Refineries

Engineering Encyclopedia
Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards
Aramco and Joint Venture Refineries
Note: The source of the technical material in this volume is the Professional
Engineering Development Program (PEDP) of Engineering Services.
Warning: The material contained in this document was developed for Saudi
Aramco and is intended for the exclusive use of Saudi Aramco’s
employees. Any material contained in this document which is not
already in the public domain may not be copied, reproduced, sold, given,
or disclosed to third parties, or otherwise used in whole, or in part,
without the written permission of the Vice President, Engineering
Services, Saudi Aramco.
Chapter : Process For additional information on this subject, contact

File Reference: AGE10504 R.A. Al-Husseini on 874-2792
Engineering Encyclopedia Process
Aramco Joint Venture Refineries
CONTENTS PAGES
REFINERY OVERVIEW................................................................................................................1
Ras Tanura Refinery ..........................................................................................................1

Process Flow ........................................................................................................1
Jeddah Refinery .................................................................................................................3

Process Flow ........................................................................................................3
Utilities.................................................................................................................3
Riyadh Refinery.................................................................................................................5
Process Flow ........................................................................................................5
Utilities.................................................................................................................6
Yanbu Refinery..................................................................................................................9
Process Flow ........................................................................................................9
Utilities.................................................................................................................9
Offsite Facilities .................................................................................................10
Petromin-Petrola Rabigh Refinery ...................................................................................12
Process Flow ......................................................................................................12
Utilities...............................................................................................................12
Marine Facilities.................................................................................................12
Petromin Mobil Refinery (Pemref) ..................................................................................14
Process Flow ......................................................................................................14
Process Controls.................................................................................................14
Port Facilities .....................................................................................................14
Utilities...............................................................................................................14
Petromin Shell Refinery (PSRC)......................................................................................16

Process Flow ......................................................................................................16
Utilities...............................................................................................................16
Economics..........................................................................................................18
Expenses ............................................................................................................18
Volume Accounting ...........................................................................................20

Planning .............................................................................................................20

Traditional Methods ...........................................................................................20

Linear Programming ..........................................................................................20
CRUDE DISTILLATION..............................................................................................................23
Process Flow ....................................................................................................................23
Operating Variables .........................................................................................................24
VACUUM DISTILLATION .........................................................................................................25
PRODUCT SWEETENING ..........................................................................................................26
Merox ..............................................................................................................................26
Desulfurization.................................................................................................................29
Naphtha Pretreater ..............................................................................................30
Kerosene/Gas Oil Hydrotreaters .........................................................................32
Other Benefits ....................................................................................................33
REFORMING AND GASOLINE MANUFACTURE ...................................................................34
Process Operation ............................................................................................................34
Process Flow ......................................................................................................34
Process Variables ...............................................................................................35
Reforming Chemistry.........................................................................................35
Cycle Length ......................................................................................................36
Gasoline Blending ...........................................................................................................37
Volatility ............................................................................................................37
Octane ................................................................................................................37
Specifications .....................................................................................................38
SULFUR RECOVERY..................................................................................................................39
H2S Removal...................................................................................................................39
Sulfur Recovery Units......................................................................................................40
DENSITY/GRAVITY DATA........................................................................................................42
Liquid Streams.................................................................................................................42
Gas Streams .....................................................................................................................43

Solids ...............................................................................................................................43
ARABIAN LIGHT CRUDE – KEROSENE YIELD AND PROPERTY DATA ...........................43
ARABIAN LIGHT CRUDE – NAPHTHA YIELD AND PROPERTY DATA ............................44
AMINE SYSTEM PFD .................................................................................................................45
SOUR WATER SIMPLIFIED PFD...............................................................................................46
GLOSSARY ..................................................................................................................................47

REFINERY OVERVIEW
Ras Tanura Refinery
The first refining operation at Ras Tanura consisted of a 3,000 B/D topping unit that ran for approximately six
months in 1941. The major operation at the time consisted of barge shipments of 12,000 to 15,000 B/D from
al-Khobar to BAPCO.
By late 1945, a 50,000 B/D refinery was in operation, as was a new tank farm, marine terminal, and pipeline to
BAPCO.
The refinery has grown steadily, reaching its present capacity of 500,000 B/D in 1970. Modernization has
continued: the most recent addition being a new 250,000 B/D crude unit, a new asphalt plant, new sulfur
recovery unit, and new flare system, completed in 1986.
Processing options that may be considered for future modernization will be presented in Module 6.
The Ras Tanura refinery today consists of a complex set of processes designed to produce finished products for
the market needs of the Kingdom and to prepare crude, naphtha, and fuel oil for export. To accomplish this,
Refinery Operations are set up in four operating divisions.
• Refining, where an average of 450,000 B/D of Arabian Light crude is processed to the gasoline, jet fuel,
diesel fuel, solvents and asphalt needed to supply the domestic market.
• NGL and Oil Processing, where up to 1,200,000 B/D of crude is stabilized and treated prior to export,
and 400,000 B/D of NGL is separated and treated for export as propane, butane, and natural gasoline.
• Oil Movements and Offsites consist of the major tank farms (100 tanks with 6,000,000 total storage
capacity) and the crude booster, product blending and transfer and asphalt storage areas.
• Utilities supplies the steam, air, power, and treated water necessary to keep the rest of the refinery in
operation. The Ras Tanura refinery is self-sufficient in all utilities, having eighteen power boilers, ten air
compressors, a once-through salt water cooling system, five steam power generators, two gas turbine
generators, five sea water flash evaporators, and seven high pressure evaporators.
Process Flow
Figure 1A is a process flow diagram (PFD) of the Ras Tanura Refinery. It shows in block form the major
process units in the refinery and the products produced when the refinery is operating at full capacity.
Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 1

