Abstract: In this paper, the recently built and commissioned 8.0Mt/a Hainan Refinery by Sinopec Engineering Incorporation is taken as a showcase to illustrate the state-of-art refinery design concept as a response to the record high cost of crude oil through optimizing crude utilization and delivering more superior products. The design framework selected for the Oman sour crude fed Hainan Refinery is sequentially upgrading crude through distillation-RDS-RFCC-hydrocracking processes. This processing scheme is validated with remarkable economic benefits since commissioning. Not only does the overall commodity rate and light oil yield reach 93% and 81%, respectively; but all products of gasoline and diesel fuel meet Euro III Emissions Standard as well, and certain products even meet Euro IV Emissions Standard. It should be noted that the light oil yield of 81% in this refinery is significantly higher than the national average value of 74%.

Key words: crude distillation, hydrotreating, catalytic cracking, hydrocracking, light fuel oil