AM-97-20 IMPROVEMENTS IN REFINERY LOSS CONTROL

Description:

The environmental and financial impact of losses at a refinery are of tremendous importance. In today’s operating environment, the refiner must make efforts to understand the extent and source of losses in order to reduce them. Achieving a high-quality mass balance of the refinery is the means by which refinery losses are calculated. Understanding and evaluating the mass balance for the refinery depends on distinguishing between real losses and apparent losses stemming from measurement errorsThis involves improving the dynamic flow measurements for all mass balance points. At theYPF Refinery in Luyan de Cuyo, Argentina, refinery losses are treated as a key performance indicator, along with energy consumption and volumetric expansion. Refinery losses are tracked on a monthly basis and have improved dramatically in the last 5 years, from 5% of the crude charge to 0.6-0.8%.This paper will discuss the refinery mass balance, the largest potential sources of error, and the steps that YPF took to improve the balance and understand the source of its losses.