Products from the Ras Tanura Refinery include LPG, motor gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, and asphalt for the
domestic market and naphtha and heavy fuel oil for export.
FIGURE 1A. Ras Tanura Refinery Process Flow Diagram

Jeddah Refinery
The Jeddah Refinery facility was developed in three phases. The first phase, referred to as AREA I, was built in
1968 to satisfy the limited demand of the western province for oil products. The refinery operation at the time
had a 12,000 BPD design capacity. The refinery produced naphtha, kerosene, diesel, gas oil, LPG, platformate
for premium gasoline blending, and reduced crude for fuel oil or for supply to the Lubricating Oil Refinery
(Luberef).
The second phase, referred to as AREA II, was built in 1974 by Chiyoda. The expansion included additional
operating capacity of 32,925 BPD. The modernization of production units from the AREA II expansion
allowed major AREA I units such as the vacuum distillation unit 2, visbreaker, and kerosene unifiner to be
placed in idle status or permanently shutdown.
The third phase, referred to as AREA III, was built in 1978 by Petrola. The addition of two 24,000 BPD crude
distillation units increased the refinery's capacity. AREA III production of asphalt played a significant role in
the construction of roads and highways within the Western Province in the early 1980’s.
Process Flow
Figure 1B shows a process flow diagram of the Jeddah Refinery. It shows the major process units in the
refinery and the products that are produced when the refinery is operating at full capacity. The refinery
produces petroleum products for the Western Province product market, and it produces naphtha and fuel oil for
export refinery products.
• Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) • Motor gasoline

• Aviation jet fuel JP-4 • Diesel oil
• Export naphtha • Asphalt products
Utilities
The Jeddah Refinery is a self-sufficient facility. The refinery's main utility systems include electrical power,
steam, compressed air, potable water, process water, and treated water.
Electrical Power - Electrical power (24 MW) is generated by four gas turbines. Approximately 69% of the
power that is generated is utilized by Jeddah Refinery. The other 31% of generated power is utilized by other
customers.
Steam Generation - Steam is generated in four boilers, each rated at 110,000 lbs/hr. Three boilers are
normally required to meet the refinery’s demand.
Water Systems - Distillate water is produced by three desalination units, two with a capacity of 55 tons/hr and
one with a capacity of 210 tons/hr. Approximately 65% of the produced water is utilized by Jeddah Refinery
for the steam boilers, potable water, cooling water, and the irrigation system. The other 35% of the produced
water is utilized by other customers such as the Luberef Plant, Petrojet Plant, and the Steel Rolling Mill Plant.

FIGURE 1B. Jeddah Refinery Process Flow Diagram

Riyadh Refinery
The Riyadh Refinery complex was developed in two phases. The first phase, referred to as the No. 1 Refinery,
was built in 1974. At that time, the refinery had a 15,000 BPD design capacity. A subsequent de-bottlenecking
project increased the capacity of the facility to approximately 20,000 BPD. The second phase, or the No. 2
Refinery, was built in 1981 with a design capacity of 100,000 BPD. Crude oil is supplied to the refinery
through a 142 km pipeline from the Khurais oil fields. The two refineries have processing facilities that include
crude fractionation, naphtha reforming, kerosene hydrotreating, gas oil hydrocracking, residuum demetalization
and asphalt production. Products are shipped primarily by tanker truck; however, the stabilized crude oil and
LPG are transported to other facilities by pipeline.
Also in 1981, a crude stabilization facility and a water conservation project were added. The crude stabilization
facility was designed to stabilize 210,000 BPD of crude for use in SCECO electrical power plants. The water
conservation project utilizes Riyadh city sewage plant effluent to provide process water requirements for the
refinery. A maximum rate of 300,000 BPD can be pumped from the Khurais area to the refinery.
Process Flow
Figures 1C and 1D show process flow diagrams of the Riyadh Refinery Unit Nos. 1 and 2. The refinery
produces the following petroleum products:
• Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) • Premium & regular grade motor gasolines
• Aviation jet fuel JP-4 • Automotive diesel oil
• Multi-purpose kerosene • Asphalt products
• Stabilized crude oil for turbine fuel

Utilities
The refinery’s main utility systems include electrical power, steam, compressed air, potable water, process
water, and treated water.
Electrical Power - The refinery has the facilities to be self-sufficient and to generate its own power needs;
however, the refinery normally draws approximately 36 MW for the No. 2 Refinery from the SCECO power
grid. Both control rooms for the refinery have a battery-supplied, uninterruptible power supply, which allows
the plant to shut down in a safe and controlled manner during a power outage.
Steam Generation - Steam is generated in five boilers. Two boilers are rated at 100,000 lbs/hr and three
boilers are rated at 225,000 lbs/hr. All five boilers are required to meet the refinery’s demand.
Water Treatment Systems - The refinery complex has three water supplies and two treatment plants. The
three sources of supply are the Riyadh municipal water supply, a deep-well, raw water supply, and a water
supply from the Riyadh municipal sewage treatment plant effluent. The two treatment plants process water for
potable drinking water and for industrial use such as utility and firewater, treated water, and boiler feed water.

