Walkthrough: Design an Oil Refinery FCC Unit (50,000 bpd Fluid Catalytic Cracker)

A 50,000 bpd (~7,950 m³/d, ~330 tonnes/h) Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) unit is the heart of a modern petroleum refinery. The FCC takes vacuum gas oil (VGO) — a heavy, high-molecular-weight fraction from vacuum distillation that boils between 340°C and 540°C and is too heavy to sell as anything other than asphalt feed or fuel oil — and breaks the C-C bonds on a zeolite catalyst at 500 to 540°C to make gasoline, LCO (light cycle oil, a diesel blendstock), LPG, propylene, and a small slurry residue. About 400 FCC units operate worldwide, processing roughly 14 million bpd of feed and producing 35 to 45% of US gasoline. Skip the FCC and the refinery is left with too much heavy fuel oil and too little gasoline — the demand barrel doesn’t match the production barrel.

This walkthrough designs the unit itself and locates it inside the larger refinery context — the 10 to 15 major process units that turn 100,000 to 700,000 bpd of crude oil into the finished slate of gasoline, jet, diesel, asphalt, petrochemical feedstocks, and sulfur. The reference refinery sits at 250,000 bpd of atmospheric distillation capacity (mid-sized US Gulf Coast complex; ExxonMobil Baton Rouge, Marathon Galveston Bay, Phillips 66 Sweeny region) with the FCC at 50,000 bpd processing the 20% of crude that ends up as VGO.

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1. Why cracking exists

Crude oil out of the ground is a mixture of hydrocarbons from C1 (methane) up to C60+ (long-chain waxes and asphaltenes), distributed across the boiling point range -160°C to >540°C. Atmospheric distillation can separate this into discrete fractions — but the mix of fractions in crude does not match the mix of fractions the market wants.

US gasoline + jet + diesel demand peaks at 50 to 70% of refinery throughput; raw crude yields only ~30% in the gasoline + jet + diesel boiling range. The bottom of the barrel — atmospheric residuum, then vacuum gas oil, then vacuum residuum — represents 30 to 50% of typical crudes and has very little value as is. Cracking converts the heavy end into the light end the market wants. This is the entire economic justification for refining beyond simple separation.

Two cracking technologies dominate:

• FCC (Fluid Catalytic Cracking): zeolite-catalyzed, low-pressure (1 to 3 bar), high-temperature (520 to 540°C reactor); produces gasoline and olefins; rejects hydrogen as coke on the catalyst, which is burned in the regenerator to provide reaction heat. No external hydrogen needed.
• Hydrocracking: bifunctional metal-on-zeolite catalyst, high-pressure (100 to 200 bar) hydrogen atmosphere, 350 to 440°C; produces diesel and jet preferentially over gasoline; consumes large quantities of hydrogen but produces low-sulfur, high-cetane diesel directly.

The choice between FCC-heavy and hydrocracker-heavy refining is a strategic decision driven by product slate (gasoline-market vs. diesel-market region), hydrogen cost, and feed quality. US refineries (gasoline-heavy demand) lean FCC; European refineries (diesel-heavy demand) lean hydrocracker; new Middle East and Indian builds (Reliance Jamnagar, ADNOC, Saudi Aramco) run both, optimized for export economics.

2. The FCC process flow

VGO feed
   │
   ▼
Feed preheater (cracked-product heat exchange + fired heater)
   │ ~ 320 to 380°C
   ▼
Riser bottom — feed injection nozzles atomize VGO into hot regenerated catalyst stream
   │
   ▼
Riser (vertical, 25 to 40 m tall, 0.8 to 2.0 m diameter)
   │ Cracking reaction at 520 to 540°C, 2 to 4 sec residence
   │ Catalyst:oil ratio 5:1 to 9:1 by weight
   ▼
Reactor disengager — riser termination devices + 2-stage cyclones (99.99% catalyst capture)
   │
   ├─► Cracked product vapor → Main fractionator
   │
   ▼
Spent catalyst stripper — steam strips entrained hydrocarbons
   │ ~3 to 5 kg steam per tonne catalyst
   ▼
Spent catalyst standpipe + slide valve to regenerator
   │
   ▼
Regenerator (700 to 750°C, 2 to 3 bar)
   │ Air blower delivers combustion air (typically 1.5 to 2.0 t air per tonne coke burned)
   │ Coke + O2 → CO2 + H2O + heat
   │ Two-stage regen (some designs): partial burn then full burn for emissions control
   ▼
Flue gas — two-stage cyclones, 3rd-stage cyclone separator, then:
   ├─► Power-recovery expander turbine (PRT) — recovers ~10 to 25 MW from hot pressurized flue gas
   ├─► CO boiler / waste-heat boiler — generates 100 to 300 t/h of HP steam (60 to 100 bar)
   └─► Electrostatic precipitator + scrubber → stack
   │
   ▼
Regenerated catalyst standpipe + slide valve back to riser bottom

