Spring, color, wisdom

Robert Brelsford
Downstream Technology Editor

Spring has officially sprung in Houston, and as happens every year for many of us, the signs of her arrival (i.e., those tiny shoots of morning glories erupting from a still-brown ground, that subtle hint of honeysuckle wafting on the evening air) stir a strange sense of feeling torn between hopeful assurance about the sweetness of the days ahead but utter misery over the price our allergies will pay before those days are here.

At OGJ, this time of year also brings with it rejuvenated interactions with our readership. Like the renewed buds from vines unfurling along the barren fence lines, the season sparks renewed interest in readers regarding what the future holds for our industry.

This year, in particular, our downstream readers have posited an inordinate number of inquiries regarding technologies that, to date, have been referred to by a rather taboo word: green.

Old words, new meanings

As a very famous frog once observed, it's not easy being green. This is especially true in a business that, historically-at least, according to widely held public opinion-has stood tall and proud through the sometimes literal haze of its industrial grays and blacks as the ambassador of all in opposition to what the word and color now have come to mean.

While there's been little space in the pages of Oil & Gas Journal for anything related to the green phenomenon, in the downstream, that may be about to change.

For refiners in the US and Europe, mandates under programs such as the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the Renewable Energy Directive, and the Fuel Quality Directive increasingly are calling for heightened reductions to emissions as well as higher production of transportation fuels from renewable sources. While government regulators and the industry continue to battle regarding implementation of these programs, the reality is that these "green" efforts, in one form or another, are an unavoidable reality for downstream players.

In a time where the upstream sector continues to struggle with a currently lower oil price environment, downstream operators find themselves in an advantageous financial position. While some are playing it cautious, others are seizing an opportunity to upgrade their business to prepare for a time when feedstock prices rebound.

Revamps and upgrading projects under execution at many global refining operations involve the usual optimization, reliability, and efficiency projects one would expect. An increasing volume of projects, however, are taking advantage of technologies that will provide future feedstock flexibility while simultaneously paving the way to meet stricter regulatory mandates at existing refining operations.

And, yes...these technologies are green.

Green is the new black

At the 2016 American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers annual meeting in San Francisco during March, this editor had an opportunity to sit down with Veronica May, vice-president and general manager of Honeywell UOP LLC's renewable energy and chemicals business.

According to May, the core of Honeywell UOP's approach to development of "green" technologies involves innovating on existing, conventional processing technologies in an economically attractive way.

The tactic, it seems, is working. Honeywell UOP has a host of proven renewable technology options available, some of which already is in use to produce "green" jet fuel for the US military as well as United Airlines aircrafts.

The commercial-scale production comes from sustainable feedstock to produce on-spec jet and diesel fuel that meets existing regulations. As drop-in replacement for traditional diesel, renewable diesel production from the technology can be used in existing fuel tanks without any changes to infrastructure.

While many operators are keeping mum regarding the specific projects under way at their plants, the downstream "green" monster is beginning to bubble. As crude prices stabilize and oil feedstock no longer comes at a bargain-basement deal, the refiners getting over their "fear of a green planet" will be the ones well-poised to tackle whatever the future brings.