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News

  • July 1, 2021

    Shell holds on to Norco

    Shell continues to sell off its refineries across the US, however it plans on holding on to the Norco refinery. Read more here.

  • May 5, 2021

    HollyFrontier buys Shell Refinery in Anacortes

    It’s official. The Shell Puget Sound Plant (PSP) refinery has been sold to HollyFrontier. There will be new coveralls at the refinery and a new... Read more »

  • April 1, 2021

    Digitalization is very important to oil and gas companies

      The oil and gas industry has been slow to adopt digitalization, but as the world is becoming even more connected, leveraging their digital assets... Read more »

  • October 29, 2020

    Another refinery gets mothballed from the fallout over COVID-19

    An east-coast PBF Energy is closing down many of its units and laying of hundreds of workers in the wake of lower fuel demand because... Read more »

  • August 21, 2020

    Corpus Christi barge explosion & fire

    A barge in “refinery row” near the Port of Corpus Christi hit a submerged pipeline resulting in an explosion, fire, and several injuries. Read more... Read more »

  • August 14, 2020

    Venezuela Oil Production Falling to Zero

    Due to gross mismanagement by the government of their primary natural resource over the past decade, Venezuelan oil production has fallen to record lows as... Read more »

  • August 1, 2020

    Marathon Petroleum to permanently idle Martinez CA Refinery

    Marathon Petroleum just announced that they will be permanently idling their Martinez, California refinery and another in New Mexico as a result of oil demand... Read more »

  • July 1, 2020

    BP sells petrochemicals arm for $5 billion

    BP has agreed to sell its global petrochemicals business to billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos for $5 billion, pulling out of a sector widely seen as... Read more »

  • June 2, 2020

    Wyoming refinery switching to 100% biodiesel production

    The Holly Frontier refinery in Cheyenne, Wyoming will be switching over from crude oil refining to biodiesel production by 2022. Read more about this upgrade... Read more »

  • May 6, 2020

    Refined oil products consumption is WAY down

    The amount of refined products that refineries are producing today is down due to the stay-at-home policies caused by the covid-19 pandemic. These are world-wide... Read more »

  • May 1, 2020

    Low-demand jet fuel is being re-refined into higher-profit diesel

    Because airlines are making 95% fewer flights today than they were at the start of the year, oil refineries have a glut of jet fuel.... Read more »

  • April 20, 2020

    Low oil prices!

    Never before have oil prices fallen into negative numbers. Production, consumption, storage space, and political instability combine to form the perfect storm. Read more about... Read more »

  • March 21, 2020

    Corona virus upsets refinery maintenance and turnarounds

    According to Reuters, the spread of the corona virus has had a major impact on the completion of new construction, regular maintenance and turnarounds at... Read more »

  • March 18, 2020

    Oil prices hit new lows

    The effects of corona virus quarantines causing low oil demand and the current oil price war has dropped oil prices to between $20-25 per barrel... Read more »

  • March 16, 2020

    The new normal in the oil patch

    The one-two punch of falling oil prices & corona virus has resulted in a new-normal way of doing business in the oil patch. Read more... Read more »

  • March 9, 2020

    Shell to sell Anacortes Oil refinery

    Shell is selling two of its oil refineries. The Anacortes, WA oil refinery is where AIS first started back in 1995.  Read more about this... Read more »

  • February 13, 2020

    After big fire and bankruptcy, PES refinery to be scrapped.

    PES refinery was once the largest refinery on the east coast. Now after a major fire and bankruptcy the site will be cleared for multiple-use... Read more »

  • February 12, 2020

    AFPM’s view of petrochemicals in the era of political and climate change

    Read what Chet Thompson, President of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, has to say about this subject here.

  • January 14, 2020

    Fire & Explosion at Sasoil’s Lake Charles Chemicals Complex

    Making petrochemicals like High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is a high temperature, high pressure, high volume, and hazardous business. AIS Software creates software solutions for oil... Read more »

  • December 9, 2019

    New biogas plant planned at the shuttered PES refinery site

    Philadelphia Energy Solutions recently received city zoning approval to carve out a 23-acre parcel from the bankrupt refinery complex to accommodate a renewable gas plant,... Read more »

  • September 30, 2019

    Sometimes it takes years for an oil refinery to rebuild after a fire.

