Oil Fractions: How To Remove Heavy Fractions From Oil

With oil and gas prices as they are, efficiency is the new black.  ROSE is one of those relatively new technology developments offering significant efficiency in the oil and gas industry. It involves removing heavier fractions from crude oil which allows the oil refinery to upgrade a larger proportion of its oil intake into lighter high-grade products. ROSE basically stands for Residuum Oil Supercritical Extraction. This technology uses light hydrocarbon solvents for refining the oil. It is capable of recovering high value produces from the residue by using 60% less energy.

Increase profitability using ROSE technology

The ROSE technology has the ability to track the maximum amount of high-value components from the stream of residue which otherwise may be lost to the low-value fuel oils. This technology can significantly enhance the profitability of the refineries and oil fields. ROSE is capable of recovering high volume of DAO from the residue streams and it does it better than the conventional solvent deasphalting technologies. The technology is extremely efficient. It uses 60% less energy because it works on the supercritical solvent recovery and uses specially designed heat recovery exchangers. The ROSE units can successfully achieve 95% availability and the process just takes 6 years.

It is a continuously improved and updated technology which involves multiple flow schemes of optimum integration with the refiners. 

ROSE Technology can bring  benefits in the oil and gas industry. Here are some of them summed up:

• Increased Throughput
• Higher Value Product Yield
• Improved Product Quality
• Lower Operating Costs
• Simple Operations
• Increased Flexibility

It is the leading solvent deasphalting technology of the industry. It allows the refiners to spare the valuable components from the heavy portions of crude oil which are commonly known as the bottom of the barrel solution. Implementation of ROSE has plenty of benefits for the oil and gas industry. The most significant benefit is that it is capable of maximizing the yields of the products like lube oil and gasoline, allowing the refiners to diversify their products and convert them into anode grade coke, road asphalt and more. Over the past year, the ROSE technology has been implemented across various regions due to its flexibility, efficiency, and low operational cost.

Bridging the gap between refining and petrochemical integration.

In the coming years, there will be greater integration between the refining and the petrochemical operations. There is a lot of emphasis on the development of downstream industries for the purpose of adding value to the basic chemicals within the GCC region. The oil and refinery industry will be majorly benefited from this technology. It not just maximizes the yields but it also impacts the margins directly. As the waste streams are converted into high-value products that mean we can make better use of resources.

KBR is serving the hydrocarbons and the government services industries with its ROSE Technology. The following industries are being served by KBR:

• Technology & consulting which includes proprietary technology in refining, fertilizers, ammonia, ethylene, gasification and consulting.
• Government services, program management & long term annuity contracts
• Engineering, construction, offshore oil & gas, petrochemicals, refining, GTL, LNG, chemicals, EPC and industrial services

Implementation of the ROSE technology

Saudi Aramco Lubricating Oil Refining Co. (Luberef) has already implemented this technology for its Yanbu refinery expansion project.

Recently, Shell has announced its decision of building a new unit at its Pernis refinery in Rotterdam, Netherlands. KBR’S Rose solvent deasphalting technology will be used in this unit.

It is expected that the ROSE unit will remove the heavier fractions from crude oil and allow the refinery to upgrade larger proportion of the oil intake for creating light but high-grade products. This will significantly enhance the performance and competitiveness of the Pernis refinery. It is planned that the construction work will begin in 2016 and it is expected that the project will be completed by 2018.

So, the question is, how is the ROSE technology integrated with the operations of the refinery? It will split the residue from the mix of the crude oils into DAO and asphaltene. The unit will not be changing the total processing capacity of the refinery but it will allow a different product mix. The refinery will enjoy more flexibility for responding to the market developments and reducing the environmental footprint of Shell products.

Shell was selected by KBR for its largest integrated refinery complex, Europe. This project is massively important for Shell and the company is confident that it will help in achieving the business objectives. KBR has 55 licensed units globally which are combined with the capacity of 1.3 million barrels per day.

The Strategic Importance of Shell Refinery, Pernis

Shell Pernis has a strategic location and it has a strong record of safe and reliable operations. It has the capacity of 404,000 barrels of oil per day. The company has been readily producing a wide range of fuels and feedstock for the chemical plants. The global manufacturing of Shell is the part of an integrated value chain that is responsible for curbing oil into high-value products. These products are sold all around the world for domestic, transport and industrial use. With the SDA unit, refinery, will become flexible for responding to the market developments. This investment will be strengthening the position of Shell Pernis and it will be significant in the Dutch economy. It will also become the largest employer in the Rotterdam region.

The global manufacturing network includes interests in 24 refineries having the capacity of processing more than 3.1 million barrel per crude oil per day. 35% of the refining capacity is in Africa and Europe, 39% in America and lastly 26% in Asia and Oceania.

KBR is proud to be working for its customers across the globe for producing technology, integrated EPC, value added consulting, long-term industrial services for ensuring the consistency in the project delivery. For more information about the ROSE technology and Shell visit www.kbr.com.

Author

Tina Olivero, Business Strategist

Tina Olivero is the editor of TheOGM.com and The OGM magazine. With a passion for progress and a sustainable future, she combines energy and culture into a conversation that architects new possibilities.  To tell your story with The OGM, you can SUBMIT YOUR STORY at our free open source publishing platform for energy readers and writers.   Enjoy!  www.theogm.com/u-publish-it

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To gain more insight into oil fractions and the solutions with ROSE technology please contact:
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