Even though FCCU revamps have been AltairStrickland’s core business for 31 years and continue to be so, the coke drum revamp portion of the company’s business has been burgeoning during the past few years.

Refiners have been implementing delayed coking into their processing configuration for years so that they can make efficiencies and improve value of the products they produce. During the crude oil processing cycle, residual coke must be released from large pressurized drums or cyclones. In the past, this process had inherent dangers to workers, but recently new valves have become available. The new valves completely seal the connection from the bottom of the coke drum all the way down through the discharge chute.

“The most recent advances in unheading or deheading devices have revolutionized the coker business,” said Whitney Strickland of AltairStrickland. “It’s a revolution because of its critical importance to safety. The new deheaders already have saved lives and are going to continue to save lives in the future. We’re glad to have the business, of course, but we’re really pleased that we can play a role in making our industry safer.”

The company says that in 2001 it performed a coker revamp that included the installation of new derricks and drums. Later, in 2003, AltairStrickland executed the first double deheading device installation in the Gulf Coast area. Word about the success of these two projects quickly spread throughout the industry. Soon, AltairStrickland was besieged with clients wanting the company to execute similar projects in their facilities. Today, the coker revamp business comprises nearly half of AltairStrickland’s project work.

How a coke drum revamp starts

AltairStrickland’s constructability engineers and field experts first study the coke drum replacement or deheading device installation project. They enter all pertinent details into an AutoCAD™ program. The entire project is laid out prior to the execution start date.

“A recent coke drum replacement was executed within the scheduled 16 days,” Strickland said. “Not only was it completed on schedule, but there were no safety incidents.”

How FCCU expertise blends with fluid coke projects

There are few fluid cokers in the United States making them a “rare bird” according to Jim Robinson, president of AltairStrickland. He explained that his company’s expertise in FCCUs lends itself to performing fluid coker work.

“An FCCU reactor or regenerator contains cyclones as does a fluid coker unit,” he said. “There are many similarities between the two procedures. Our experience makes us the ideal company to perform either or both of those projects. In fact, we recently performed a fluid coker revamp at the Tesoro Golden Eagle refinery. Our team replaced seven cyclones in less time than previous contractors who did the same thing. Actually the client told us that we shortened the duration by more than a week when compared to similar projects performed by other contractors in the same facility.

“We can’t help but be proud of ourselves when we execute a tough job safely and deliver top quality too. But to come in under schedule is a real bonus to our client and a credit to our crews.”

New delayed coker retrofit device

There is a new product on the market for plant owners with delayed cokers. This latest device is designed in such a way as to protect employees from getting too close to the deheading operation of a coke drum, which is where the most accidents, and the most serious accidents, occur. Not only is it safer for operators, but it also has an economic benefit and can reduce cycle times allowing for more coke production.

Project facts from AltairStrickland

AltairStrickland’s Senior Project Manager Custer Crawford is spearheading the booming coker retrofit business. Crawford said that he has been able to develop specialty teams to install the coker devices including the DeltaValve® from Curtiss-Wright along with other products clients may specify.

“These devices weigh around 80,000 pounds,” said Crawford, “and they can cost $1 million or so. There’s a lot riding on the quality and safety of the installation itself. And the client wants that baby to perform exactly the way it was intended once it starts up. We’ve installed a bunch of these, and we’re good at it.”

The statistics bear out Crawford’s statements. AltairStrickland crews will have installed 32 devices by March 2008 (26 bottom devices and six top) for eight different owners.

Tending to core business

While the coker revamp projects are getting a lot of industry attention, AltairStrickland has not neglected its core business — FCCU revamps. The company recently completed a 150,000 man-hour project at the Tesoro Refining facility near Salt Lake City.

AltairStrickland is no stranger to the plant. Ken Beckemeyer, a senior project manager for AltairStrickland, said that repeat business is ideal for both contractors and clients.

“Performing multiple projects over time for our clients is a win-win, we think,” Beckemeyer said. “We become very familiar with their plant, their processes and procedures. You also develop a rapport with your client’s team. They know your personality and how your crews work and vice versa. It just becomes a smoother operation.

“I think that’s one reason why we were able to complete this most recent project for Tesoro in just 26 days — because of the mutual trust and ongoing working relationship. We also were able to minimize the turnaround duration and get their unit back up and running smoothly without a leak on start-up. Because of our previous relationship Tesoro knows that we put a great deal of effort, detail and thought in our preturnaround planning.”

Tesoro commends AltairStrickland’s preplanning

Tesoro’s Corporate Turnaround Manager Keith Chism agreed that AltairStrickland’s knowledge and preparation is to be complimented.

Chism wrote this to Beckemeyer prior to shutdown: “I walked the unit yesterday and saw how much work AltairStrickland has going in preturnaround (work) and how much work is staged to be executed during the outage. You and your crew should be commended for all the ongoing work and preparation of work. The good productivity factors you are posting, and, most of all, the great safety record you are holding with all of the congested work going on is amazing. The preparation work shows you’re ready to work the second you get the go-ahead after shutdown. That’s extremely important with the FEL strategy around the schedule. Your focus on execution will be very valuable in meeting schedule.”

Post turnaround statistics proved Chism’s preshutdown assessment. Three hundred AltairStrickland personnel participated in the project. The weld rejection rate was less than .05 percent, and the project was completed safely, on schedule and under budget.

The revamp consisted of teaming up with Tesoro and two engineering firms, along with many outside fabricators and on-site Tesoro-provided subcontractors. The unit was revamped by going from six pairs of cyclones to a new design of eight pairs, which required the fabrication, removal and replacement of the top head of the regenerator along with an added 10-foot section of shell and overhead flue gas line. Beckemeyer added that all the existing internals of the regenerator were removed and replaced with newly designed components.

In addition to the inside regenerator and reactor vessels work, all of the old major lines below the cat were changed out during the shutdown duration. This included a new wye section and feed rings. Piping throughout the unit consisted of more than 5,800 field welds (these were included in that less than .05-percent field weld rejection rate). Beckemeyer stands behind his field crews as being the best in the business and would stack them up against all odds of getting the job done in the safest manner possible with the end result being, “Leave the client happy,” which equates to being asked to return for future work.

For more information, please contact Whitney Strickland at (281) 478-6200 or (800) 478-6206 or e-mail him at wstrickland@altairstrickland.com.