Powering Up During Maintenance

The Challenge
Provide extra power fast during emergency maintenance
The Solution
Natural gas generators fueled by the refinery’s own pipeline
The Impact
Zero downtime and $985,000 saved in fuel costs

Client:Large US oil refinery

Location:West Texas, USA

Sectors:Petrochemical and refining

The challenge

Fast-track power for emergency maintenance

One of the largest refiners in the United States got in touch with us, as they needed to do some emergency maintenance on their boiler system inside the fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) and didn’t have enough power for the replacement units. This was urgent. If the boilers can’t run, the oil to gasoline process won’t work and the plant becomes unstable. They asked us for diesel generators to boost power while they took down and replaced the old system.

4 x 300kWNatural gas generators

24/7On call service

$985,000Estimated cost savings

40-50Average savings with natural gas

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The solution

Harnessing the refinery’s own natural gas

After more than 50 years in the business, we often spot efficiencies that customers don’t notice, so when we suggested gas generators instead of diesel, the refinery team was happy to take our recommendation. Not only is gas cleaner to run, it can be up to 40%-50% cheaper, and since the refinery had their own pipeline it made complete sense for this project. We quickly delivered and installed four 300 kW natural gas generators along with all the distribution panels and related equipment.

Our specialist technician worked on site with the refinery’s pipeline gas and was on call personally, 24/7, throughout the whole process.

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“Our customer asked for diesel generators, but with a gas pipeline on site we knew that was the way to go, and the refinery saved almost a million dollars.”

The impact

No downtime, huge savings and lower emissions

The gas generators provided enough power to keep the refinery running during FCCU maintenance. Not only that, but by using onsite gas rather than diesel, the plant saved around $385,000 in fuel costs, while lowering emissions.