Petroleum Refining Operations Performance and Yield Consultant

Expertise

• Petroleum refining industry technical support and management of 30 years working with domestic, international, Independent and major oil companies.
• Crude, vacuum distillation, general fractionation and Naphtha reforming.
• Design specifications for petroleum and synthetic fuels process plants worldwide.
• Analysis and improve petrochemical profit programs.
• Debottlenecking investigation for gasoil hydrotreating units.
• Defining revamp facilities to meet clean fuels specifications.
• Refinery reconfiguration for clean fuels production, residue upgrading and refinery expansion.
• Pre-FEED evaluation for refining facilities in heavy, sour crude for transportation fuel production.
• Strategic energy reviews improving energy utilization, including process areas and offsite utilities.

Experience

Undisclosed Company, Senior Engineer, Present

• Performing on site petrochemical evaluation performance studies for domestic and international companies.
• Focusing on: Process design, best practices, process monitoring, benchmarking, and operation guidelines for crude, vacuum units and Naphtha refining.

KBC Advanced Technologies Inc., Parsippany, NJ, Principal Consultant, 1987 - 2015

• Implement profit improvement programs and Project Manager for twenty-three (23) refinery-wide.
• Directed activities to improve refinery profitability in both yield and energy areas.
• Responsible for scheduling project milestones, allocating manpower, coordinating the identification and evaluation of profit improvement opportunities.
• Provided technical consulting in specific areas of expertise.
• Analysis of numerous client crude and vacuum and Naphtha reforming unit operations and identification of opportunities for unit optimization.
• Process design of conditions and facilities for several crude and vacuum deepcut revamp projects for client refineries.
• Pre-FEED evaluation of grassroots refining facilities to process heavy, sour crude for transportation fuel production.
• Strategic energy reviews for 3 refineries to improve energy utilization, including process areas and offsite utilities.
• Definition of revamp and grassroots facilities to meet clean fuels specifications and reconfiguration requirements to eliminate fuel oil production for 5 refineries.
• Definition and FEL-2 project development support for a new refinery and associated existing refinery reconfiguration.
• Development of 10-year strategic investment plan for national energy company to meet future product demands and specifications.
• Development of Best Practice unit monitoring tools, benchmarking, and operating/monitoring guidelines for naphtha reforming units at a midwest U.S. refinery.
• Lube plant viability evaluation for Gulf Coast refiner to identify justification for maintaining lube plant operation.
• Debottlenecking investigation for Gasoil hydrotreating unit, including rating of current capacity and defining modifications for expanded capacity.
• Test run execution and follow-up simulation and analysis to determine the cause of excessive cracking in a Vacuum Unit.
• Onsite technical assistance for introduction of steam to a previously dry Vacuum Column.
• Simulation/Debottlenecking of several light ends fractionation systems.
• FCC unit review to improve operational stability and unit profitability.
• Onsite troubleshooting and elimination of vacuum column operational instability.
• Development of spreadsheet-based vacuum ejector and intercondenser system rating tool incorporating thermal and hydraulic balances.

Exxon Research and Engineering Company, Florham Park, NJ, Staff Engineer, 1978 - 1987

Process Specialist - Naphtha Reforming and General Distillation

• Naphtha Reforming: Responsible for all aspects of naphtha reforming technology from proposal stages through commissioning activities including catalyst alternative studies and process design bases for both new and existing units.
• Field assignments included startup, regeneration and troubleshooting of catalyst systems
• Distillation: Responsible for troubleshooting operating problems, defining design solutions and providing basic engineering design packages.

Esso Karlsruhe Refinery, Germany, Process Engineer

• Responsible for operations of Crude and Vacuum Distillation Unit, Thermal Cracker, Amine Gas Treating and Claus sulfur plants, including monitoring, testing and optimization.
• Assisted in troubleshooting operating problems and providing appropriate operating/design solutions.
• Energy conservation audits and improvements.
• Evaluated various refinery energy conservation options and prepared specifications for proposed modifications.

Lurgi Offices, Germany, Engineer

• Reviewed Lurgi design work for coal gasification process units and coordinated efforts with corresponding project work by Owner.
• Process design and troubleshooting.
• Prepared design specifications for various petroleum and synthetic fuels process plants worldwide.
• Major projects included atmospheric and vacuum crude units, hydrotreating units, and coal liquefaction and gasification plants.
• Field assignments included troubleshooting of off-spec propane treating facilities, coker fractionation bottlenecks and heavy crude debottlenecking problems.

Education

• B. S. Chemical Engineering, Clarkson College of Technology, Potsdam, NY