A New Model For Reliability Centered Maintenance In Petroleum Refineries

Refiners today operate their equipment for prolonged periods without shutdown. This is primarily due to the increased pressures of the market resulting in extended shutdown-to-shutdown intervals. This places extreme demands on the reliability of the plant equipment. The traditional methods of reliability assurance, like Preventive Maintenance, Predictive Maintenance and Condition Based Maintenance become inadequate in the face of such demands. The alternate approaches to reliability improvement, being adopted the world over are implementation of RCFA programs and Reliability Centered Maintenance. However refiners and process plants find it difficult to adopt this standardized methodology of RCM mainly due to the complexity and the large amount of analysis that needs to be done, resulting in a long drawn out implementation, requiring the services of a number of skilled people. These results in either an implementation restricted to only few equipment or alternately, one that is non-standard. The paper presents the current models in use, the core requirements of a standard RCM model, the alternatives to classical RCM, limitations in the existing model, classical RCM and available alternatives to RCM and will then go on to present an ‗Accelerated‘ approach to RCM implementation, that, while ensuring close conformance to the standard, does not place a large burden on the implementers

Perfil Logístico del Sector Hidrocarburos en Colombia – Parte 2

El perfil logístico del sector hidrocarburos parte de una caracterización mundial y nacional del mismo en el que se resalta la posición del país respecto a la región en cuanto a la participación en consumo y producción de petróleo, además de contar con un análisis del comportamiento de los principales indicadores como lo son los históricos del precio del barril de petróleo, producción diaria, participación en el PIB, Inversión Extranjera Directa o IED y Balanza Comercial. Luego se presentan las principales problemáticas del sector en cuanto a medio ambiente, infraestructura, conflicto armado, disminución de reservas, alternativas energéticas, etc., que presentan un obstáculo para el desarrollo y competitividad del sector. A continuación se encuentra la información asociada con la cadena de suministro de los hidrocarburos, se caracteriza el producto y se trata eslabón por eslabón comenzando por los proveedores, pasando por producción, almacenamiento, distribución, transporte clientes, logística inversa y finalizando con un mapa de agregación de valor o VSM por sus siglas en inglés. A partir de esto se analiza el estado de productividad y competitividad del sector; se dan a conocer las principales asociaciones y agremiaciones del mismo, se realiza un análisis especial a la situación de fletes y transporte. Todo con el fin de dar a conocer una fotografía del estado actual de los hidrocarburos en Colombia.

Implicaciones comerciales de la Diplomacia Petrolera China en el Amazonas ecuatoriano. 2007 - 2013

El presente Estudio de Caso tiene como objetivo analizar en qué medida las dinámicas comerciales de la Diplomacia Petrolera China han convertido a Ecuador en un socio estratégico para la RPCh. El petróleo como fuente de energía es primordial para llevar a cabo los procesos de industrialización y mantener el crecimiento económico del león Asiático. Por eso su búsqueda se ha convertido en un tema principal dentro de la agenda de política exterior. Ecuador, el tercer país de Suramérica con más reservas de petróleo, después de Venezuela y Brasil, se ha convertido en zona de influencia de la RPCh y a través de las empresas petroleras estatales se han firmado contratos por la venta de petróleo. A pesar de que las relaciones bilaterales son asimétricas, se buscar establecer si Ecuador es un socio estratégico en la región.

Sistema de reserves hoteleres on-line, basat en el protocol de comunicació OTA

L’origen d’aquest projecte neix en la necessitat de crear un sistema de reserves hoteleres on-line integral i amb connectivitat amb altres sistemes de reserves. S'ha optat pel protocol de comunicació OTA(Open Travel Alliance), es tracta d'un protocol de comunicació XML ideat per empreses del sector turístic dels Estats Units per la necessitat comuna d’unes especificacions tècniques que permetessin la comunicació electrònica de la informació

