The April 2025 issue of Hydrocarbon Engineering opens with an insightful examination into the geopolitical pressures and economic variables facing the oil and gas sector in the Middle East and North Africa, courtesy of Gordon Cope. This new issue also includes technical features on sulfur, safety, cybersecurity, refining technologies, advanced materials, process control, instrumentation, and automation.
This month's front cover is brought to you by Emerson.
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World news
Energy upheavals in the MENA region
Gordon Cope, Contributing Editor, examines the economic and geopolitical pressures facing the energy sector in the Middle East and North Africa.
The downstream debate: decarbonising hydrocarbon processing
Andrew McMullan and Michelle Wicmandy, KBC, a Yokogawa Company, provide details for how to deploy a comprehensive decarbonisation toolset.
Small steps big impact
Alexandre Peixoto, Emerson, USA, discusses leveraging practical cybersecurity steps to safeguard energy operations and build resilience.
Security and resiliance from the ground up
Tim Gale, 1898 & Co., USA, highlights the importance of proper cybersecurity for operational technology systems.
Insight through innovation
Aldrin Tan, Tracerco, Malaysia, explores the use of nucleonic instrumentation within the growing Asian petrochemical market.
Improving multi-phase measurements
Doug Branch, VEGA Americas Inc., USA, analyses how point detector technology can aid the precision of measurements within radiometric technology.
A closer analysis
Taco van der Maten, Malvern Panalytical, considers how sulfur analysis helps refiners optimise efficiency and reduce environmental impact.
Designing your SRU thermal reactor
Sreeram Krishnan, Zeeco, Inc., outlines the fundamental design principles of SRU thermal reactor packages.
Sulfur removal: an energy saving enabler
Rahul Khandelwal and Joseph C. Gentry, GTC Vorro Technology LLC, USA, detail how sulfur can be removed more efficiently through the deployment of novel adsorbents and catalyst formulations to generate greater energy savings.
Ceramics: build or bust?
Rehan Afzal and Keith J. DeCarlo, Ph.D., Blasch Precision Ceramics, USA, exposit on the use of modified ceramics designed to withstand high temperatures while reducing costs and improving performance.
Keeping up the pressure
Eric Sallee, OsecoElfab, evaluates how rupture discs, combined with pressure relief valves, can provide overpressure protection for refineries and chemical plants.
Demand and danger in downstream oil and gas
Stephanie Wilder, Hunter, USA, examines the role of protective structures in downstream oil and gas operations, with emphasis on critical safety considerations in the industry.
Fire supression for LNG facilities
Justin Brown, Owens Corning, USA, explores the effectiveness of fire safety systems for LNG facilities, with emphasis on passive pool fire suppression.