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The article focuses on operational excellence in the hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI). It mentions a study based on an industrial survey of the hydrocarbon processing industry. It highlighted some of the challenges in achieving operational excellence including the complex nature of company operations and a limited understanding of available techniques. The study found that leaders did not hold people accountable when the correct action is not taken.

The article reports on coping with hydrocarbon processing industry "bottlenecks," a situation in which demand has outstripped a manufacturer's production capacity. The focus is on "debottlenecking" an entire processing plant, which is commonly done sequentially, by identifying the bottlenecked unit, addressing it, and then moving on to the next bottleneck. In contrast, the article discusses integrated approaches to the process.

The article discusses the importance of evaluating work requirements and heat duty when selecting steam turbines in order to save energy costs on steam generation. Guidelines are provided for analyzing such factors as heat to work duty ratio and the fuel consumption and efficiency of various types of turbine, focusing on applications specific to the hydrocarbon processing industry.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including hydrocarbon processing and the importance of equipment maintenance to ensure operational efficiency.

The article discusses aspects of lean engineering in maximizing efficiency, increasing productivity and reducing waste. It notes that lean production uses half the resources to double production and is founded by three key principles, respecting people, eliminating non-value-add activity, and maximizing the efficiency of value-add activity.

An introduction to a report published within the issue which explores innovative methods and programs to keep hydrocarbon processing facilities operating as designed is presented.