FIGURE 1C. Riyadh Refinery Unit No. 1 Process Flow Diagram

FIGURE 1D. Riyadh Refinery Unit No. 2 Process Flow Diagram

Yanbu Refinery
The Yanbu Refinery is about 5 km south of Yanbu and abutting the Red Sea. The refinery was commissioned
in 1983 with a designed capacity of 170,000 BPD of Arab Light crude oil; however the year-around sustainable
capacity is 190,000 BPD. During the winter months, the refinery can achieve a crude oil process rate of
220,000 BPD by taking advantage of the cooler ambient temperatures. The crude oil process rate is limited by
the cooling capacity of the crude oil distillation tower overhead exchangers.
Process Flow
Figure 1E is a process flow diagram of the Yanbu Refinery. The refinery produces the following petroleum
products:
• Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) • Premium & regular grade motor gasolines
• Aviation jet fuel JP-4 /Kerosene • Motor gasoline blending stock
• Fuel oil • Automotive & marine diesel oil
The refinery has been designed as a hydroskimming facility. The main process units consist of a crude
distillation unit and a naphtha reformer, or platformer. These units are supported by utility, fractionating, sulfur
removal, tank farm, and marine facilities.
Utilities
Electrical Power - Yanbu Refinery is supplied with 23 MW from the Royal Commission.
Steam Generation - Steam is generated in three boilers, each rated at 150,000 lbs/hr and approximately 150
psig. Two boilers are normally required to meet the refinery’s demand of approximately 150,000 lbs/hr.
Water Systems - The Royal Commission supplies potable water and desalinated process water. The process
water is primarily used to meet the requirements of the boiler feed water system, utility stations, the closed
cooling water system, and the plant fire water system.

Offsite Facilities
The Yanbu Refinery offsite facilities include a tank farm area, gasoline blending facilities, marine terminal, and
truck loading facilities.
The tank farm area includes approximately 70 tanks for storage of crude oil, gasoline blending additives,
intermediate products and finished products.
The marine terminal includes berthing, mooring, and ballast water treating facilities. The terminal has four
berths, which are designed for 3,000 to 80,000 DWT vessels. Larger vessels are loaded with fuel oil at the
Saudi Aramco Crude Oil Terminal. The terminal is also used to unload naphtha, gasoline additives, and diesel
oil that is imported from the Rabigh Refinery.
The truck loading facilities provide loading stations for all refinery products and crude oil.

FIGURE 1E. Yanbu Refinery Process Flow Diagram

Petromin-Petrola Rabigh Refinery

The Petromin-Petrola Rabigh Refinery is an export refining joint venture company that was started between
Petromin and Petrola Rabigh Refinery Company, each with a 50% share. The Petromin share was first
transferred to SAMAREC and subsequently transferred to Saudi Aramco.
The Petromin-Petrola Rabigh Refinery is located on the Red Sea coast about 150 km north of Jeddah and 170
km south of Yanbu. The refinery has a design capacity of 325 MBD of Arab Light crude oil. Currently, only
Phase I of the overall project has been constructed.
Process Flow
Figure 1F shows a process flow diagram of the Petromin-Petrola Rabigh Refinery. The refinery produces the
following petroleum products:
• Fuel gas • Sulfur

• Naphtha • Kerosene
• Gas oil • Fuel oil
The refinery has been designed as a hydroskimming facility. The main process unit is a crude distillation unit.
This unit is supported by utility, sulfur removal, tank farm, and marine facilities.
Utilities
The refinery’s main utility systems include steam, compressed air, potable water, process water, sea water, fuel
gas, electrical power, and nitrogen.
Electrical Power - Electrical power is generated by 3 gas turbines, each rated at 30 MW.
Steam Generation - Steam is generated in four boilers, each rated at 145,000 lbs/hr and approximately 640
psig.
Water Systems - A large sea water intake system supplies the cooling water, potable water, firewater, and
desalinated process water for refinery needs.
Marine Facilities
The harbor and marine terminal facilities are located over 1.5 km from the process units. The marine terminal
includes berthing, mooring, and ballast water treating facilities. The terminal has two berths that are designed
for vessels up to 325,000 DWT. These loading berths each have 10 and 20 ft loading arms for the import of
crude oil and the export of refined products.

FIGURE 1F. Petromin-Petrola Rabigh Refinery Process Flow Diagram

Petromin Mobil Refinery (Pemref)

Pemref is an export refining joint venture company that was started between Petromin and Mobil Oil Company,
each with a 50% share. The Petromin share was first transferred to SAMAREC and subsequently transferred to
Saudi Aramco.
The Pemref refinery is about 2 km south of Yanbu’s Royal Commission residential camp and it is within 1 km
of the Red Sea. The refinery was commissioned in 1984 with a design capacity of 250 MBD of Arab Light
crude oil. Due to minor modifications over the years, the refinery can now routinely process 320 MBD of
crude oil and achieve nearly 100% utilization of all process units.
Process Flow
Figure 1G shows a process flow diagram of the Pemref. The refinery produces the following petroleum
products:
• Propane • Premium & regular grade motor gasoline

• Aviation jet fuel Kerosene • Diesel and heating oil
• Fuel oil
The refinery uses modern process technology to maximize gasoline and distillate production. The processing
scheme is centered around a Continuous Catalytic Reformer (CCR) and Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) unit.
Also included is a C3/C4 HF Alkylation unit, a C4/C5/C6 Isomerization unit, a Methyl-Tertial-Butyl-Ether
(MTBE) unit, and a Visbreaker. Hydrotreating, caustic, and amine treating facilities are also provided to
remove sulfur compounds from intermediate and finished products.
Process Controls
A variety of computer control systems are used to support the process and off-site facilities. The process units
are monitored and controlled by using a Foxboro 1/A supervisory computer and a Videospec distributive
control system. A Foxboro Microblend computer is used for in-line blending. A Daniel’s metering system is
used for custody transfer at the marine terminal .
Port Facilities
The port facilities belong to the Royal Commission; however, they are operated and maintained by Pemref.
There are two main berths at the port that can handle a maximum of 150,000 tons each and one short haul berth
with a maximum of 35,000 tons. The annual berth utilization ranges between 44% and 50%, which handles
400 to 470 ships per year. All refined products are transported by ship.
Utilities
The refinery’s main utility systems include steam, compressed air, potable water, process water, sea water, fuel
gas, electrical power, and nitrogen. Electrical power and water are imported from the Royal Commission.

