Providing timely and reliable engineering solutions for industrial facilities
At the BP Whiting refinery, we serve as the lead analytical engineer and relay study coordinator for a major refinery expansion involving more than 200 MW of site load.
The work includes coordinating subconsultants and electrical protection for new process units and the 138kV ring bus expansion.
Our ongoing services include short circuit and coordination studies, relay settings, arc flash studies, reviews of protection and control circuits, large motor starting studies, and generator protection settings tied into the existing power system.
The assignment requires a detailed understanding of a large industrial power system, including operational constraints, protection requirements, and the need for practical recommendations that support safe refinery operations.
To reduce steam loss and return recovered water to the cogeneration cycle, ContourGlobal advanced air-cooled condenser installations at three Bakersfield power plants: Kern Front, Double C, and High Sierra.
Each plant had previously vented steam to atmosphere; the new condenser systems capture and condense that steam, pump the recovered water to storage, and return it to the plant process.
We provided design and construction support across mechanical, process, instrumentation, structural, and electrical disciplines, including Plant 3D piping design, piping stress analysis, control philosophy, and instrument specification development.
The project required coordination across NAM, Brazil, and India resources, allowing simultaneous detailed engineering across five disciplines and six time zones.
Stepan Company was experiencing stormwater flooding that affected production, prompting the need to advance sewer improvements from a conceptual design into Issued for Construction documents.
We first reviewed and updated the existing stormwater model, incorporating additional survey, record drawings, topographic information, and revised existing-conditions data.
As design progressed, we identified numerous underground utility conflicts along the proposed sewer routes and supported utility potholing and survey work to reduce the risk of construction delays and change orders.
The final process sewer design included approximately 90 manholes and 5,600 linear feet of pipe, while the storm sewer design included approximately 20 manholes, 1,700 linear feet of pipe, and 1,800 linear feet of ditch improvements.
Additional work included wetland investigation, tree survey, permitting support, and conceptual planning for future wet-weather flow detention and high-capacity pump station improvements.
Multiple facility improvements at Ingredion's Bedford Park sugar refinery required geotechnical, civil, structural, and rail engineering support.
For the foundation underpinning work, we evaluated settlement and movement within the refinery building and recommended micropile underpinning for selected shallow footing foundations, followed by design of the micropiles and foundation connections.
For the liquid loading rail replacement, we investigated settlement and movement of existing siding tracks and recommended removal and replacement of the track subgrade with compacted aggregate and geogrid due to soft soils at depth.
Our rail replacement design included an existing conditions survey, rail removal and replacement plans, reinforced replacement track, a 300-foot-wide concrete tub roadway track crossing, and Issued for Construction drawings, details, and specifications.
Together, these efforts support continued facility operations by addressing infrastructure movement, track reliability, and constructability within an active industrial site.
