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Sulphur matters. It matters because it is one of the main building blocks for life. But it also matters because sulphur dioxide causes acid rain. And it matters because another form, hydrogen sulphide, is extremely hazardous and toxic.
Sulphur also matters a great deal to refiners that must find ways to strip it from crude oil to deliver the ultra-low-sulphur fuels that society demands. Two inexorable trends exacerbate their challenge: crude supplies are becoming increasingly sour and plant emissions legislation seems set to continue tightening.
At Shell, we call this the sulphur paradox. It is emerging as one of the most significant challenges facing downstream operators, but I am heartened to see that numerous technologies – and clear thinking on how to apply them – are helping them to take the initiative.
Catalysts and hydroprocessing revamps can, of course, play a key role in the production of ultra-low-sulphur fuels. But the displaced sulphur will then impact on refinery emissions unless the sulphur recovery facilities are upgraded, so it is important to consider the facility’s overall sulphur balance. Technologies for cutting deeper into the barrel will play a key role but operating strategy is all important.
It is most inspiring to see operators responding effectively. Its feedstocks may contain increasing levels of sulphur and it has stringent fuel specifications to meet, but JSC Ukrtatnafta in the Ukraine has increased its revenues by more than 129% on the back of a phased investment programme.
Evidently, sulphur is not the only business challenge and so we also explore Shell’s latest scenarios publication, Signals & Signposts, which offers the organisation’s best understanding of what the future holds. This takes into account the impact of the global economicand financial crisis, and aims to bring clarity to the uncertainties facing the world.
“The more turbulent the times, the more complex the world, the more paradoxes there are,” according to business guru Professor Charles Handy.1
Handy wrote that in 1994, but his words remain vitally relevant right here, right now. Paradox, he said, has to be accepted, coped with and made sense of; I hope that our articles will help you to make sense of your sulphur paradox.
1. Handy, C.: The Age of Paradox, Harvard, USA, Harvard Business Press (1994)