Cracked product flow:

Reactor overhead vapor → Main fractionator
   │
   ├─► Bottom: slurry oil + heavy cycle oil (HCO; recycled or sold)
   ├─► Side: Light Cycle Oil (LCO; diesel blendstock or hydrotreater feed)
   ├─► Side: Heavy Naphtha (gasoline blendstock)
   └─► Overhead: Light Naphtha + LPG + dry gas → Gas Concentration Unit
                                                  │
                                                  ├─► Dry gas (C1, C2, H2, H2S) → fuel gas / amine treating
                                                  ├─► LPG (C3, C4) → debutanizer → propylene + butylenes
                                                  └─► Stabilized Gasoline → blending pool

3. The catalyst — the irreducible heart of FCC

The whole unit is engineered around the catalyst. Modern FCC catalysts are microspheres of 60 to 80 µm diameter (large enough to fluidize predictably, small enough to maintain mass-transfer kinetics), spray-dried, attrition-resistant, containing:

• Zeolite Y (Faujasite structure, ~25% of microsphere by weight): the active acid component; pore opening 0.74 nm allows VGO molecules access to interior acid sites. Synthesized by Mobil chemist Robert Plank in 1962 and commercialized by UOP from 1962 onward — the original innovation that made modern FCC possible.
• Ultra-Stable Y (USY): hydrothermally dealuminated Y zeolite (1970s); higher Si:Al ratio (~5 to 30), higher thermal stability at regenerator temperatures.
• Rare-Earth-Exchanged USY (RE-USY): ion-exchange of Na+ with La3+ / Ce3+ stabilizes the framework and modulates acid strength; rare-earth pricing volatility (China supply dominance) periodically reshapes catalyst pricing.
• ZSM-5 additive: MFI zeolite, pore opening 0.55 nm, introduced as an FCC additive by Mobil in the 1970s and 1980s. Selectively cracks gasoline-range olefins into propylene/butylene, raises gasoline octane, and is the lever every refiner uses to swing the unit toward propylene production when petrochemical margins outpace gasoline margins.
• Matrix: silica-alumina or alumina, holds the zeolite + provides macropore network for diffusion + serves as a “metal trap” for nickel and vanadium contaminants in the feed.
• Binder: clay (kaolin) + silica binder for attrition resistance.

Major catalyst manufacturers:

• Albemarle (US; Houston / Pasadena LA / Bayport): the largest FCC catalyst producer globally
• BASF Refinery Catalysts (acquired Engelhard 2006 for $5B; production at Catlettsburg KY, Pasadena, De Meern Netherlands): #2 globally
• W.R. Grace (Columbia MD; acquired by Standard Industries 2021 for $7B): historically #2, particularly strong in resid FCC

A 50,000 bpd FCC consumes ~1,800 to 3,000 kg/day of fresh catalyst makeup, replacing equilibrium catalyst (“Ecat”) that has been deactivated by coke deposition, metals poisoning (Ni and V from the feed), and structural collapse. The Ecat is withdrawn continuously and either landfilled, sold as cement filler, or in some specialty cases blended back as a metals-resistant component.

Catalyst contracts are 1 to 3 years, priced ~$2,500to$5,000/tonne; for a 50,000 bpd FCC the catalyst bill is $1.6Mto$5M/year — small relative to feed cost but a meaningful operating lever.

