
Engineering expertise in the refining, petrochemical, manufacturing, and construction industries.
The professional staff at Gulfcon, Inc. have an extensive background and experience in the refining, petrochemical, manufacturing, and construction industries. The following is a partial list of representative projects that have been directed by our present staff. It is intended to reflect our capabilities and diversifications.

GAF / U.S. Intec
Asphalt Pre-Impregnator Project
Complete engineering and design for adding an asphalt pre-impregnator stage to the existing Texas-II rolled roofing production line. This project included the addition of a new tank truck unloading facility for off-loading bulk asphalt into storage tanks. Interfaced level and valve instrumentation with existing hard-wired relay logic for controlling the asphalt transfer from storage to the mixing tanks. Upgraded existing rolled roofing line controls from hard-wired relay logic to Siemens PLC control. Replaced existing hydraulic speed controls for roller motors on the line with Variable Frequency Drives (VFD’s) for more precise speed control and synchronization of the lineup motors.
Granule Pneumatic Conveying System
Complete engineering and design for adding a bulk granule pneumatic conveying system to the existing Texas-I and Texas-II rolled roofing production lines. This project included the addition of a new truck unloading facility for off-loading roofing granules into storage hoppers. Installed a new PLC to handle truck unloading operations. Installed new blowers and piping for the transfer of roofing granules from storage hoppers to individual rolled roofing lines. Installed new granule distribution hoppers and applicators above production lines. Upgraded existing PLC controls to accommodate the new pneumatic conveying system. Installed local Human Machine Interface (HMI) on each line for Operator control of the pneumatic conveying system.
Adhesives Plant
Complete engineering and design for new Adhesives plant at the Port Arthur roofing production facility. This project included the addition of a new truck unloading facility for off-loading palletized drums. Installed new blending vessels for formulating the adhesives batch operation. Installed new PLC controls to monitor and control the batch operation. Installed local Human Machine Interface (HMI) for Operator control of the batch process.

Honeywell Specialty Chemicals
Boiler and Water Plant Automation Upgrade
Provided instrument engineering for upgrading existing water treatment plant and Cleaver-Brooks boiler from pneumatic control to electronic control and migration of these controls into a new Delta V control system. Replaced existing hard-wired relay control panel on water clarifier and migrated logic into Delta V control system. Interfaced existing hard-wired FireEye burner management controls with new Delta V system. Provided instrument specifications for new electronic transmitters and positioners throughout system. Worked with local automation vendor for retrofitting new electro-pneumatic actuators to existing damper control linkages. Replaced existing pneumatic control panel with new Human Machine Interface (HMI). Worked with Cleaver-Brooks field technician during startup for mapping new air-to-fuel characterization curves that would be utilized during boiler startup.
Electrical Infrastructure Upgrade
Provided electrical engineering for the replacement of existing 2400Vac switchgear and 480V motor control centers in various locations throughout the plant. Replaced the 1950’s vintage GE Magneblast with new GE Powervac equipment at the main incoming substation. Replaced the 2400V switchgear at Substations “C”, “D”, and “E” during separate plant outages. Worked with plant electrical engineer on developing the specifications for the new switchgear. Worked with electrical contractor during plant-wide outages to facilitate the replacement of the switchgear and motor control centers and restore power upon construction completion.
PRPP Pilot Plant Expansion and Controls Upgrade
Provided electrical and instrument engineering for the PRPP Pilot Plant expansion that added a second reactor train and automated it for batch operation. Migrated the existing controls in the PRPP unit from Provox to a new Delta V control system. Design included the addition of new Variable Frequency Drives (VFD’s) on the charge pump and mixer motors for the new PRPP reactor. Interfaced with Operations for the development of the batch recipes for the various PRPP products.


Reliable Polymer Services
Port Arthur Polymers Plant
Complete “grass roots” engineering and design for new Polymers Plant in Port Arthur. Worked with Entergy for 13.2kV power feed for the new facility. Installed new 13.2kV to 480V transformer and new 480V Square D Motor Control Center (MCC). Worked closely with individual vendors supplying extruder, conveyors, balers, and bale wrappers. Integrated control packages from each vendor with a central Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) in the Extruder Control Panel. Made extensive use of Variable Frequency Drives (VFD’s) on the Extruder and the Conveyors. Installed new boiler for providing steam to extruder. Provided lighting and ventilation design for new 104,000 square foot building. Complete foundation and structural steel designs for new extruder and baler system, as well as all of the miscellaneous support equipment (conveyors, guillotine cutters, hoppers, hydraulic skids, and shrink wrap palletizers).

TotalEnergies
69kV GCB Breaker Replacements for “E,” “L” and “T” Breakers in the AB and AC Substations
Performed electrical and civil designs for the replacement of existing 69kV gas-filled and oil-filled breakers with new ABB gas-filled breakers. Civil design included foundation modifications necessary to accommodate the new ABB breaker footprint. Electrical design included the update of the existing single-line and three-line diagrams for the refinery. The design included the controls associated with integrating the new breakers in the plant’s existing trip and load-shed schemes, and the controls interface with Entergy in the Atlantic Bulk substation.
FCCU Main Air Blower and Wet Gas Compressor Controls Upgrade
Performed detailed design for the FCCU Main Air Blower and Wet Gas Compressor controls. Upgrade included replacement of existing Allen-Bradley Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC’s) with redundant Allen-Bradley Controllogix PLC processors and Input / Output chassis. Worked with Dresser-Rand on the replacement of the existing surge controllers with new Allen-Bradley Controllogix PLC’s specifically programmed with compressor surge curves. Integrated existing field instrumentation into new PLC’s. Replaced existing vibration monitoring equipment with Bently-Nevada 3500 series equipment. Installed touchscreen Human Machine Interface (HMI’s) terminals on compressor decks for Operator Interface during startup and normal operations of the compressors.
Caustic Tank 409 Replacement
Performed engineering and detailed design for the Caustic Tank 409 replacement. The civil design included the foundation design for the new tank. The mechanical design included the vessel fabrication drawings and specification and the piping / structural designs for the support piping servicing the tank. The instrumentation design included a steam temperature control loop for regulating the temperature of the caustic product. The electrical design included area lighting and grounding for the new tank.

TransAmerican Refinery
600lb Steam System
Complete engineering and design associated with new 600lb steam boiler and steam header to various units throughout the facility. The project scope included the installation of new boiler feedwater pumps, deareator drum, gas-fired 600lb steam boiler, and 12” steam supply header to various user units in the plant. Provided foundation design for new boiler installation. Provided mechanical design for all boiler feedwater supply piping, fuel gas supply piping, and steam discharge piping. Performed pipe stress analysis for 12” steam supply header in its entirety throughout the facility.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Bulk Fuel Storage Facility
Complete responsibility from concept development through final detailed design of a twenty-five acre consolidated complex for the receipt, transmission, storage and issuing of petroleum, oil, and lubricant products at Fort Hood, Texas. Primary facilities included six above ground storage tanks with a total capacity of two million gallons for diesel, gasoline, and solvents; five bulk fuel receiving stations for unloading commercial tank trucks and transferring to storage tanks; twenty-one outloading stations for transferring and dispensing liquid fuels and solvents in bulk and retail modes; storehouse / storage and handling facilities (82,000 square feet) for packaged products, canned items, and 55 gallon drums with docks for railroad and truck receiving; administration and control building (3,000 square feet); fully automated fuel management and data acquisition system. Support items consisted of all utilities, sanitary sewers, security fencing, roads, storm drainage, fire protection systems, fuel spillage containment and separation facilities, site preparation, and communications.