FIGURE 1G. Petromin Mobil Refinery Process Flow Diagram

Petromin Shell Refinery (PSRC)

The Jubail Refinery is a 250,000 BPD crude oil refinery, which was specifically designed to produce export
grade chemical plant feed stocks, kerosene, gasoil, and fuel oil. The refinery was designed to process crude
directly into products in order to minimize intermediate tankage. Crude oil is supplied to the refinery through a
15 km pipeline from Saudi Aramco facilities. Products are exported primarily through the causeway tank farm
to the Jubail industrial port.
A de-bottlenecking project in the mid 1980’s increased the capacity of the facility to approximately 300,000
BPD. The maximum rate is approximately 335,000 BPD.
Process Flow
Figure 1H shows a process flow diagram of the PSRC. The refinery produces the following petroleum
products:
• Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) • Chemical feedstock naphtha (CFN)

• Benzene • Motor gasoline blending component
• Dual-purpose kerosene (DPK) • High sulfur fuel oil
• Gas blends (Gasoils A and B) • Long Residue
• Sulfur
Utilities
Electrical Power - PSRC draws approximately 55 MW from the SCECO power grid. In addition, PSRC draws
power from two condensing steam turbine-driven generators, which are rated at 5 MW each. The control
system and critical instrumentation are served by an uninterruptible power supply, which allows the plant to
shut down in a safe and controlled manner.
Steam Generation - Steam is generated in three boilers, each rated at 175,000 lbs/hr and approximately 600
psig. Two boilers are normally required to meet the refinery’s demand.
Water Systems - Approximately 80% of the refinery’s cooling water demand is provided by air fin-fan coolers.
The other 20% of cooling water comes from the RC cooling water canal system.

FIGURE 1H. Petromin Shell Refinery Process Flow Diagram

Economics
The refining operating margin is defined as the sum of the value of all products less the cost of crude oil input
and less the sum of all refinery operating expenses.
All engineering projects are geared toward improving the margin through increased production, higher quality
products, or reduced expenses.
Expenses
Expenses are broken down into two categories:
• Variable expenses
• Fixed expenses
Variable expenses are expenses that vary or are dependent on unit throughputs. Typical variable
expenses are shown in the summary in Figure 2.
• Fuel — own or purchased
• Power
• Consumable catalysts
• Fixed bed catalysts
• Chemicals
• Lead
• Additives
FIGURE 2. Variable Expenses
Fixed expenses are those that remain constant over the range of refinery operations. Typical fixed
expenses are shown in Figure 3.

• Payroll
• Benefits
• Maintenance contracts
• Maintenance materials
• Taxes
• Insurance
• Depreciation
• Capital related expense
• Professional services
• Supplies
FIGURE 3. Fixed Expenses
Overall Process Unit Costs – Expenses can be related to process units. The relative costs to operate
many common refinery processes are shown in Figure 4. These costs include all variable and fixed
expenses that are related to each processes’ operation.
Process Cost (¢/gal)

Crude unit 2
Pretreater 2
CHD 2
Platformer 3
FCCU 5
Alkylation 2
Coker 8
FIGURE 4. Expenses Related to Processes

Volume Accounting
The concepts of volume balance and weight balance are extremely important to assessing refinery economics
as well as to engineering problems. These concepts can be applied to any individual process unit or piece of
equipment or to the entire refinery.
A volume balance consists of a comparison of the total of the liquid volumes of all products from a unit or
refinery to the total of the liquid volumes of all feed streams to that same unit or refinery. The volume balance
may be greater or less than 100% depending on the processing being considered in the balance.
A weight balance is a comparison of the total mass of all product and by-product streams to the total mass of all
input streams. While refinery processing often results in molecular rearrangement of the feed to result in usable
products, there is no creation or destruction of atoms. Thus, the weight balance must be 100%, or “what goes
in must come out.”
Planning
A number of means is available for arriving at an optimum operation under a set of planned or unplanned
circumstances.
Traditional Methods
These methods include past experience, tests on actual facilities, intuition/judgment and solution of all possible
cases, feasible or infeasible. For complex problems, these methods are unacceptable, and simulation of
possible operations using mathematical models is required.
Linear Programming
Linear Programming is a widely used mathematical modeling technique, used by the oil industry for
problems that have characteristics as shown in Figure 5.
• Many possible combinations

of alternative actions
• Best set of actions is not obvious
• Possibility of significant economic

gain from better decisions
FIGURE 5. Characteristics of Problems for Linear Programming

Typical applications include those shown in Figure 6.
• Scheduling short-range activities
• Planning long-range activities
• Evaluating alternative schemes for

new facilities
• Evaluating changes in current

operations
FIGURE 6. Planning Using Linear Programming
Linear Programming can be applied to any activity that can be quantified by a series of options and limitations.
Representative problems include those shown in Figure 7.
• Crude allocation
• NGL allocation
• Selection of operating modes
• Refinery operations
• Product distribution
• Integrated multiple refinery

and distribution operations
• Production/inventory allocation
by time period
• Project evaluation
FIGURE 7. Representative Linear Programming Problems

The model is a set of simultaneous linear equations. It differs from a classical set of equations, such as
algebraic equations, in three ways:
1. There can be more unknowns that equations.
2. The equations can be either equalities or inequalities.
3. The unknowns cannot be negative.
Physical flows or activities are represented by vectors. These are the unknowns. Restraints, or rows, describe
the numerical relationships between, and the limitations on, the vectors and may be equalities or inequalities.
The objective defines the criteria for selecting the most economical set of activities out of the total set.

