ARPEL Workshop on Best Practices in the Operation and Maintenance of Coker Units was held June 14 - 16 at the REFICAR industrial complex in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.

Sixty professionals from the operation and maintenance areas of nine coker units of Axion Energy, ECOPETROL, ENAP, REFICAR, Ruhrpumpem, Shell and YPF attended the Workshop.

The Workshop also featured presentations by specialists in design of units and providers of technological tools of Amec Foster Wheeler, IMI Z&J, Flowserve and Nalco Champion.

The main objectives of the Workshop were the exchange of experiences, best practices and lessons learned from the operation, inspection, maintenance and safety of coker units, the application of new technologies, the best practices to minimize the impact on the environment and people, and the training of staff involved in operation, maintenance and services for these units.

As a result, at the end of the event, participants established a working group to continue to exchange information on these topics.

The oil industry in Latin America and the Caribbean, and particularly the refining industry, faces the challenge of operating its production units in an efficient and sustainable manner to ensure the competitiveness and profitability of refineries. The practice of the exchange of knowledge among professionals from different companies is a factor that contributes to this goal and is the mission entrusted to ARPEL by its member companies.