Solutions for FCC Refiners in the Shale Oil Era

Continued advances in the production of crude oil from tight shale in the U.S. has led to a rapid increase in the production of these crudes, and forecasts call for further increases over the next decade. Shale crude is light and sweet, and therefore attractive to refiners for processing into low sulfur transportation fuels. As infrastructure evolves to increase availability of these crudes, the opportunity for U.S. refiners to co-process these crudes within existing refinery assets is emerging.

The forecast improvement in FCC feedstock quality associated with a shale oil co-processing strategy will put strain on the FCC heat balance requiring an economic solution to address. At the same time as the volume of shale oil co-processing increases, U.S. gasoline demand is forecast to decrease. This will require the FCC to be repurposed to economically produce diesel and propylene from shale oils to satisfy market requirements.

This paper will examine potential FCC technology and operational solutions available to respond to these supply and demand challenges. Data from shale oil cracking experiments conducted in a FCC circulating pilot plant will be presented and will provide the context of the anticipated technological challenges that can expected in co-processing these feeds in a FCC unit. Specifically, a review of options for shifting FCC production from a gasoline focus to diesel and light olefin production using novel integration and processing steps will be explored. Additionally, a review of options for addressing the delta coke challenge using a combination of process technology via second generation RxCat™ and design considerations will be examined.