CRUDE DISTILLATION
Process Flow
Crude distillation is the basic separation of crude oil into various fractions (as defined in Module 1) based
upon boiling range. While some fractions may go directly to finished product blending, most are feeds for
downstream processing facilities: naphtha is routed to the pretreater and reformer units, kerosene and light gas
oil are hydrotreated to produce jet fuel and diesel products. The quality of the feeds for the downstream
processing is maintained by careful control of the crude distillation process.
A flow diagram for a typical crude unit process is shown in Figure 8.
FIGURE 8. Typical Crude Unit PFD

Operating Variables
Primary control parameters for crude distillation include tower operating temperatures, pressure, stripping
steam, reflux rates, and product draw rates as shown in Figure 9.
FIGURE 9. Modes of Control

VACUUM DISTILLATION
Vacuum distillation further separates the higher boiling range fractions without thermal decomposition or
cracking, which can occur at temperatures above 725 °F. By using vacuum distillation, the boiling point of
each fraction is lowered. This means that heavier fractions can be distilled before the 725 °F limit is reached.
A typical fuels vacuum unit process flow diagram is shown in Figure 10.
FIGURE 10. Typical Fuels Vacuum Unit PFD

PRODUCT SWEETENING
Sulfur compounds are odorous, toxic, and usually corrosive. Sulfur, as an impurity in refined products, comes
in many forms. These various forms, and their quality effects, are shown in Figure 11.
FIGURE 11. Quality Effects of Sulfur
Sulfur can be removed by chemical extraction, oxidized, or destroyed by hydrotreating of refinery products.
The Ras Tanura Refinery uses a combination of oxidation and hydrotreating processes for product sulfur
control.
Merox
A merox unit will oxidize sulfides and mercaptans to disulfides that have less effect. The merox process is used
to treat light gasoline and kerosene streams where a very low sulfur content of the finished product is not
required. The merox catalyst is an organo-metallic compound. The structure of this compound is shown in
Figure 12.

FIGURE 12. Merox Catalyst
Process flow diagrams for liquid phase and static bed merox treating processes are shown in Figures 13 and
14.

FIGURE 13. Liquid Phase Merox Treating
FIGURE 14. Static Bed Merox Treating

Desulfurization
Desulfurization is the catalytic process by which hydrogen is used to remove sulfur from crude fractions such
as naphtha, kerosene, and gas oils. The same technology can be used to remove sulfur from other process
streams and to remove a large portion of the nitrogen from these same fractions. These processes are
commonly known as hydrotreating processes.
Desulfurization can be used in a number of applications in a topping-reforming refinery, such as Ras Tanura,
as shown in Figure 15.
FIGURE 15. Topping-Reforming Refinery

Naphtha Pretreater
Naphtha is desulfurized in a pretreater unit. Hydrogen, at elevated temperature (generally above 600 °F) and
pressure (usually greater than 400 psig) and a metallic catalyst (cobalt/molybdenum or nickel/molybdenum) are
used to remove almost all traces of sulfur from the naphtha before it is charged to the reformer unit. The
reformer catalyst, which promotes the conversion of low octane naphtha to a high octane gasoline blending
component, would be poisoned or rendered ineffective by even a small amount of sulfur in the reformer feed.
In addition to sulfur, hydroprocessing also results in removal of nitrogen from the naphtha, saturation of
olefins, removal of oxygen compounds and removal of some metals from the naphtha.
Important Operating Variables for naphtha pretreating include:
• Reaction temperature
• Hydrogen partial pressure
• Space velocity
Types of Pretreaters – Two common pretreater system process flow diagrams are shown in Figures 16
and 17.

FIGURE 16. Reboiled Stabilizer Pretreater
FIGURE 17. Absorber/Stripper Pretreater

Kerosene/Gas Oil Hydrotreaters

Kerosene and gas oil can be desulfurized to produce finished jet fuel and diesel fuel products. A CHD process
flow diagram is shown in Figure 18.
FIGURE 18. Typical CHD Process Flow Diagram
Sulfur removal is improved by increasing reaction temperature and hydrogen partial pressure and by reducing
the space velocity (increasing feed-catalyst contact time in the reactor).