4. Hardware — the riser, reactor, regenerator, fractionator

Riser

The riser is a vertical pipe (carbon-steel internal surface refractory-lined to ~3 to 5 cm; ~25 to 40 m height; ~1.0 to 2.0 m internal diameter for a 50,000 bpd unit) where the actual cracking happens. Hot regenerated catalyst (~720°C) flows down a standpipe from the regenerator, then is lifted into the riser by an “atomized” oil feed delivered through 6 to 12 feed nozzles around the riser bottom. Modern feed nozzles (UOP Optimix, Lummus Mixtemp, ExxonMobil HTAR) atomize the VGO into 100 to 300 µm droplets using superheated steam as motive fluid; the droplets flash-vaporize on contact with the catalyst, mixing initiates cracking instantly.

Riser termination devices (RTDs — UOP VSS, ExxonMobil Direct-Coupled Cyclone) suppress post-riser thermal cracking and overcracking by quickly disengaging catalyst from product vapor at the top.

Reactor (disengager) and stripper

Above the riser, the reactor vessel houses primary and secondary cyclones (2-stage 99.99% catalyst capture). Spent catalyst falls into the stripper — an annular bed below the cyclones with packing (Koch FlexiTray) and steam injection — where 3 to 5 kg of stripping steam per tonne of catalyst removes entrained hydrocarbons that would otherwise be burned in the regenerator (wasting H2 + adding regenerator load).

Regenerator

The regenerator is a fluid bed (~7 to 10 m diameter, ~20 m high for 50,000 bpd) where spent catalyst meets combustion air (delivered by a multi-stage axial air blower — typically 25,000 to 50,000 m³/h flow, 2 to 3 bar discharge). Coke on the catalyst surface (~0.6 to 1.2 wt% C) burns:

C (coke) + O2 → CO2  (preferred — full burn)
2C + O2 → 2CO          (partial burn — older units, may then complete CO → CO2 in CO boiler)
2H (coke) + ½O2 → H2O

Heat released: ~32 MJ/kg coke burned (full combustion to CO2). For a 50,000 bpd unit producing 5 wt% coke on feed → ~17 tonnes/h coke → ~540 GJ/h heat = 150 MW thermal in the regenerator. This is the heat that drives the cracking reaction (catalyst circulating at 1,500 to 3,500 tonnes/h carries this heat to the riser).

Regenerator design choices:

• Single-stage bubbling bed (older; coal-burner type) — full combustion to CO2 with sufficient excess air; simpler
• Two-stage (partial burn in stage 1, complete burn in stage 2) — better NOx control, used in CARB-region (California Air Resources Board) refineries
• Riser regenerator — fast-fluidized riser; better catalyst contact; some Stone & Webster designs

Cyclones in the regenerator are 2-stage internal + 3rd-stage external for emissions control; tertiary separator captures fines for collection or recycle.

Power recovery

Flue gas exits the regenerator at 700 to 740°C, 2 to 3 bar. A power-recovery expander turbine (Mannesmann Demag, Atlas Copco GT-series, MAN Energy Solutions) drops pressure to ~1.1 bar while recovering 10 to 25 MW of shaft power that drives the air blower (avoiding most or all of the parasitic electrical load) and exports excess to the refinery grid. A waste-heat boiler downstream generates 60 to 100 bar HP steam (100 to 300 t/h for a 50,000 bpd unit) used elsewhere in the refinery.

Main fractionator

A 50 to 80-tray atmospheric distillation column (3 to 5 m diameter) splits cracked product vapors. Side draws and pumparound circuits remove heat at multiple levels. Bottom is slurry oil (FCC slurry / decant oil, sold as carbon-black feedstock or recycled to feed). LCO is drawn as a side stream around tray 25 to 30, heavy naphtha around tray 35 to 40, and overhead goes to the gas-concentration section (compressor + absorber + stripper + debutanizer).

