The ERTC 17^th Annual Meeting, which will take place in Vienna on November 12-14, features a programme of presentations carefully selected to cover the key topics in the downstream oil sector. To ensure the very highest standards of quality, presentations have been vetted by an advisory panel, drawn from some of the most experienced and respected names in the industry.  Europe Refining Industry.  Europe refining sector.  Europe refineries.

Some of the areas extensively covered include:

Expert analysis of global and European refining markets

The event’s plenary sessions include a keynote address by Dr Hasan Qabazard, Director, Research Division, OPEC on the World refining outlook, while current trends in the European refining market will be covered in-depth by Alan Gelder, Head of Oils Research at Wood Mackenzie and Dr Alois Virag, Senior Vice-President, Refining & Petrochemicals, OMV.

Ian Moore, Senior Consultant, Petroleum, Chemicals and Energy Practice, Jacobs Consultancy, will be discussing the carbon intensity of gasoline and diesel from crude, bitumen and synthetic crude.

Energy efficiency

57% of respondents to a GTF survey said energy efficiency was an area in which their company could most improve their refining operations with little capital expenditure, while of the 30%

preheat antifoulant in crude units can reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. The technique can also be used to improve challenged crude processing, unlocking further economic benefits for refiners.

Advances in catalysis

This theme will be covered in a dedicated stream, featuring presentations from Criterion, Axens and a joint presentation by Preem and Haldor Topsoe. Some of the topics under discussion will include catalyst selection, the need for in-depth characterisation of challenging feeds to ensure effective bottom-of-the-barrel upgrading and recent improvements in catalyst selectivity.

 Europe Refining Industry.  Europe refining sector.  Europe refineries.

A view from the end-user

The future demand for oil products will be determined to a large extent by the changing requirements from end-users, and with this in mind, the programme includes a dedicated session on end-user challenges, with presentations from Akihito Tanke, Vice-President, Toyota Motor Europe, Dr Richard Mills, Strategy Director, Boeing and Trevor Harrison, Acting Chief Executive, IBIA (International Bunker Industry Association), followed by a Q&A session that will provide delegates with deeper insight into the changing fuel requirements of the aviation, shipping and automotive sectors. 

Advanced Process Control (APC)

This topic will be addressed with a focus session, which will feature presentations by Emerson and Haverly Systems, along with a case study jointly presented by KBC and Total on the use of APC in refinery energy systems. Areas to be discussed include early detection of asset failures, applications for refiners interested in developing their own APC solutions and process centred refinery linear programming modelling.

Biofuels

biomass to gasoline, jet fuel and diesel, and will feature discussion of the timeline for commercialisation.

Other presentations of note include a discussion of Foster Wheeler’s zero gasoline production refinery concept, a look at mercury handling in refinery processes by Johnson Matthey and a presentation on the integration of XTL technology into refineries by Technip. Shell Global Solutions will be discussing the use of the bottom of the barrel as refinery fuel in the context of an expected decline in heavy fuel oil demand.

Day 2 of the conference programme will feature a panel discussion on ‘EU strategy 2005: the challenge for refiners’, between Dr Alois Virag, OMV, Roelof Heezen, VP Downstream R&D, Shell, Robert Mwasaru, Head of Planning & Optimisation, MOL and Isabelle Muller, Secretary general, Europia.

The ERTC 17^th Annual Meeting will also provide the opportunity to visit OMV’s Schwechat refinery, one of the largest and most modern inland refineries in Europe, with a total capacity of 450,000bpd. The conference programme has been carefully designed to deliver excellent networking opportunities, with more than 15 hours set aside for delegates to discuss technical challenges, share vital experience and talk about the latest innovations.

Europe Refining Industry.  Europe refining sector.  Europe refineries.

Taking place in the sumptuous Hilton Vienna, attendees will also be able to enjoy the very best in hospitality, with a Gala Dinner promising to be a night to remember.