Other Benefits
While desulfurization is the principal goal of the hydroprocessing taking place at Ras Tanura, there are four
potential objectives that may be achieved through the application of hydroprocessing technology.
• Product upgrading such as the upgrading of raw kerosene and gas oil to finished jet fuel and diesel
• Feed upgrading such as pretreating of reformer naphthas
• Conversion to lighter products such as hydrocracking
• Conversion in the same boiling range that results in product quality improvements in the hydrotreating of
jet fuels and diesel fuels in addition to sulfur removal

REFORMING AND GASOLINE MANUFACTURE

Reforming is used primarily as an octane upgrading process and is one of the key process units at Ras Tanura.
Reforming is also the principal source of hydrogen used to hydrotreat in a topping-reforming refinery.
Process Operation
The rheniformers at Ras Tanura are conventional semi-regenerative reformers using a platinum-rhenium
catalyst.
Process Flow
A process flow diagram for a modern reforming unit is shown in Figure 19.
FIGURE 19. Semi-Regenerative Reforming System

Process Variables
Major process variables in catalytic reforming are listed in Figure 20.
Independent Dependent
Catalyst type Reformate octane
Reactor temperature Reformate yield
Space velocity Catalyst stability
Reactor pressure
H2/HC ratio
Naphtha properties
FIGURE 20. Reforming Process Variables
Reforming Chemistry
The relative ease by which a naphtha can be reformed to high octane gasoline is indicated by the PONA factor
(described in Module 1). Highly aromatic naphthas are more readily reformed than paraffinic naphthas.
Seven distinct reactions (Figure 21) take place in reforming, several of which are reversible. The less desirable
reactions are also exothermic, that is, they generate heat, and they consume hydrogen rather than generate it.
Reaction Desirable Reversible Endo/Exo H2 Gen/Cons

Dehydrogenation yes yes Endothermic Generates H2
Dehydroisomerization yes yes Endothermic Generates H2
Dehydrocyclization yes yes Endothermic Generates H2
Isomerization yes yes Exothermic Neither
Hydrocracking yes no Exothermic Consumes H2
Ring opening no yes Exothermic Consumes H2
De-alkylation no no Exothermic Consumes H2
FIGURE 21. Reforming Reactions

Cycle Length
Semi-regenerative reformers are shut down periodically for catalyst regeneration, which is primarily the
combustion of carbon deposited on the catalyst during normal operations. The catalyst performance slowly
deteriorates as the active sites are blocked by carbon, resulting in higher temperature requirements to achieve
the desired octane product. A concurrent decline in product yield is also observed.
Reformer yields, operating conditions, and cycle lengths are optimized through careful control of both the feed
quality (from the crude unit) and the catalyst environment.
Reforming catalysts are sensitive to a number of compounds that inhibit or block the catalyst activity, including
nitrogen, sulfur, halogens, and water, which are temporary poisons and are removed by altering operating
conditions. Semi-permanent poisons, such as carbon buildup due to high endpoint feed, are resolved with a
catalyst regeneration. Permanent poisons, such as metals deposition, ultimately require a catalyst replacement
for resolution. A decoking flow chart is shown in Figure 22.
FIGURE 22. Decoking Flow Chart

Gasoline Blending
Gasoline is blended to meet many specifications, including volatility and octane.
Volatility
Volatility is a measure of the readiness of the gasoline to vaporize so that it may burn in an internal combustion
engine.
Octane
Octane is a measure of the ability of a gasoline to resist knocking when burned under extreme test conditions.
The octane of a gasoline is dependent on the types of hydrocarbon molecules present in that gasoline. Octanes
of the classes of compounds are in decreasing order:
• Aromatics
• Naphthenes
• Isoparaffins
• Normal paraffins
Aromatics, produced in a refinery by catalytic reforming, have the highest octane ratings. A comparison of
octanes of several common hydrocarbons is shown in Figure 23.

FIGURE 23. Molecular Structure Octane Comparisons
Specifications
Specifications are set on all refinery products to see that each meets the needs of the consumer, meets applicable
government regulations, and meets criteria set by the product distribution and storage systems.
The following is a summary of critical specifications that require constant attention by refinery operations
personnel:
• Gasoline – octane number, volatility (vapor pressure, front end distillation)
• Jet fuel – flash point, freeze point, smoke point
• Diesel – flash point, pour point, sulfur, cetane number
• Heavy fuel oil – sulfur, viscosity

SULFUR RECOVERY
The recovery of sulfur from refinery streams is done in two steps.
• Removal of H2S from process streams
• Conversion of H2S to sulfur in sulfur recovery units
H2S Removal
Amine treating is the process by which hydrogen sulfide is absorbed into an aqueous solution of amine (usually
diethanol amine) to produce essentially H 2S-free fuel gas or LPG.
The absorption is accomplished through formation of weak chemical bonds between the sulfide and amine.
These weak bonds are broken by heating. Thus the reaction is easily reversible, and the amine is regenerated by
heating to drive off the hydrogen sulfide-rich “acid gas” as a feed stream to the sulfur recovery units
(Figure 24).
FIGURE 24. Amine Treating

Sulfur Recovery Units

The Sulfur Recovery Unit (SRU) really consists of four component processes.
• Amine Regeneration – where the amine solution is heated to drive off the absorbed H 2S
• Sour Water Stripping – where H2S- and NH3-contaminated water collected throughout the refinery is
steam stripped to remove these contaminants
• Claus Sulfur Recovery – where 95 to 97% of the hydrogen sulfide from the amine acid gas and sour
water gas is converted to elemental sulfur and the accompanying ammonia is destroyed
• Tail Gas Treating – where the remaining 3 to 5% of the sulfur is recovered by absorption in an amine
solution and recycled back to the Claus unit following amine regeneration
The Claus reaction between H2S and SO2 leads to the formation of elemental sulfur:
2H2S + SO2 → 3S + 2H2O + 25.2 kcal
This reaction proceeds at optimum efficiency when the H 2S in the acid and sour water gas streams is combusted
under controlled conditions so that one-third of the H 2S is converted to SO2. This ratio control is maintained
by control of the combustion air to the primary burner.
Approximately 60% conversion is attained in the first H 2S-SO2 contact in the thermal reaction, which operated
at 2200-2400 °F. The balance of the sulfur conversion is achieved in a series of Claus reactors where use of an
alumina catalyst promotes the conversion reaction at lower temperatures. The large amount of heat released
with the Claus reaction is used to generate steam. The process flow for a Claus sulfur plant is shown in
Figure 25.

