck to the Laredo market.
The new pipeline and terminal, therefore, solidify Diamond Shamrock's presence there and allow it to increase supply to the thriving U.S. cities along the Mexican border as well as to initiate sales to Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) across the border.
REFINERIES, CRUDE PIPELINES
Also last year, Diamond Shamrock embarked on several refinery projects and completed a major crude-oil pipeline.
THREE RIVERS EXPANSION
The company's two refineries are among the most efficient in the industry, it says. In 1992, although refining spreads were weak throughout the U.S. industry, Diamond Shamrock's crude throughput was up 3% and refined product sales volumes were up 6% over those of 1991.
The projects will allow the refineries to meet gasoline and diesel requirements of the Clean Air Act Ammendments of 1990 and to meet changing product demands.
The company says its Three Rivers refinery is ideally placed to supply gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel to South and Central Texas and to Mexico.
Three projects were begun at Three Rivers last year that, upon completion later this year, will increase the plant's crude processing capacity to 70,000 from 55,000 b/d. Addition of a new crude distillation unit in 1990 had increased capacity by 10%.
The current expansion will also increase gasoline production capacity by as much as 50%, says Diamond Shamrock, and enable the refinery to produce diesel that will meet low-sulfur, diesel-fuel requirements.
Central to this expansion is the construction of a 25,000 b/sd hydrocracker to upgrade hydrogen and heavy oils to gasoline and diesel, improve the plant's operating flexibility, increase the overall refinery yields, and produce low-sulfur diesel fuel.
The project got under way in June 1992 and is set for completion next month.
Parsons, Pasadena, Calif., and S.I.P., Houston, undertook engineering and procurement, and construction has been by H.B. Zachry Co., San Antonio. Major suppliers included Dresser Rand Co., Houston (hydrogen feed-gas compressors and hydrogen circulating compressor); Kobe Steel Ltd. (reactors and high-pressure heat exchangers); Entec (heaters); Hudson Products Corp., Houston (aerial coolers); Taylor Forge Engineered Systems Inc., Paola, Kan. (high-pressure vessels); TBC Fabricators (towers); Dresser Pacific (feed pumps/hydraulic turbines); and Honeywell Inc., Houston (distributed control system).
The hydrocracker is a Unocal process.
Also at Three Rivers, Diamond Shamrock completed a 20,000 b/sd naphtha hydrotreater in March and this month will complete a 10,000 b/sd expansion of its continuous catalyst regeneration reformer.
And in June, construction will be finished on a 12,500 b/sd light-ends unit.
Engineering, procurement, and construction for the hydrotreater/CCR projects were by S&B Engineers & Constructors Inc., Houston.
Major suppliers were Dresser Rand (hydrogen feed gas compressors); Vulcan Boiler Works (reactor); Coastal Iron Works Inc., Corpus Christi, Custom Vessel, and TBC Fabrication Inc., Oklahoma City (towers and vessels); Petro-Chem Development Co., New York (heaters); Slagle Manufacturing Corp., Tulsa (heat exchangers); and Smithco Engineering Inc., Tulsa (aerial coolers).
The expanded CCR is a process of IFP Enterprises Inc., New York.
For the new light-ends unit to be operating in June, its engineering and procurement is by Pro-Quip Corp., Tulsa; construction is by Zachry.
Major suppliers are Begeman and Mississippi Tank Co., Baton Rouge (towers); Pro-Quip (vessels); FES (refrigerant compressor); Heat Transfer Equipment Co., Tulsa, Cust-O-Fab Inc., Sand Springs, Okla., Fabsco Inc., Sapulpa, Okla., and R.W. Holland Inc., Tulsa (heat exchangers); and Smithco (aerial coolers).
SUPPLIES FOR MCKEE
Also in September 1992, Diamond Shamrock completed a 270.9-mile crude-oil line from near Wichita Falls, Tex., to the company's McKee refinery near Amarillo. Initial capacity on the line was 55,000 b/d with potential expansion to 100,000 b/d.
At Wichita Falls, the new pipeline can access supplies from pipelines operated by ARCO Pipe Line Co., and Texaco Pipeline Inc. which move crude oil from the Texas Gulf Coast into the Midcontinent. It also can receive oil from Basin Pipeline bringing supplies from major West Texas oil fields,
The line consists of 14-in. OD, API 5LX-32, 0.344-in. W.T. pipe supplied by American Pipe Co., Birmingham, Ala., and laid by Flint Engineering & Construction, Tulsa, and Okemah Pipeline Co. The pipe is coated with 0.125-in. TGF-3 coal-tar enamel manufactured and supplied by Reilly Coal Tar Enamel and HMS Felt & Glass. The joints are covered by Polyken shrink sleeves furnished by Kendall Co., Tulsa.
Initial and booster pump stations are located at Wichita Falls (4,000 hp), Carey near Childress, Tex. (2,000 hp), and Groom near Pampa, Tex. (2,000 hp).
Three 120,000-bbl storage tanks are installed at the Wichita Falls pump station. The McKee refinery has a throughput capacity of 115,000 b/d and supplies refined products to four states. By yearend, modifications there will increase its charge capacity to 125,000 b/d, and Diamond Shamrock plans another hike to 130,000 b/d by the end of 1994.
During a 20-day turnaround in October on the refinery's catalytic cracking unit, the company tied in a new debutanizer and converted the reactor to state of the art technology using direct connected cyclones.
To meet low-sulfur regulations for diesel fuel that take effect later this year, Diamond Shamrock will complete in July a 30,000 b/sd diesel hydrotreater. Anticipated sulfur levels as a result of the unit's operation are 0.05 wt %. Company engineers are in charge of engineering, procurement, and construction, utilizing some idle equipment.
Major suppliers on this project are Dresser Rand (hydrogen feed-gas compressor), Cooper Industries Inc., Houston (off-gas compressor), Sumitomo (reactor), Slagle (heat exchangers), and Velan Valve Corp., Williston, Vt. (high-pressure valves).
Plans for a 15,000 b/d coking unit at McKee this year have been delated until at least 1994, subject to the company's reassessment of project economics, says Diamond Shamrock. The unit would increase the plant's capability to convert asphalt and residual fuel oil to higher valued fuels. It would convert heavier bottom-of the-barrel products into feedstocks for other refinery units, including the hydrocracker and diesel desulfurizer. These units will then convert the material into gasolines, diesel, and NGL.
The coker would increase yield of high-value products at McKee from 94% to 98%, says Diamond Shamrock.
in April 1990, the company started up a 25,000 b/d continuous catalyst regeneration reformer at McKee to increase production of high octane gasoline.
Copyright 1993 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
