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America’s No.1 Oil RefinerTexT Harvey Marks PhoTo bob werre

The Valero energy Corporation began as a small regional oil refiner in the American southwest. Today,

it is an industry leader, setting high standards for corporate responsibility and environmental sensitivity. >>>

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26 here march 2007 an international magazine from alfa laval here march 2007 27www.alfalaval.com/here

alero Energy Corporation, based inSanAntonio,Texas,hasenjoyed phenomenal success. Since 1981,the company has become North Amer-ica’slargestrefiner,growingfromasinglerefinery to a network of 18 facilities. To-day, the company’s aggressive drive forgrowth and excellence continue unabat-ed.Valero’s assets currently totalUSD33billion. Annual revenues are more thanUSD90billion,andrefining throughputcapacityisapproximately3.3millionbar-rels per day.Most notably, the companyenjoyed record earnings in 2006, finish-ing theyearwithnet incomeofUSD5.5billion.This strongperformance is the result

ofastrategicassessmentoftherefiningin-dustrythatValeromadein1996whenthecompany concluded that the refiningcyclewasatabottom.Valerobelievedthathistorically-low refining margins wouldimprove as global demand continued toexpandandas theworldwidemovementtowardcleanerfuelstightenedthesupplyofrefiningproducts.Thisanalysisturnedouttobetheright

call,andtodayValeroisaleadingproduc-er of premium, environmentally-cleanproducts, including reformulated gas-oline, California Air Resources Board(CARB)PhaseIIgasoline,low-sulphurdie-sel and oxygenates. These products andmany others are sold in Valero’s more

asVPPStar Sites, adesignation reserved forAmerica’s premier examples of industrialsafety.Valero isalso theonly refiner towintheGovernor’sAwardforEnvironmentalEx-cellenceinTexas,anditremainsontracktoreduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearlytwomillionUStonsperyearby2008.Equally noteworthy is Valero’s strong

commitment to its 22,000 employees andthe company’s belief that those employeesrepresent its number one asset. This state-mentisnotemptyrhetoric.In2006,ValerorankedNo.3onFortunemagazine’slistofthe“100BestU.S.CompaniestoWorkFor.”Vale-ro is also committed to being a good corp-oratecitizen.For instance, ithas twicewontheSpiritofAmericaaward,theUnitedWay’stopnationalhonour given to the companythatbestexemplifiesthespiritofcharityandcommunityservice.

Increased energy efficiency AsValerohasgrown,itsenergychallengeshavekeptpace.Atatypicalrefinery,energycosts

than5,500retailandbrandedwholesalesites–anetworkthat stretches fromtheU.S.WestCoast to theEastCoastandfromCanadatotheCaribbean.Perhapsmostnotably,Valerohascontinuedtoempha-

size safety and environmental responsibility at the sametimeithasaggressivelyexpanded.Of149refineriesintheUnitedStates,Valerohas11ofonly23refineriescertifiedbytheOccupationalSafetyandHealthAdministration(OSHA)

“We’re very cognizant of the relationship between energy efficiency and emissions release.”

Darryl Seillier

energy is essential for many refinery opera-tions and can account for as much as 50 per cent of a refinery’s total operating costs. This energy is not only expensive – burning it has a huge environmental impact, fuelling concerns about greenhouse gas emissions.

“The need to rein in energy use has formed the basis of our relationship with Valero,” says Francois Reverdy with Alfa Laval Packinox Market Unit Refining. “our all-welded plate-type heat exchangers designs are easy to integrate into demanding refinery environments and have a proven record of boosting processing efficiency and product value. They also reduce installation and operating costs.”

“Alfa Laval brings expertise and value to the process,” says Javier Quintana, Valero’s

A productive relationshipV

representabout50percentofoperatingex-penses,andValero’soperationsarenoexcep-tiontothatgeneralrule.“We’realwayslookingforwaysofbring-

ingdownthosecosts,”saysJavierQuintana,Valero’s technology director for Reforming/Isomerisation and BTX. “As part of thatprocess, we’re assessing all of the variousfacilities we’ve acquired over the years. Inmanycases, thepreviousowners lackedtheresourcestomakethebestuseoftheserefin-eries,andtheyneedupgradestomakethemmoreenergyefficient.”Heatexchangers representaparticularly

important area of interest for Valero sincewhat cannot be recovered from process-to-process heat exchangemust be supplied byincreased heating. By allowing the thermalheatgeneratedduringrefineryoperationstobe re-used, heat exchangers help to reducefuelcosts,lowerthelifecyclecostsofprocess-ingunitsandlessenatmosphericemissions.“Traditionally heat exchange has

been performed through shell-and-tube

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technology director, Reforming/Isomerisation/BTx. “They’re very open and direct, offering us a range of services, from reviews of existing heat exchanger performance and maintenance procedures to helping us make sure we’re getting the best performance and flexibility from new equipment and processes.”

“Most of my involvement with Alfa Laval is in process development, and our relationship has been very productive,” adds Darryl Seillier, Valero’s director of energy Technology and Development. “They help us decide if projects are economically viable and even share software to help us analyze equipment and decide whether it will work with our applications.”

Alfa Laval produces a variety of heat exchang-ers specifically designed for refinery applications. Its Packinox heat exchangers are widely used as feed/effluent exchangers in catalytic reforming units and hDS units. Compabloc heat exchang-ers are employed as heat recovery exchangers, heaters, coolers, condensers and reboilers in virtually all the process units in the refinery. Spiral heat exchangers are particularly suited to cool fouling bottom fractions such as FCC bottoms, as well as to recover heat between fouling fluids as seen in the visbreaker feed/effluent application. The spiral heat exchangers ensure that heat recovery benefits are not lost due to fouling.