    Husky Oil experienced a bad fire on April 26, 2018.  It’s taken this long just to demo the damaged equipment, and full operation is expected... Read more »

  • May 29, 2019

    7 Signs it May Be Time for a New Controlled Document Management System

    There comes a point when it’s time to get a better document management system because what you have is not meeting your needs & requirements.... Read more »

  • March 7, 2019

    How MOC Saves Lives in the Refinery

    This is another excellent article from Coking.com on how Management of Change (MOC) can save lives at an oil refinery. Read more about it here.

  • February 13, 2019

    Meridian Energy Announces New Refinery

    Meridian Energy group is planning on building a new 60,000 BPD refinery in Winkler County, Texas. This new refinery will process local Permian crude oil... Read more »

  • February 6, 2019

    ExxonMobil to Build a New Crude Unit at Beaumont

    ExxonMobil has started construction on a new crude unit at its Beaumont, Texas refinery. This new unit will increase capacity by more than 65% to... Read more »

  • February 4, 2019

    US to become a net energy exporter in 2020

    The US will position itself as a net energy exporter in 2020 and will remain so throughout a projection period to 2050 resulting from large... Read more »

  • September 18, 2018

    New Refinery Proposed for Alberta

    China’s Sinopec Corp has joined a group planning to build an oil refinery in Alberta, an enterprise that would strengthen demand for the Canadian province’s... Read more »

  • September 10, 2018

    Gun Drills

    We came across this article on a website that specializes in the Refining Community Newsletter. An interesting short article on the importance of team training... Read more »

  • August 28, 2018

    US Gulf Crude Oil Exports Expand

    The U.S. port district of Houston-Galveston in Texas recently began exporting more crude oil than it imported for the first time on record. Crude oil exports from... Read more »

  • July 5, 2018

    Up From the Ashes – Hovensa Refinery to Restart in 2020

      The Hovensa Refinery on St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands was at one time one of the largest refineries in the world. It... Read more »

  • June 25, 2018

    Canada’s Newest Refinery Completes Commissioning

    The Sturgeon Refinery, a new 80,000 BPD refinery northeast of Edmonton, Alberta, just completed construction and commissioning of its 10 major units last month and will... Read more »

  • March 22, 2018

    Improving Process Safety & Risk Management

    Image courtesy Petrotechnics AIS Software’s mission is to offer the oil, gas, and chemicals industries high-quality and intuitive process safety management solutions. UTL, the process operations... Read more »

  • February 6, 2018

    Oil Industry Looking UP in 2018

    Exxon Mobil, along with numerous other refiners across the country plan to invest billions of dollars in the United States due in part to the... Read more »

  • January 15, 2018

    2017 International Oil Refining Projects With Impact

    2017 showcased many international oil refinery projects with major impacts in world oil production. This report from Hydrocarbon Processing Magazine provides some details of these massive expansions... Read more »

  • January 3, 2018

    Chevron Phillips Chemical Nears Completion of Ethane Cracker Unit

      Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LP (CPCC), a joint venture of Chevron Corp. and Phillips 66, has completed construction of a 1.5 million-ton/year ethane cracker... Read more »

  • December 1, 2017

    US Oil Consumption Increases

    According to the American Petroleum Institute, the total US petroleum product deliveries reached their highest October monthly average since 2007.  19.9 million barrels per day... Read more »

  • November 7, 2017

    Shell Looks at the Future of Refining

    Shell, the world’s largest fuel retailer, is looking at the future of oil refining when regulations and market forces replace petroleum-powered vehicles with electric vehicles.... Read more »

  • November 6, 2017

    When Will The Refineries Start To Close?

    Will oil and gas consumption decrease in the future as climate change legislation and electric-powered vehicles alter the balance of petrochemical consumption? This is an... Read more »

  • October 24, 2017

    Refinery Operations – Midwestern Refineries Are Changing

    The flow of crude oil and refined products flowing across the American Midwest is changing. Over the past few years, Midwestern refiners have spent billions... Read more »

  • September 13, 2017

    AIS At AFPM Summit

    AIS Software will be attending the fall AFPM Operations & Process Technology Summit on October 2-4 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Austin, Texas. The conference... Read more »

  • September 12, 2017

    Refinery Operations – Motiva Resumes Production After Harvey

    Photo Courtesy Motiva The Motiva refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, the largest oil refinery in the US, restarted production of its 325,000 BPD VPS-5 crude distillation... Read more »

