SPOTLIGHT RICHARD EPC
Realizations in Renewable Diesel Paying homage to their surname, the Richard Family set out to build companies on a foundation comprised of three core values: safety, honesty and integrity. Today, the singlepoint engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction company embodies those principles, having grown to 1,500-plus employees with vast experience in the U.S. refining and petrochemical industries. That work has increasingly included projects in the explosivegrowth renewable diesel sector, particularly for repeat customer and renewable diesel producer Diamond Green Diesel LLC. Renewable Diesel Portfolio The first renewable fuels project Richard EPC was engaged on was initiated in late 2009, which included a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study and subsequent engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of a 10,000 barrel-per-day (b/d) renewable diesel facility for DGD in Norco, Louisiana, which commenced operations in 2012. Several years later, Richard EPC was commissioned to expand the facility to 18,000 b/d, a project that was completed in 2018.
DGD continued to engage Richard EPC for additional projects, including a 30,000 b/d renewable diesel and gasoline facility, also in Norco, Louisiana, that came online in late 2021. “Richard EPC was contracted to work with DGD and its licensed process provider to prepare the FEED studies and provide detailed engineering for the process units, along with associated utility areas,” says Keith Johnston, Richard EPC senior project director. “This consisted of a licensed hydrotreating unit, a pretreat unit, wastewater treating unit and renewable gasoline unit. An existing 34-car, crude-by-rail system was repurposed to receive and offload the raw feedstock, and we were awarded mechanical construction for the new facilities.” The project was completed three months ahead of schedule with an overall schedule of just 34 months, from engineering and design to startup, Johnston tells Biodiesel Magazine, adding that the company also recently completed detailed engineering and procurement services for the process units at DGD’s new 35,000 b/d renewable diesel facility in Port Arthur, Texas, and will construct the pretreat and wastewater treatment units.
Richard EPC Richard EPC’s main offices are located in Beaumont, Texas, and additional engineering office locations are in Houston and Corpus Christi, Texas, as well as Lake Charles, Louisiana and Kolkata, India. As for how Richard EPC is set up, it is comprised of three integrated, specialized companies. “These companies work seamlessly together to bring clients an array of full-service engineering, procurement, construction, electrical and fabrication services to the refining and petrochemical industries across the U.S.,” Johnston says. “Our years of petrochemical hydrotreating and hydrocracking refining experience transitioned us easily into the renewable fuels market,” he adds. “With the current trend toward renewable fuels gaining impressive momentum, we feel our recent experience with these large-scale renewable fuels projects provides us with valuable knowledge to guide owners expeditiously through the transition from fossil fuels to renewable fuels.”
Full-service renewables project engineering, procurement and construction. • • •
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2022 SUMMER EDITION
