23 May 2016

------------------In 1973, the Lebanese government had nationalized the oil refinery at Tripoli, f
ormerly owned by the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC). The Tripoli Oil Installation,
as the new state concern was called, comprised a 35,000 barrel per day (bpd) re
finery and a small spur of the old IPC pipeline through Syria. Until 1976 Iraqi
crude continued to reach Tripoli via the refinery and was used primarily to meet
domestic oil requirements. Normally, the refinery met about one-third of the co
untry's gasoline requirements and about half of its other fuel needs.
An electrical engineer took charge of me and showed me some of the maps that are
related related to the company. Concerning the electricity distribution maps, a
s shown in the figures, the company is based on three alternators, each having a
maximum power of 2MW. The alternators' role is to provide electricity to the po
werhouse; add to this that these alternators were able to provide an own electri
city to the whole facility.
Nowadays, due to the lack of electricity generated in Lebanon, there was a need
to ensure sufficient amount of electricity that should be provided to the units
that are working in the fuel domain, because any shortage that might happen will
lead to unwanted and undesired consequences such as some explosions in the tank
s during the process.
Each unit inside the facility has 2 transformers, and 2 sources of power. There
exists 2 types of power sources used: steam and fuel. In order to provide a bett
er and safer usage for the unit, one source is to be always on and the second al
ways off; only when the first source shuts down, the second one starts working s
o that no electricity will be missed. The process between the two sources may be
done electrically or mechanically.