  • September 6, 2017

    Refinery Safety – Refinery Worker Dies After HollyFrontier Fire

    Sadly, another refinery worker has died of burns and injuries sustained from an explosion and fire at HollyFrontier’s El Dorado, Kansas refinery. The fire started... Read more »

  • September 5, 2017

    Refinery Operations – Gulf Coast Operations Resuming After Hurricane Harvey

    The US Gulf Coast refiners and shippers are resuming their operations after Hurricane Harvey. Upstream and midstream are monitoring the progress to assess ramping up... Read more »

  • July 31, 2017

    Refinery Safety – Pernis Refinery Explosion & Fire

    Photo courtesy of Royal Dutch Shell PLC. A fire, sparked by an explosion at a high-voltage power station at Shell’s Pernis refinery in Rotterdam, the... Read more »

  • July 14, 2017

    Refinery Safety – Exxon fined over explosion at La. oil refinery

    Photo courtesy of ExxonMobil ExxonMobil Corp has been fined about $165,000 by US regulators for safety lapses including inadequate training and equipment maintenance over an... Read more »

  • July 13, 2017

    Refinery Operations – US petroleum refinery capacity continues to increase

    The refinery capacity in the US continues to slowly increase at 2% each year. Last year the “gross input” of crude oil into American refineries... Read more »

  • June 29, 2017

    Shell Prelude FLNG Platform is on the move

      Photo credit: Shell Prelude, the largest floating LNG platform in the world (for now) is finally on the move. It has set sail from... Read more »

  • June 16, 2017

    The Five Worst Questions about Controlled Documents You Don’t Want To Ask

      Photo credit: Co.uk “Controlled documents” are those paper drawings or electronic files that are tightly controlled to maintain the accuracy of their contents. Each... Read more »

  • June 15, 2017

    Refinery Safety – Fire breaks out at Mexico oil refinery

    Photo courtesy KWQC Davenport IA A massive fire broke out at the partially flooded Pemex Salina Cruz oil refinery in southern Mexico on Wednesday, injuring nine people and forcing the... Read more »

  • June 2, 2017

    Tesoro Corporation Changes Its Name

      Tesoro Corporation announced on June 1st that it will officially change its name to Andeavor effective August 1st of this year. This move comes... Read more »

  • May 5, 2017

    Refinery Safety – CSB Report on 2015 Torrance Refinery Explosion

     (photo courtesy of Reuters) The chemical safety board just released its report on the 2015 explosion that occurred at the Torrance, CA, refinery. Four workers... Read more »

  • May 2, 2017

    What Is IOW/DOW?

    Integrity Operating Windows (IOW) and Design Operating Windows (DOW) are industry terms that relate to the operating limits of process equipment. These are the important... Read more »

  • April 25, 2017

    New Company Banners

    AIS Software is getting three new pop-up banners for its trade show booth. These have been designed by Big Fresh Marketing and will make their... Read more »

  • April 12, 2017

    What is “A Barrel of Oil” – Depends where you measure

    This is an interesting and informative article from OilPro.com that gives some very interesting history and background on how oil is measured and why a... Read more »

  • March 24, 2017

    AIS Exhibiting at the 2017 National Occupational Safety Conference and Exhibition

    We’re happy to announce that we’ll be attending and exhibiting at the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers 2017 National Occupational Safety Conference & Exhibition from May... Read more »

  • March 24, 2017

    Chemical Safety Board Is Necessary For Industrial Safety

    AIS strongly supports keeping the Chemical Safety Board. It is a necessary tool in understanding and correcting the underlying conditions that cause industrial accidents and fatalities. What the... Read more »

  • March 20, 2017

    Prelude – Largest Floating LNG Facility

    Prelude is the largest floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing facility in the world. This half-kilometer long vessel will be moored off the Australian coast... Read more »

  • March 15, 2017

    Pipeline Safety – A Lesson In Managing Information

      The following is an excerpt from the article “A Passion for the Profession – Alison North” from the Association of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA)... Read more »

  • March 9, 2017

    New Refinery Proposed – New Challenges Ahead

    A new refinery is being proposed to handle the increasing production coming out of the West Texas Permian Basin. The new 50,000 BPD refinery would be built... Read more »