5. FCC operating parameters — the operator’s instruments

The control room operator monitors:

• Reactor temperature: 520 to 540°C (target ~530°C for max gasoline; raise for more olefins/octane; lower for more LCO)
• Regenerator temperature: 690 to 740°C (rises with feed weight, coke yield, air feed)
• Catalyst:oil ratio: 5:1 to 9:1 weight basis
• Reactor pressure: 1.0 to 2.5 bar gauge
• Riser top temperature, regenerator bed temperature, dense-bed densities, cyclone diff pressures
• Flue-gas O2 and CO (combustion completeness), NOx and SOx (emissions compliance)
• Feed quality: API gravity (typically 20 to 25° for VGO), CCR (Conradson Carbon Residue) for coke-make prediction, Ni and V (catalyst poisoning), nitrogen (basic N inhibits acid sites), sulfur (gasoline sulfur compliance)

Typical 50,000 bpd FCC yields (per barrel of feed):

• Dry gas (C1, C2, H2, H2S): 3 to 5 wt%
• LPG (C3, C4): 14 to 22 wt% (of which propylene 4 to 7%, propane 1 to 2%, butenes 5 to 8%, butane 2 to 4%)
• Gasoline (C5 to ~221°C): 45 to 55 wt%
• LCO (~221 to 343°C): 12 to 20 wt%
• Slurry (>343°C): 4 to 10 wt%
• Coke (burned in regen): 4 to 6 wt%

Total conversion (= 100% - LCO% - slurry%) of 65 to 75% is the typical operating range.

6. Major FCC vendors and license families

Building an FCC from scratch means selecting a licensor; the major licensor families are:

• UOP (Honeywell): original commercial fluid-cracker license; UOP design dominates US refineries; latest generation Optimix feed nozzles, VSS riser terminator, optimized regenerator internals.
• Stone & Webster (now part of Technip-Energies via various M&A; Stone & Webster originally separate, acquired by Shaw Group 2000, then Chicago Bridge & Iron 2012, then Technip 2017): R2R (Reactor-to-Regenerator) design with two-stage regeneration, particularly suited for resid FCC.
• Lummus Technology (acquired by McDermott / KBR; now part of Chevron Lummus Global JV and CB&I lineage): Indirect Heat FCC, residue cracking technology.
• ExxonMobil Research & Engineering: proprietary FCC technology (Flexicracker, HTAR feed-injection); licensed primarily to Exxon-aligned operators and select others.
• Sinopec Research Institute of Petroleum Processing (RIPP): dominant in Chinese refineries; technology export to refineries in Asia and Middle East; deep-catalytic-cracking (DCC) variant maximizes propylene yield.

Equipment fabrication: Doosan Heavy (Korea), Hyundai Heavy, Larsen & Toubro (India), IHI Corporation (Japan) supply the heavy vessels (reactor, regenerator, fractionator). Air blowers come from Atlas Copco, Howden, Siemens. Power-recovery trains from MAN Energy, Mannesmann (legacy), Mitsubishi Heavy. Specialty cyclones from Shell Global Solutions licensees, Stone & Webster, and dedicated suppliers (BASF, Albemarle have proprietary internals knowledge).

7. The FCC inside the refinery — the other 10 to 15 units

A 250,000 bpd refinery has the FCC as one of about 15 major process units. The full process train:

Atmospheric Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) — 250,000 bpd

The first unit; separates raw crude into:

• Gas (C1 to C4)
• Light Straight-Run Naphtha (C5 to ~80°C)
• Heavy Straight-Run Naphtha (~80 to 175°C)
• Kerosene / Jet (~175 to 230°C)
• Light Atmospheric Gas Oil (LAGO; 230 to 300°C)
• Heavy Atmospheric Gas Oil (HAGO; 300 to 360°C)
• Atmospheric Residuum (>360°C, sent to VDU)

Column dimensions: ~10 to 12 m diameter, 50 to 60 trays, plus a preflash drum and a debutanizer. Feed preheat to ~360°C in a fired heater (~50 to 80 MW thermal duty). Side strippers remove light ends from each fraction.

Vacuum Distillation Unit (VDU) — ~100,000 bpd (the atmospheric residuum)

Operates at 20 to 50 mbar absolute to lower boiling points and avoid thermal cracking. Separates atmospheric residuum into:

• Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO; 340 to 540°C boiling) — feed for FCC (often a hydrotreater first) or hydrocracker
• Vacuum Residuum (>540°C) — coker feed, asphalt feedstock, or low-sulfur fuel oil blendstock

Naphtha Hydrotreater (NHT)

Removes sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, and metals from naphtha to protect downstream reformer catalyst. Cobalt-molybdenum on Al2O3, 280 to 340°C, 25 to 50 bar H2, hydrogen consumption 50 to 200 scf/bbl.

