ADVANCES IN CRUDE TO CHEMICALS REFINERY OF THE FUTURE: Opportunities Through Bottom of the Barrel Conversion

摘要

As fuels demand declines and global competition increases, diversifying into petrochemicals and leveraging low-cost energy will enable refiners to maintain crude capacity and improve margins. On-specification fuels can be co-produced, but at a reduced rate. Petrochemical integration is a complex and capital-intensive problem, requiring a strategy that is definitively quantified to maximize value at each step. Optimization, not maximization is the key. Optimization means better molecule management and improved configurations. The case study in this paper identified a potential diversification pathway to petrochemicals through a series of economically viable investments in bottom-of-barrel conversion, Hydrocracking to naphtha technologies, and an Aromatics Complex integrated with Toluene Methylation. These technologies enable production of enough heavy naphtha to support profitable world-scale pX production from the same crude rate. Each step of this plan resulted in a high quality investment with case-by-case incremental IRR's up to 24% and no less than 14%. Following this plan, a refiner can unlock new value from crude oil, potentially improving net cash margin by almost 30 $/BBL overall. Each existing refinery and new complex will require a tailored configuration that embodies the technologies and concepts discussed in this paper. With the right retrofit technology and domain expertise, the Refinery of the Future is now within reach.