  • February 27, 2017

    The Projects Problem

    OK, so you have an oil refinery or a chemical processing facility, and it comes with a “user’s manual” of several thousand documents whose contents... Read more »

  • February 20, 2017

    Why We Do It

    Why do we do it? What makes us arrive at the office day after day at 6 am and often on weekends to create the... Read more »

  • February 13, 2017

    Refinery Safety – Hydrofluoric Acid Leak Injures 7 Workers During Turnaround

    Refinery turnarounds and startups are the periods of highest risk to refinery workers. It’s the time when most accidents happen. A lot of work and preparation goes... Read more »

  • February 2, 2017

    Pipeline Safety – Magellan Diesel Spill

    Nobody likes a spill. What goes on in the pipeline stays in the pipeline.  The best ways to prevent spills are to perform adequate inspections and maintain good operating and maintenance... Read more »

  • January 16, 2017

    A New Refinery Is Coming To North Dakota

    The Davis Oil Refinery is currently under development near Belfield, North Dakota by Meridian Energy Group. The 55,000 barrel per day refinery will be built... Read more »

  • January 13, 2017

    Eight Features of a Quality Controlled Document Management System

    Controlled documents are “living” entities that define products, describe processes, and depict infrastructures. They are the DNA upon which all large industrial facilities are built.... Read more »

  • January 4, 2017

    Storing Hydrogen Underground

    You know, the idea of storing large volumes of industrial hydrogen in an underground cavern is pretty cool, like something Jules Verne would have dreamed... Read more »

  • January 2, 2017

    What Is a Controlled Document?

    by Rick Kaiser A controlled document is any digital or hard-copy entity which is required by a company, a standards organization, or a regulatory agency to... Read more »

  • December 21, 2016

    Making Liquid CO2 From A Refinery By-Product

    Food-grade liquid carbon dioxide is now being produced commercially from waste carbon dioxide, heretofore an industrial by-product that was released into the atmosphere, at a... Read more »

  • December 15, 2016

    The High Price of Inadequate Recordkeeping

    Six years ago, a Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s pipeline under San Bruno California ruptured and the resulting explosion and fire killed eight people. In... Read more »

  • November 18, 2016

    Refinery Operations – Tesoro to Acquire Western Refining

    Tesoro Corporation announced today that it will acquire Western Refining at an implied current price of $6.4 billion, including the assumption of approximately $1.7 billion... Read more »

  • November 8, 2016

    Colonial Pipeline Restarts Line #1

    Gasoline is an important commodity, especially on the heavily-populated east coast of the US. After the deadly October 31st rupture and fire in the 1.3... Read more »

  • October 5, 2016

    Oilfield Discovery: Alaska North Slope Yields Large Light Crude Reservoir

    Recovery factors of 30-40% expected New discovery in the Alaskan Oil operations, and we’re happy to relay this information to our audience. “This discovery has the... Read more »

  • September 19, 2016

    Pipeline Operations: Colonial Ordered To Shut Down Line Near Helena, Alabama

    Excellent response from Colonial – minimal impact to both the environment and delivery to markets. A small gasoline leak in a segment of Colonial’s Line... Read more »

  • September 15, 2016

    Refinery Operations: VDU At Lyondell Houston Refinery Shut By Pump Failure

    Safety first at Lyondell Basell Industries’ Houston refinery We’re glad to hear about the proactive safety-conscious decision to shut down, assess, and quickly return to... Read more »

  • September 8, 2016

    Refinery Operations: Renewable Technology Company Virent Acquired By Tesoro

    Madison, WI based Virent has developed new technology which is able to convert sugars and other biomass derived feed-stocks into gasoline blend-stocks and aromatics. This... Read more »

  • September 1, 2016

    Refinery Operations: ExxonMobil Seeks Buyer For Montana Refinery

    An emerging trend in refinery requirements? Major companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron Corp. have been reducing their portfolios of non-integrated chemical and production system... Read more »

  • August 30, 2016

    Refinery Safety: Explosion And Fire At Carson Refinery

    No injuries reported. We’re glad to hear that no one was hurt as a 1-ton sulfur tank exploded at Tesoro’s Carson refinery. Operating at a... Read more »

  • August 18, 2016

    Refinery Safety: Small Fire Shuts Down Portions Of Texas Refinery

    Feedstock supply loss leads to leak, and then fire. Total SA’s Arthur Texas refinery faced a reformer, sulfur recovery unit, and a pressure swing absorption... Read more »

