My name is Claire Lillywhite, I am a Level 3 Chemical Engineering Student at Swansea University and, following my second year, (from 30th June 2014 until 20th August 2015) I worked at the Valero Oil Refinery, Pembroke as the Undergraduate Process Engineer for the Blending & Shipping Department.

Valero Energy Corporation is an international manufacturer and marketer of petrochemical products, transportation fuels and power, based in San Antonio, Texas and is thirteenth on the Fortune 500 list this year.

Pembroke Refinery originally came on stream in 1964 under the Regent Oil Company – the site was acquired from Chevron in August 2011. With the Pembroke plant being one of the largest and most complex refineries in

Western Europe, the Valero Corporation has secured its standing as the world’s largest independent refiner.

Claire Lillywhite - 741390 E-mail: claire@clillywhite.co.uk

Introduction The Valero Oil Refinery, Pembroke produces gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, kerosene, sulphur and other refined products – all of which are processed from the various crude oils imported from all over the globe.

The crude oil is brought in on large tanker ships which dock and discharge at the 8-berth jetty the site boasts.

At the refinery the Blending & Shipping department (where I was based for the year) looks after:

- Tankage

- Import/Export over the Jetty

- Mainline Pipeline

- Road Tanker Wagons

- Waste Water Treatment Plant

- Refrigerated Butane Plant

What did I do at work? Cracking & Olefins entire unit Turnaround with night shift

experience

Sole responsibility for Slop & Flare Daily, Weekly and Monthly monitoring and reporting

Creation of Propane Rundown System & Gasoline Blender online INDX graphics

Ship and Inshore Storage Tank Inspections – including smaller white oils export ships and large crude import tankers

Mainline Pipeline tapping calculations

Learning about and reporting for WWTP

New Jetty COMAH Report editing

Alarm Management

Laboratory testing

Operations Shift Experience

My Personal Highlight 8th November 2014 - To mark the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of Pembroke Refinery we were visited by the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Catherine. All the other Placement Students, Apprentices, Graduate Process Engineers and I met both of them and briefly discussed our placement and university courses.

Gain practical experience to apply to and link with your future academic and professional work

Work with professionals and begin networking with influential and skilled people in your field of interest

Develop your teamwork skills

Take a break from studying and get paid for it!

Raise your self confidence and self awareness

Practice giving presentations and writing professional reports

Increase your breadth and depth of technical engineering confidence, knowledge and ability

Acquire transferable, core skills that can be applied to many jobs in the future

Potentially come out of your year in the company with an offer of a graduate job

Benefits of a Year in Industry

All work and no play? Throughout my year on placement I was able to take part in a number of social and volunteering activities outside of work:

• July 2014 - I tried surfing for the first time in my life

• February 2015 - Frank Morton Chemical Engineering Sports Day and Careers Fair in Birmingham.

• March 2015 - Volunteering as a marshal for the Neyland Duathlon

• June 2015 - ‘Popcorn’ Dance Show by Amethyst Dance School, Pembrokeshire.

• August 2015 - Volunteering at ‘Wings Over Carew’

Gasoline Blender (BOSS) Monitoring & Reporting (including weekly meetings

BOSS Training with Valero’s Blending SME

Steam Trap calculations & specification for a Crude Tank

PSV Calculations for Fire Fighting Foam Pumps on the Jetty