On the premises of the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam (Pernis), there are oil refining and chemical installations, and Shell is constructing a biorefinery. Naturally, safety is the top priority, followed by efficiency and reliability being crucial factors, especially in the current global market conditions. KH Engineering plays an important role in these three areas, says Karin van de Haar, Team Lead Projects at Shell Pernis.
Karin van de Haar has a background as a mechanical engineer (University of Twente) and worked at Sabic in Geleen for over two years. Since her husband worked for Shell and was asked to work in Qatar, Karin also made the move to Shell. This gave them the opportunity to work in various locations abroad. ‘We lived in Qatar, Brunei, and Kuwait’, says Karin. ‘After the outbreak of COVID-19, we moved back to the Netherlands, and I eventually took on the role of Team Lead Projects at Shell Pernis. On this site, we work with several different engineering partners, including KH Engineering.’
Process improvements
Karin mainly relies on KH Engineering for process improvements and ‘medium-sized’ projects aimed at enhancing efficiency. ‘Entirely new plants, such as our new biofuels plant, are outsourced to engineering firms with whom Shell has a global contract’, she explains. ‘KH Engineering does handle the tie-ins, for example, to make the proper connections with the systems. The company also plays a significant role in the current renovation of the ‘D-Gantry’ loading station for trucks and railcars.’
Innovative thinking sessions
‘What I appreciate about KH Engineering is their ability to think along with us’, continues Karin. ‘Or even to ‘think outside the box’. In the run-up to the D-Gantry project, we held an ‘innovative thinking session’ with them, where we brainstormed about the ideal approach for the loading station. Do you really have to renew everything, or can you perhaps renovate parts of it? Can we execute it more cleverly and simply? How do you still comply with all the safety standards that apply to such a loading station? Are the standards always as strict as we interpret them? A concrete example: for a certain type of piping, a particular – expensive – coating was always preferred. Upon further consideration, it turned out that a less expensive coating that meets the same requirements can also be used. I found that to be a very valuable session.’
Safety project
Karin finds it beneficial to work with KH Engineering because communication lines are very short. ‘The engineers are often on-site, and you can always quickly reach the right person. We hold programme-level meetings every two weeks to review what is going well and what requires more attention. KH Engineering also helps us anticipate what is coming up and has various disciplines in-house. Soon, we will be working with them again on our ‘arc flash project’. This is a large-scale electrical safety project, and KH Engineering will perform various tasks in this area.’
For more information about the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam: https://www.shell.nl/over-ons/locaties/pernis.html
Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam has been a ‘first-hour client’ for KH Engineering. As long as KH Engineering has existed, which is 75 years this year, the two companies have been collaborating. Naturally, this location also has a long history. In 1936, the refinery started operations at the Vondelingenplaat in Pernis. Shortly after World War II, various petrochemical plants were built on the site, using feedstock from the Shell refinery, for example, for the production of plastics. Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam is the largest refinery in Europe. It is currently building a biofuels plant on the site and a green hydrogen plant on the Tweede Maasvlakte. Another measure that Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam is taking to reduce emissions includes capturing CO2 and storing it under the seabed through the Porthos project.