Oil & Gas Journal - September 7, 2015

FIG. 4 NONTRADITIONAL EXECUTION

EPC frm advances
design to point required
for LSTK proposal
Refner accepts LSTK proposal
(or elects to pursue FEED
package under traditional
approach)

Refner, consultant update project cost estimate, economics

FIG. 5 PROJECT SCHEDULE, DELEK TYLER REFINERY EXPANSION

Phase 1, conceptual review Phase 2, conceptual design Phase 3; detailed design, cost estimate Detailed engineering Procurement, delivery; long-lead equipment Procurment, delivery; all other equipment Field construction, diesel hydrotreating Mechanical completion, diesel hydrotreating Field construction, naphtha hydrotreating Mechanical completion, naphtha hydrotreating Field construction, crude and vacuum distillation Mechanical completion, crude and vacuum distillation Turnaround

2013 Task 2014 2015

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 1st

also recognized that a number of other improvements could be implemented at a reasonable cost as part of the proposed project.

Phase 2 identified the most cost-effective modifications needed at each process unit and confirmed the project’s design basis.

This approach, which placed much of the design work ahead of establishing the basis for design, deviated from traditional project methodology and can be troubling for some refiners.

It, however, led to the most cost-effective design for revamp and debottlenecking, especially with the refiner’s staff working in collaboration.

Delek allowed employees from across a broad spectrum of responsibilities to contribute to project development and design, maximizing the project’s overall economic return.

Fig. 1 shows the traditional approach to project development. Fig. 2 shows the nontraditional approach TM&C, KPE, and Delek used for the Tyler expansion project.

The Phase 2 study considered the potential impact of infrastructure limitations and constructability issues. These steps typically occur later in the traditional project approach, but tailoring the eventual process modifications to the constraints presented by the refinery’s plot plan and ancillary units was the only way to achieve cost-effective design.

In order to limit spending, Phase 2’s scope took in only fundamental process design.

Upon completion and review of the Phase 2 process design in August 2013, Delek approved a third and final study phase to flesh out the project to the extent needed for a go-or-no-go decision.

Phase 3 included:
• Piping and instrumentation dia-
gram development.

• Equipment sizing and quotations.

• Identification of bulk civil, piping, structural, and electrical needs.

• Final plot plans.

API crude. This recovery would require a vacuum tower top replacement similar to that used at the Cheyenne refinery, which would yield as much as 2,000 b/cd of additional straight-run diesel from the AGO and LVGO streams.

Another 1,000-b/cd of distillate could be recovered from the HCGO stream via additional heat removal in the upper sections of the coker fractionator. This volume of distillate recovery suggested that another 12,000- b/cd of crude runs were possible when only considering the FCC capacity limit.

Based upon its own outlook for long-term prices, TM&C developed proforma refinery economics for a 75,000-b/cd operation, which indicated a potential increase in pretax net refinery margin of about $40 million/ year following project completion.

This economic potential prompted
a second, more detailed process study
to identify cost-effective modifications
to the crude tower and downstream
units geared toward increasing overall
refinery capacity to as much as 75,000
b/d. Aware of the potential for the re-
finery to face even lighter feedstock
options, Delek requested that any new
additions and modifications accom-
modate crude oil with a gravity up to
42.5º API. Delek, TM&C, and KPE
ting to a significant design effort, so a
phased approach to the process study
was proposed.

The initial phase would solely focus on the degree of distillate recovery that could be obtained and how much expansion that would allow in terms of additional space in the FCC.