Catalytic Reformer (CRU; UOP CCR Platforming dominant)

Converts low-octane naphtha (RON 50 to 70) into high-octane reformate (RON 95 to 105) for gasoline blending. Catalyst: 0.2 to 0.5 wt% Pt + 0.2 to 0.4 wt% Re (or Pt-Sn) on chlorided Al2O3. Reactions: dehydrogenation of cycloalkanes to aromatics, dehydrocyclization of paraffins to aromatics, isomerization. Continuous Catalytic Regeneration (CCR) variant — UOP CCR Platforming — moves catalyst slowly through a stacked reactor system + regenerator, enabling lower-pressure higher-severity operation; ~80% of new world capacity is CCR design. Conditions: 450 to 510°C, 4 to 30 bar (CCR low end, semi-regen high end). Hydrogen-rich off-gas is THE primary hydrogen source for the rest of the refinery — reformer hydrogen is a free byproduct + the cheapest H2 in a refinery.

Hydrocracker

Bifunctional catalyst (Ni-Mo or Ni-W sulfide on zeolite Y or amorphous silica-alumina), 350 to 440°C, 100 to 200 bar H2. Converts VGO + heavy gas oil into diesel, jet, naphtha. Hydrogen consumption 1,500 to 3,000 scf/bbl. Output is excellent quality (low sulfur, high cetane diesel; high smoke-point jet) but H2 cost is large. Capacity typically 30,000 to 80,000 bpd in a mid-sized refinery, or larger in diesel-heavy regions.

Distillate Hydrotreater (DHT) and FCC Feed Hydrotreater

Sulfur removal from diesel (ULSD <10 ppm S regulatory in EU/US/Canada/Japan), FCC feed pretreat for ULSD-compliant gasoline. Co-Mo on Al2O3, 320 to 380°C, 40 to 70 bar H2.

Isomerization (C5/C6)

Light straight-run naphtha (C5/C6) has low RON (~70). Isomerization to branched isomers raises to RON 87 to 92. Catalyst: Pt-chlorided alumina (UOP Penex) or Pt-zeolite (UOP Par-Isom, Axens Ipsorb), 130 to 180°C, 15 to 30 bar.

Alkylation

Combines isobutane + light olefin (propylene from FCC, butylenes from FCC) over strong-acid catalyst to make alkylate — a high-octane (RON 95+), low-vapor-pressure gasoline blendstock. Two technologies:

• H2SO4 alkylation (ExxonMobil, STRATCO from Lummus): runs ~10°C; sulfuric acid consumption ~70 kg per tonne alkylate; sulfuric acid regenerated off-site
• HF alkylation (UOP, ConocoPhillips/Phillips technology, now part of UOP Honeywell): runs ~30°C; very dangerous (HF vapor at ambient temp); only refineries with mature safety culture and emergency-response infrastructure operate HF alkylation; some grandfathered, no new builds in US since ~2000.
• Ionic-liquid alkylation (ISOALKY) (Chevron + Honeywell UOP, first commercial 2020 at Chevron Salt Lake City refinery): replaces HF with non-volatile, non-toxic ionic liquid catalyst; the first new alkylation technology in 80 years; expected to displace HF alkylation in the long term.

Coker (delayed coker)

Foster Wheeler / Bechtel delayed coker design. Vacuum residuum is heated to 480 to 510°C in a fired heater, then routed into one of two large insulated drums where it sits and cracks for ~24 hours, depositing solid coke. Products: coker gas oil (similar to VGO, recyclable to FCC or hydrocracker), coker naphtha (gasoline blending after hydrotreat), gas, and ~25 to 35 wt% petroleum coke. Coke is hydraulically cut from the drum, dried, and either sold as fuel-grade (cement kilns, power plants) or upgraded calciner-grade (electrode manufacture). Fluid coking (ExxonMobil Flexicoking) is an alternative continuous design with on-site gasification.

Hydrogen Plant

Steam Methane Reforming (SMR): CH4 + H2O → CO + 3H2 at 800 to 900°C on Ni catalyst, then Water-Gas Shift (WGS): CO + H2O → CO2 + H2, then Pressure-Swing Adsorption (PSA) for 99.99% H2 purity. A 250,000 bpd refinery needs ~100 to 200 million scf/day of H2 → 100 to 200 t/day. Vendor: Air Liquide, Air Products, Linde, Haldor Topsoe; many refineries buy H2 over the fence rather than building in-house.

