An oil exploration company making a feasibility to build a refinery which can produce LPG,
Naphtha, Gasoline, Jet fuel, Diesel, gas oil and heavy fuel oil. The refinery will expect to treat a
crude distillation unit (100 kbd) with vacuum distillation (40 kbd), catalytic reforming (30 kbd),
isomerization (20 kbd), alkylation (15 kbd) and catalytic cracking unit (10 kbd). Use table to
observe Nelson complexity factor values for various processing units. Based on information,
calculate nelson complexity index. Based on results, predict what refinery it would be and its
level of complexity
N
NCI = \sum_{i=1}^{N} F_i \cdot \frac{C_i}{C_{CDU}}
Where:
• F$_i$ is a complexity factor
• C$_i$ is a unit capacity
• C$_{CDU}$ is a capacity of crude distillation unit
• N is a number of all units
Unit Factor
Values
Distillation Capacity 1.0
Asphalt 1.5
Vacuum distillation 2.0
Thermal processes 5.0
Catalytic hydrorefining 3.0
Catalytic reforming 5.0
Catalytic cracking 6.0
Catalytic hydrocracking 6.0
Alkylation/Polymerization 10.0
Oxygenates 10.0
Aromatics/Isomerisation 15.0
Lubes 60.0