The Alfa Laval Compabloc heat exchangers are employed as heat recovery units, heaters, coolers. condensers and reboilers.

An impressive Alfa Laval Packinox heat exchanger installed

at Valero’s refinery in St. Charles in Louisiana.

Javier Quintana and Darryl Seillier of Valero discuss ways of bringing down operating expenses.

28 here march 2007 an international magazine from alfa laval

exchangers, but these systems have signifi-cant limitations,” explains Darryl Seillier,Valero’s director of Energy TechnologyandDevelopment.“Typically,shell-and-tubeheat exchangers are bulky and inefficient,requiring multiple units to achieve a verylimitedtemperaturecrossover.Theirsizeandinherent design also make them difficultandtime-consumingtoclean.”

enhanced cooperationThisneedforimprovedheatexchangetechnologyhasledto a strong and growing relationship withAlfaLaval.ForValero,aparticularattractionisAlfaLaval’sspecialityheatexchangertech-nologies, which maximize energy recoveryby offering thermal efficiencies well abovetraditionalindustrystandards.The relationship between the two com-

paniesstartedseveralyearsagowhenValerofirstadoptedAlfaLavalPackinoxtechnologyforuseinitscatalyticreformers.Inthesepro-cessing units, naphtha is transformed intohighoctane gasoline at temperatures above900°F(482°C).Withouthigh-efficiencyheatrecovery,theseunitswouldbeverylargeus-ers of energy, and Packinoxhas been a key

enabler inValero’s drive to lower operatingcostsatitsplants.Wider cooperation between Alfa Laval

andValerobegan in2005whenSeillier de-cidedtolearnmoreabouttheapplicabilityofAlfa Laval’s Compabloc and Spiral heat ex-changersforotherrefineryprocesses.Throughout the following year, several

opportunities forenergyrecoverywereana-lyzed, couplingValero’s refineryknowledgewith Alfa Laval’s expertise in high-perfor-manceheattransfer.TheresultsshowedthatverypromisinggainscouldbeachievedwhenAlfaLavaltechnologieswereintegratedintoanumberofrefineryprocesses.Theseappli-cations range fromsimpleprocesses to feedheatrecoverytointegratedsystemsforcrudeoilpreheatingtrains.Inkeepingwiththedevelopingtrendin

therefiningindustry,Valeroisalsocountingon enhanced energy efficiency to help re-duceatmosphericemissionsatitsrefineries.Packinox and Compabloc are particularlywellsuitedtorecyclemorewasteheatdirect-ly back into process heat, thereby reducingtheneed to rely on burning fuel at processheaters. In turn, the reduced firingat these

heaterscutsdownstackemissions,enablingPackinox and Compabloc to help reduceemissions“atthesource.”“We’reverycognizantoftherelationship

betweenenergyefficiencyandemissionsre-lease,”saysSeillier.“Firingattheheatercre-atesincrementalheatwecannotrecoverandincreasescarbondioxideemissions.Onaver-age,everymillionBTUofnaturalgasweburnproduces 116 pounds of greenhouse gas intheformofCO2.”Currently,ValeroisusingthreePackinox

and severalCompablocand spiral exchang-ersforheatrecoveryatitsrefineries,withsev-eralmoreprojectsintheearlystagesofdevel-opment.

The drive for excellence Valero’sapproach to vendors has evolved over theyears,reachingacriticalturningpointaboutfive years ago when the company boughtUltramarDiamondShamrockCorp.,amajoroil refining and marketing company withover USD 2.5 billion in revenue and morethan 6,000 employees. As a result of thatacquisition,Valeroneeded tobecomemorecentralizedinitsuseofresourcesandtotakea more consistent approach to managingtechnology to achieve greater energy effi-ciency. In particular, that meant making aconcerted effort to establish practices thatwould enable Valero to get the best resultsfromeachofitsfacilities.“Weholdoursupplierstoextremelyhigh

standards,andwe’reconstantlychallengingthem to comeupwith innovative new sol-utions that canmaximize the flexibility ofour feed operations and throughput whilehelpingustocontrolcosts,”saysQuintana.“AlfaLaval is thetypeof supplierwe like towork with. Over the years, they have beenvery responsive toourneeds.We especiallyappreciate their willingness to help us ex-plore potential, hypothetical applicationsthatcanimproveourbestpractices.”“Above all else, we want candour,” says

Seillier. “Wecan’t affordmajormistakes, soweneedbeverycarefulbeforeputtingaheatexchanger into service. Suppliers should bewillingtosharethebreadthoftheirindustryexperience with us and honestly tell uswhetheraparticularproductisagoodappli-cationforourpurpose.“We don’t want them to just sell us a

product,”headds. “Wewant them toworkwithustofindasolution.IampleasedtosaythatAlfa Lavalhas continuallymet our ex-pectations. It’s oneof their strengths and amajor reason the relationship between ourtwocompaniescontinuestobesostrong.”

Francois Reverdy, Alfa Laval, Darryl Seillier and Javier Quintana,

Valero and Chris Wajciechowski, Alfa Laval have a common interest

– energy optimization.

Valero uses the Alfa Laval Packinox technology in its catalytic reformers.