Evaluación del desempeño del plan de ahorro de la compañía Andes Petroleum

El presente estudio está enfocado en evaluar el plan de ahorro de los empleados de la compañía Andes Petroleum Ecuador Ltd. como un beneficio de retención y capacidad de ahorro de los empleados mediante aportaciones mensuales personales y de la compañía.Se prevé analizar los resultados obtenidos por este plan de ahorros como un beneficio que apalanca la retención de personal en la compañía Andes Petroleum Ecuador Ltd. En vista de que siendo un beneficio adicional al salario de los empleados además otorga un premio por la permanencia de aquellos empleados que cumplan con un período de ahorro determinado. Para este estudio se realizará una investigación bibliográfica de autores que hayan abordado temas de incentivos y control de gestión1a sus ejecutivoscomo bonos, participación de acciones de la empresa, pago de impuestos, así como otro tipo de incentivos propuestos en las organizaciones con el objetivo de generar un apalancamiento positivo para la consecución de los objetivos estratégicos a mediano y largo plazo. Por otro lado se observarán las condiciones más utilizadas en la administración de fondos de inversión, lo que permitirá al lector conocer con mayor profundidad los diferentes instrumentos financieros con los que se puede diversificar un portafolio de inversión para lograr una mayor rentabilidad. Como conclusión la presente tesis busca conocer si un plan de ahorros de estas características ha logrado aumentar el compromiso y ha sido una herramienta eficaz de retención del personal y el grado de satisfacción que este pueda tener entre sus miembros en el espacio organizacional.

Gold mining in Ghana's forest reserves: a report on the current debate

This paper examines the debate surrounding a recent decision made by the Ghanaian government to permit gold exploration - and potentially, mining - in 'protected' forest reserves. In 2001, four mining companies were awarded mineral exploration concessions in forested regions of the country, and have since put forward applications to mine for gold. Notwithstanding the sharp divide in opinion on the issue, the continued uncertainty surrounding the implications of the proposed activities makes further research on the ground imperative in the short term. Work aiming to elicit indigenous perspectives on the projects, as well as research that facilitates dialogue between and/or among stakeholder parties, should be prioritized.

Assessing the date of the global oil peak: the need to use 2P reserves

Combining geological knowledge with proved plus probable ('2P') oil discovery data indicates that over 60 countries are now past their resource-limited peak of conventional oil production. The data show that the global peak of conventional oil production is close. Many analysts who rely only on proved ('1P') oil reserves data draw a very different conclusion. But proved oil reserves contain no information about the true size of discoveries, being variously under-reported, over-reported and not reported. Reliance on 1P data has led to a number of misconceptions, including the notion that past oil forecasts were incorrect, that oil reserves grow very significantly due to technology gain, and that the global supply of oil is ensured provided sufficient investment is forthcoming to 'turn resources into reserves'. These misconceptions have been widely held, including within academia, governments, some oil companies, and organisations such as the IEA. In addition to conventional oil, the world contains large quantities of non-conventional oil. Most current detailed models show that past the conventional oil peak the non-conventional oils are unlikely to come on-stream fast enough to offset conventional's decline. To determine the extent of future oil supply constraints calculations are required to determine fundamental rate limits for the production of non-conventional oils, as well as oil from gas, coal and biomass, and of oil substitution. Such assessments will need to examine technological readiness and lead-times, as well as rate constraints on investment, pollution, and net-energy return. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sizing reserves within a landscape: the roles of villagers' reactions and the ecological-socioeconomic setting

Traditionally, siting and sizing decisions for parks and reserves reflected ecological characteristics but typically failed to consider ecological costs created from displaced resource collection, welfare costs on nearby rural people, and enforcement costs. Using a spatial game-theoretic model that incorporates the interaction of socioeconomic and ecological settings, we show how incorporating more recent mandates that include rural welfare and surrounding landscapes can result in very different optimal sizing decisions. The model informs our discussion of recent forest management in Tanzania, reserve sizing and siting decisions, estimating reserve effectiveness, and determining patterns of avoided forest degradation in Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation programs.

The role of undisclosed reserves in English open outcry auctions

This study considers the role that reserve prices may play in residential property auctions. In comparison to much of the previous empirical work, this study has access to undisclosed reserve prices from English auctions. Consistent with theoretical arguments in the auction literature, the results obtained illustrate that whilst higher reserve prices increase the revenue obtained for the seller, they also reduce the probability of sale. The findings also highlight the importance of auction participation, with the number of individual bidders and the number of bids significant in most specifications.

The role of undisclosed reserves in English open outcry auctions

This study considers the role that reserve prices may play in residential property auctions. In comparison to much of the previous empirical work, this study has access to undisclosed reserve prices from English auctions. Consistent with theoretical arguments in the auction literature, the results obtained illustrate that whilst higher reserve prices increase the revenue obtained for the seller, they also reduce the probability of sale. The findings also highlight the importance of auction participation, with the number of individual bidders and the number of bids significant in most specifications.