FIGURE 25. Claus Sulfur Plant Process Flow
Due to the highly toxic nature of H 2S, safety is always a primary consideration in the operation of sulfur
recovery processes. Any leak of H 2S can result in personal injury if not properly isolated and resolved.

Density/Gravity Data
Liquid Streams
Table 1
Gravity °API Specific Gravity Specific Volume
(bbl/metric ton)
147.7 0.5090 12.3831
112.0 0.5720 11.0000
93.5 0.6289 10.0289
78.0 0.6754 9.3367
60.0 0.7389 8.5338
59.5 0.7408 8.5116
59.0 0.7428 8.4882
58.5 0.7447 8.4677
58.0 0.7467 8.4448
55.0 0.7587 8.3108
49.0 0.7839 8.0434
45.0 0.8017 7.8638
34.0 0.8550 7.3734
23.5 0.9129 6.9048
8.2 1.0129 6.2227
Table 2
Gravity °API Specific Gravity Lb/Bbl
45.0 0.8017 280.35
44.6 0.8035 281.00
34.0 0.8550 299.01
33.6 0.8571 299.73
10.0 1.0000 349.78

Gas Streams
0.555 sp.gr. = 0.0422 lb/cf
Solids
1.0 Long Ton = 2200 lb = 1000 kg
ARABIAN LIGHT CRUDE – KEROSENE YIELD AND PROPERTY DATA

Category Jet A Current Light Heavy Wide Range
Spec Production Kerosene Kerosene
TBP Range, °F – 380-530 330-530 380-550 330-550
Yield, Vol % – 15.0 20.8 16.9 22.7
Gravity, °API 51 max 44.2 44.6 43.5 43.9
Flash Point, °F 150 min 144 143 147 146
Freeze Point, °F -40 max -39.1 -40.3 -30.3 -33.1
Smoke Point, mm 20 min 22 22 22 22
Sulfur, wt % 0.3 max 0.28 0.26 0.34 0.32
Aromatics, vol % 20 max 22.5 22.4 22.7 22.6
Product quality effects due to hydrotreating raw kerosene to produce finished jet fuel:
• Reduce sulfur content
• Improve smoke point
• Saturate naphthalenes and aromatics

• Secondary benefits:
• Slightly higher gravity
• Lower freeze point
• Higher flash point (redistill front end in CHD stripper)

ARABIAN LIGHT CRUDE – NAPHTHA YIELD AND PROPERTY DATA

Current Production Light Naphtha
TBP Range, °F 180-380 180-330
Yield, Vol 5 20.9 15.3
Gravity, °API 57.1 60.0
PONA 34.3 31.5
Sulfur, ppm 399 295

AMINE SYSTEM PFD

Sour Water Simplified PFD

glossary
activities In linear programming, activities refers to the set of all possible process and
product options.
catalyst environment The conditions under which a catalyst operates, and which may be
controlled: temperature, pressure, hydrogen exposure, addition of
chemicals.
catalyst regeneration The act of burning carbon deposits off reformer or hydrotreating catalyst
and otherwise restoring its activity to a near new level. Also applied to
other process catalysts.
cone-roof tanks Cylindrical storage tanks, in which crude oil or products are stored, which
have a fixed roof supported by internal beams and columns.
conversion The act, within a process, of changing the form of one class of molecular
structures to another: mercaptans converted to disulfides, or the sulfur in all
sulfur compounds converted to hydrogen sulfide.
corrosive The quality of certain compounds (usually fluids) that allows the
assimilation or dissolving of other materials (usually solids) into the fluid,
thereby decreasing the mass of the solid.
crude distillation The basic separation of crude oil into various fractions based upon boiling
range.
constraints In linear programming, constraints refers to the set of all process,

equipment, crude, and product supply and financial restrictions on process
operations.
cryogenic tanks Low pressure spherical storage vessels for LPG products in which the vapor
pressure on the stored material is kept low by refrigeration.
desulfurization The catalytic process by which hydrogen is used to remove sulfur from
crude fractions. Also known as hydrodesulfurization.
expenses The various costs of doing business.
fixed expenses Those refining costs that are not related to throughput: payroll, benefits,
contracts, materials, taxes, insurance, depreciation, professional services,
supplies.
flammable The characteristic of a material that indicates readiness to vaporize and

combust.
floating-roof tanks Cylindrical crude oil or product storage tanks in which the roof floats, by
means of pontoons, on the material stored.
fractions The portions of crude oil that are separated by distillation, each having a
unique boiling range.

hydrotreating Hydrodesulfurization.
linear Having a relationship that can be defined by an equation that represents a

straight line (y = mx + b).
linear programming A mathematical modeling technique, in which all possible refinery activities
and constraints are represented by linear equations, the solution of which
will define an optimum operation.
margin The value of products produced less the cost of crude oil and all expenses
incurred in producing the products.
mass The weight of a volume of material.
modernization The act of installing significant new processing capability in an existing

plant.
octane The measure of the ability of a gasoline to resist knock when the vapors are
compressed and ignited under controlled conditions.
once-through A process cooling water system that uses water only one time and then
returns it to the body of water from which it was taken.
operation The activities associated with manipulating a continuous process to convert

raw materials to finished products.
offsites The refinery facilities outside the principal process area: tankage, wharves,
pump pads, etc.
poison Any material entering the process or produced in the process that inhibits
the activity of a process catalyst.
pressure tanks Spherical or cylindrical LPG storage vessels designed to withstand the high
vapor pressure of these products at normal storage temperature.
pretreater unit The hydrodesulfurization process immediately upstream of a platinum

reforming unit that is used to remove materials from the reformer feed that
would otherwise poison the reforming catalyst, especially sulfur, nitrogen,
and metals.
process The grouping of equipment and technology required to perform a specific

function or set of functions within a refinery.
product draw rate The rate at which a crude fraction (or other product) is withdrawn from a
distillation tower.
product stability A measure of the ability of a product to resist breakdown upon extended
storage time or under extreme conditions.
refining The act of converting crude oil through a series of continuous processes into
finished products.