Sulfur Recovery Unit (Claus + Tail Gas Treating)

H2S from amine treating + sour water stripper → modified Claus process: thermal stage (1,200°C burn of 1/3 H2S to SO2), then 2-3 catalytic stages (Al2O3 catalyst, ~250 to 350°C) running 2H2S + SO2 → 3S + 2H2O. Recovery ~95% to liquid sulfur (sold as feedstock for sulfuric acid). Tail gas treating (Shell SCOT, BSR Selectox, Sulfreen) raises recovery to >99.9% to meet local SO2 emissions limits.

Amine Treating

MEA, DEA, or MDEA absorbs H2S (and CO2) from refinery gas streams; rich amine is regenerated in a stripper with steam; lean amine recycled. MDEA selective for H2S over CO2 — preferred for refinery gas.

Sour Water Stripper

Refinery condensates contain H2S and NH3; steam-stripped at 1.5 to 2.5 bar to separate H2S (to SRU) and NH3 (to atmosphere or downstream processing).

Light Ends Recovery + LPG fractionation

Depropanizer, debutanizer, deisobutanizer (DIB) columns separate the C3, C4 streams. Propylene from FCC is the highest-value light product per barrel of crude — sold as polymer-grade (99.5%+ propylene) to polypropylene plants (LyondellBasell, Sinopec, BASF, INEOS).

Asphalt blowing (optional)

Vacuum residuum air-blown at 250 to 300°C produces oxidized asphalt for roofing and paving. Many US refineries closed asphalt units in favor of selling residuum as low-sulfur fuel oil (LSFO) for marine bunker (IMO 2020 0.5% S regulation reshaped this market).

8. The reference refinery — physical layout

A 250,000 bpd US Gulf Coast refinery occupies ~400 to 800 acres (160 to 320 hectares). Major plot subdivisions:

• Tank farm (crude storage + product blending + intermediate tanks): 30 to 50% of plot
• Process units (CDU, VDU, FCC, reformer, hydrocracker, hydrotreaters, alkylation, coker, etc.): 20 to 30%
• Utilities (steam plant, cooling water, power, H2 plant, SRU, flare): 10 to 15%
• Marine terminal / pipelines / rail loading: 5 to 10%
• Buffer zones, roads, plant support: balance

The 50,000 bpd FCC sits as a tall vertical cluster (riser, reactor, regenerator stacked ~50 m tall; main fractionator another ~50 m), occupying ~3 to 5 acres. Capital cost of a new 50,000 bpd FCC alone is $300Mto$600M in 2025 US Gulf Coast pricing — feed pretreat hydrotreater pushes that to $600Mto$1.0B.

9. Optimization and operations

Real-time refinery optimization is run with linear-programming (LP) models — Aspen Tech PIMS (the de facto industry standard, ~70% market share among large refiners), Honeywell PRO/II + RPMS, KBC Petro-SIM, Haverly GRTMPS. The LP solves: given current crude prices, current product prices, unit constraints, and storage levels, what feed slate to buy + what unit operating modes + what blend recipes maximize gross margin. Run daily or in some refineries on a 6-hour cycle.

Process simulation for design + troubleshooting: Aspen HYSYS (the dominant general-purpose process simulator), Honeywell UniSim, Schlumberger PIPESIM, PetroSim. Catalyst predictive models from Albemarle (FCC SIM), BASF (NaphthaMax tools), Grace (FCC TIM).

