Honeywell technology to drive Iraq’s most advanced refinery

On 9 November Honeywell announced it will provide industry leading process technology and advanced automation controls to Iraq’s Karbala refinery, now under construction in Karbala Province, about 120 km south of Baghdad.

The refinery will use industry leading refining processes from Honeywell UOP and automation controls from Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) to allow Iraq’s State Company of Oil Projects’ (SCOP) Karbala refinery to maximise production of fuel and other products that will contribute towards offsetting the more than 350 000 bpd of refined products currently imported. These technologies will also help meet the growing domestic demand with products meeting international standards equivalent to Euro V fuel standards. Startup of the 140 000 bpd refinery is expected in 2020.

“The Honeywell solution combines UOP’s deep process knowledge with HPS’s expertise in plant automation to make the refinery run at the top of its capability,” said Mike Millard, Vice President and General Manager of Honeywell UOP’s Process Technology and Equipment business. “The integration of process technology with a controls solution enables the Karbala refinery to make more gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, jet fuel, liquefied petroleum gas and asphalt, and make it more efficiently.”

“Honeywell has a great track record of successful projects implemented in Iraq,” said Pieter Krynauw, Vice President and General Manager of HPS’ Projects and Automation Solutions business. “When we combine UOP process technology with the HPS automation and controls, refineries will be able to reach peak performance faster and lower the total cost of ownership while getting the best return of investment for the project lifecycle.”

Honeywell technologies licensed for the refinery include:

• The UOP Penex™ process to upgrade light naphtha feedstock to produce isomerate, a cleaner gasoline blendstock that does not contain benzene, aromatics or olefins.
• The UOP fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process to convert heavy feedstocks recovered from other refinery operations into high octane gasoline.
• The UOP CCR Platforming™ process to convert low quality naphtha to high octane blending components for gasoline.
• The UOP Unionfining™ process to improve the quality of distillate boiling range feedstocks to help meet tougher product specifications.
• The UOP Chlorsorb™ process to help meet stringent waste gas specifications.
• The Experion^® Process Knowledge System (PKS), the heart of the Integrated Control and Safety Systems (ICSS), which unifies people with process, business requirements and asset management by enabling integration of all process control and safety systems and automation software under a single architecture.
• Safety Manager, which integrates process safety data, applications, system diagnostics and critical control strategies, and executes defined safety applications in a fully redundant architecture.
• Fire and gas safety systems, which include SIL3 certified safety systems connected to fire detectors, fire alarm panels, fire suppression systems, gas detectors, sounders and beacons to minimise the impact of any abnormal situations.

UniSim^® training simulators, which enable industrial sites to better plan, deploy and manage a structured programme for operator competency.For over 80 years, Honeywell has been committed to supporting growth, development and economic diversification in the Middle East region, with 17 offices and more than 1800 employees across the region, including three offices in Iraq.

Adapted from press release by Francesca Brindle

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/10112015/honeywell-to-help-iraq-karbala-refinery-1708/