  • August 17, 2016

    Refinery Safety: Louisiana Phillips 66 Refinery Fire, No Injuries

    Heater tube fails as hydrogen unit was being shut down The 260 Mbpd Lake Charles Refinery in LA faced a fire around mid-day, which was... Read more »

  • August 16, 2016

    Refinery Safety: Injuries Reported In Fire At Texas Crude Oil Terminal

    Operations near normal Our hearts and prayers go out to the seven workers injured in a flash fire at Sunco Logistics crude oil terminal in... Read more »

  • August 15, 2016

    Refinery Safety: Fire At Motiva Convent Refinery, No Injuries Reported

    Heavy oil hydrocracker structurally damaged As always, we’re relieved that no one was injured in what is a critical system fire at the Motiva plant... Read more »

  • August 10, 2016

    Refinery Construction: Contract Between Meridian Energy and Engineering Firm Vepica USA Inc for North Dakota Refinery Project Green-lit

    The Davis refinery, being built in the Bakken Shale region, near Belfield ND, is expected to be fully operational in 2019, but will include 2... Read more »

  • August 9, 2016

    Refinery Safety: Injury at Marathon’s Galveston Bay Refinery

    Contract worker injured by electric shock, revived by refinery emergency personnel, taken to area hospital As always, we’re happy to note that refinery safety protocols... Read more »

  • August 4, 2016

    Refinery Safety: Tesoro Found To Be At Fault In Worker Injuries – US Chemical Safety Board

    Weak safety culture at Martinez, CA refinery contributed to injury incidents between 2010 and 2014 The board reviewed 15 instances where workers were sprayed with... Read more »

  • August 2, 2016

    Refinery Operations: High Density Polyethylene Plant To Be Built By LyndondellBasell on US Gulf Coast

    A part of LyondellBasell’s ongoing growth plan, this project is one of many ethylene expansion projects the company is undertaking. We’re always glad to hear of the... Read more »

  • July 26, 2016

    Pipeline Safety: Husky Production Advances Undermined By Oil Spill

    Local state of emergency declared Working hand in hand with Canadian federal and provincial officials, representatives from Husky are working on cleaning up the 1,570... Read more »

  • July 20, 2016

    Refinery Operations: Wyoming Refinery, Logistical Assets Aquired By Par Pacific

    Wyoming Refining Co. purchased by Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. Exciting news coming out of Wyoming as Par Pacific takes control of the Newcastle refinery, the... Read more »

  • July 18, 2016

    Refinery Safety: California Refiners Face Stricter Safety Rules

    Regulator proposals focus on strengthening workplace and environmental safety at oil refineries statewide. Following the August 2012 Chemical Release fire at Chevron Corp.’s Richmond, CA... Read more »

  • July 13, 2016

    Refinery Documentation: Chemical Reform Law – Regulated Businesses To Face Expanded Information Collection And Reporting To EPA

    Enacted by Congress and signed into law by President Obama, this new law expands EPA authority Regulating the manufacture, importation, and processing of chemicals while... Read more »

  • July 11, 2016

    Refinery Construction: Proposed ND Refinery Receives Zoning Permit

    Meridian Energy Group issued first of two critical permits to build Davis refinery in Billings County, ND The next step is for Meridian to file... Read more »

  • June 17, 2016

    AIS Software Exhibiting at ARMA Live in San Antonio

    We’re happy to announce that we will be exhibiting at this year’s ARMA Live in San Antonio September 25 – 27th. Stop by booth 231... Read more »

  • April 26, 2016

    Gasoline demand to rise as US drivers shift from cars to larger vehicles

    The drop in fuel economy is good news for refiners, as drivers will have to burn more gasoline to travel the same distance. Gasoline demand... Read more »

  • April 26, 2016

    US investigators: Safety lapses led to explosion at Exxon’s Torrance refinery

    The sequence of events that eventually led to the explosion at the refinery began on February 12, 2015, when problems with a piece of equipment... Read more »

  • December 14, 2015

    What’s Happening to the Documents?

    In today’s challenging environment of plummeting revenues, rising costs, and the imperative to do more with less, I find myself increasingly concerned about the documents,... Read more »

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Bellingham, WA 98225

Phone: 360.676.0866
Fax: 360.676.1551
info@aissoftware.com

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