reflux The portion of cooled or condensed liquid recovered from a distillation

tower that is returned to the tower in order to remove heat internal to the
tower.
reformer unit A refinery process that uses temperature, pressure, and a platinum-based
catalyst to convert low octane naphtha to high octane gasoline through a
series of reactions.
to stabilize The act of removing volatile (low boiling) and toxic materials from crude or
gasoline in order to make it safe for further handling, specifically shipment
to the next location.
stripping steam Steam injected into crude distillation tower fractions to assist the
vaporization of light materials that would otherwise be removed from the
crude tower with the fractions.
sweetening Any of a series of processes designed to remove sulfur from a raw product
or to convert the sulfur to a less noxious compound while remaining in the
process stream.

topping Crude topping refers to atmospheric distillation of crude oil to remove only
the more valuable naphtha, jet fuel, and diesel fractions.
topping-reforming refinery A refinery where the principal processes are atmospheric crude distillation
and naphtha reforming. Products are typically gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, and
No. 6 fuel oil, which is the means for disposal of large volumes of
atmospheric distillation bottoms material. There may or may not be
vacuum distillation. There would not be any catalytic cracking, coking, or
other heavy oil upgrading capability in a topping-reforming refinery.
toxic The characteristics of many materials that make them injurious to human
health in any manner.
treating Any of the processes designed to remove impurities from products or to

convert the impurities to less objectionable forms.
upgrading Any activity that converts a lower value material to a product of higher
value.
utilities Those processes that serve to support the principal oil handling processes in
a gas plant or refinery: water treating, steam generation, compressed air,
etc.
vacuum distillation Distillation carried out at less than atmospheric pressure in order to recover
additional volumes of gas oil fractions without encountering thermal
decomposition or cracking of the topped crude.
variable expenses Those refinery expenses that are expected to fluctuate with changes in plant
throughput: fuel, power, consumable catalysts, fixed bed catalysts,
chemicals, lead, additives.
volatility The relative ease with which a liquid gasoline vaporizes as indicated by the
low boiling and/or high vapor pressure materials present in the product.
volume balance A comparison of the sum of all product volumes to the sum of all input
volumes for a unit process or for a plant as a whole.
weight balance A comparison of the total mass of all product and by-product streams to the
total mass of all input streams.

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Engineering Encyclopedia

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards

Aramco and Joint Venture Refineries

Chapter : Process For additional information on this subject, contact

Ras Tanura Refinery ..........................................................................................................1

Jeddah Refinery .................................................................................................................3

Process Flow ........................................................................................................5

Process Flow ........................................................................................................9

Offsite Facilities .................................................................................................10

Petromin-Petrola Rabigh Refinery ...................................................................................12

Process Flow ......................................................................................................12

Petromin Mobil Refinery (Pemref) ..................................................................................14

Process Flow ......................................................................................................14

Petromin Shell Refinery (PSRC)......................................................................................16

Volume Accounting ...........................................................................................20

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards

Traditional Methods ...........................................................................................20

Process Flow ....................................................................................................................23

Operating Variables .........................................................................................................24

VACUUM DISTILLATION .........................................................................................................25

PRODUCT SWEETENING ..........................................................................................................26

Naphtha Pretreater ..............................................................................................30

Kerosene/Gas Oil Hydrotreaters .........................................................................32

Other Benefits ....................................................................................................33

REFORMING AND GASOLINE MANUFACTURE ...................................................................34

Process Operation ............................................................................................................34

Process Flow ......................................................................................................34

Process Variables ...............................................................................................35

Cycle Length ......................................................................................................36

Gasoline Blending ...........................................................................................................37

Sulfur Recovery Units......................................................................................................40

Gas Streams .....................................................................................................................43

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards

ARABIAN LIGHT CRUDE – KEROSENE YIELD AND PROPERTY DATA ...........................43

ARABIAN LIGHT CRUDE – NAPHTHA YIELD AND PROPERTY DATA ............................44

AMINE SYSTEM PFD .................................................................................................................45

SOUR WATER SIMPLIFIED PFD...............................................................................................46

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards

Ras Tanura Refinery

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 1

FIGURE 1A. Ras Tanura Refinery Process Flow Diagram

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 2

• Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) • Motor gasoline

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 3

FIGURE 1B. Jeddah Refinery Process Flow Diagram

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 4

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 5

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 6

FIGURE 1C. Riyadh Refinery Unit No. 1 Process Flow Diagram

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 7

FIGURE 1D. Riyadh Refinery Unit No. 2 Process Flow Diagram

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 8

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 9

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 10

FIGURE 1E. Yanbu Refinery Process Flow Diagram

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 11

Petromin-Petrola Rabigh Refinery

• Fuel gas • Sulfur

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 12

FIGURE 1F. Petromin-Petrola Rabigh Refinery Process Flow Diagram

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 13

Petromin Mobil Refinery (Pemref)

• Propane • Premium & regular grade motor gasoline

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 14