10. Major refining operators

• ExxonMobil: Baytown TX (560,000 bpd), Beaumont TX (369,000), Baton Rouge LA (520,000), Joliet IL (250,000); global capacity ~4.5 mbpd
• Chevron: Pascagoula MS (369,000), El Segundo CA (290,000), Richmond CA (245,000), Salt Lake City UT (53,000)
• Saudi Aramco: Ras Tanura (550,000), Yanbu, Jazan (400,000, recent); global ~7 mbpd including JV
• Reliance Industries Jamnagar (India): 1.36 mbpd — the world’s largest single-site refining complex
• Marathon Petroleum: Galveston Bay TX (formerly BP, 631,000), Garyville LA (596,000); largest US independent refiner ~3 mbpd
• Valero: Port Arthur TX (335,000), St. Charles LA (340,000); ~3.2 mbpd
• Phillips 66: Sweeny TX (270,000), Wood River IL JV, Bayway NJ (270,000)
• HF Sinclair (HollyFrontier + Sinclair, merged 2022): smaller, regional
• PBF Energy: Chalmette LA, Toledo OH; mid-tier
• TotalEnergies: European + Africa + Singapore; ~2 mbpd capacity
• BP: Whiting IN, Cherry Point WA (US side); Rotterdam, Castellon, Gelsenkirchen (Europe)
• Shell: Pulau Bukom Singapore (announced full shutdown 2023, since reconfigured to chemicals/biofuels at scale), Norco/Convent LA (sold to PBF 2024), Rotterdam Pernis
• Sinopec, PetroChina, CNOOC: dominant in China; combined ~14 mbpd capacity
• IOCL, BPCL, HPCL, Nayara Energy: dominant in India; combined ~4 mbpd
• ADNOC Refining (Ruwais UAE): 922,000 bpd; one of world’s largest single sites
• KNPC (Kuwait): Mina Abdullah, Mina Al-Ahmadi modernized to ~736,000 bpd
• Cenovus Energy + Suncor Energy (Canada): oilsands-integrated refining
• Idemitsu, ENEOS (Japan)

11. Decarbonization paths — the next 20 years

US gasoline demand peaked in 2018-2019 and is in slow structural decline (EV adoption); IEA scenarios show global oil demand peaking 2027 to 2030. Refineries respond:

• Closures: most-marginal sites shut down (LyondellBasell Houston 2023, Shell Convent LA 2020, Phillips 66 Rodeo CA converted to renewable diesel 2024, Marathon Martinez CA converted, BP Kwinana shut 2021)
• Renewable diesel + Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) conversions: hydrotreating units repurposed to process vegetable oils, animal fats, used cooking oil. Major projects: Neste Rotterdam + Singapore (~3.2 Mtpa total), Diamond Green Diesel JV (Valero + Darling, Port Arthur + St. Charles + Norco), ENI Venice + Gela (Italy), TotalEnergies La Mède (France converted from refining), Phillips 66 Rodeo (renewable diesel + SAF), Marathon Martinez (renewable diesel)
• Blue hydrogen (SMR + CCS replaces SMR-only) and green hydrogen (electrolyzer feeding refinery H2 demand): Air Liquide Normand’Hy 200 MW electrolyzer 2026, Shell Rheinland 100 MW REFHYNE, BP Castellon 200 MW commitments
• Electrified furnaces (replace fired heaters with electric heaters running on renewable power; Heliogen, Shell + Dow pilots): pilots starting 2025, full-scale 2028-2030
• Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS): Boundary Dam Saskatchewan (~1 MtCO2/yr, on coal power but template); Shell Quest Scotford Alberta (~1 MtCO2/yr from H2 plant since 2015); Sleipner-format saline aquifer injection (Norway, since 1996); Northern Lights project (Equinor + Shell + TotalEnergies, Norwegian Continental Shelf storage cluster, operational 2024)
• Biofuel coprocessing: insert 5 to 15% renewable feedstocks into existing FCC or hydrotreaters

The path forward for any new FCC build in 2026+ depends on the demand outlook of the refinery’s market region and whether the unit can pivot to bio-coprocessing or maximum-propylene operation (which extends life as gasoline declines and petrochemical demand grows).

12. Adjacent

• design-container-ship-propulsion-system — marine bunker fuel market (LSFO, VLSFO post IMO 2020) tied directly to refinery residuum disposition
• design-battery-gigafactory — the demand-displacement story for transport fuels
• Heat-exchangers — fired heaters, shell-and-tube exchangers, plate-frame; ubiquitous in refining
• Distillation-column-design — atmospheric crude tower, vacuum tower, FCC main fractionator design fundamentals
• Zeolite-catalysts — the materials science of Y zeolite, USY, ZSM-5, and beyond
• Refining-margins — crack spread economics (3-2-1, 5-3-2, gasoline crack vs. distillate crack)
• Oil-demand-scenarios — IEA Net Zero, STEPS, and APS scenarios for crude demand 2025 to 2050