2027 AFPM Summit

The meeting brings together executives, decision-makers, and technical experts from refining businesses, technology providers, contracting and consulting firms, and equipment manufacturers. Sessions are designed to examine policies, regulations, geopolitics, and disruptions affecting the downstream sector.

Corporate and site security personnel in the refining and petrochemical industries are invited to hear expert discussion of pressing security issues, including drone usage, international security, and cybersecurity.

Jointly sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), the symposium features technical presentations on lessons learned from facility incidents and near misses, and accident avoidance in refineries and petrochemical plants. It also provides a forum for exchanging information on safe operating practices and procedures and sharing best practices. Attendance is limited to refining and petrochemical operating companies.

The meeting brings together executives, decision-makers, and technical experts from refining businesses, technology providers, contracting and consulting firms, and equipment manufacturers. Sessions address policies, regulations, geopolitics, and disruptions affecting downstream businesses. The agenda includes general sessions, concurrent breakout sessions, and a Government Relations Breakfast.

Described as one of the largest petrochemical events in the world, the conference draws participants from companies across the globe to hear from industry leaders on political, economic and environmental issues facing the petrochemical sector. Sessions include Reflections from the C-Suite with the CEO of BASF Corporation, a TotalEnergies refining and petrochemicals SVP, and Dow's Chief Operating Officer; The Evolving Global Policy Landscape and its Impacts on the Petrochemical Industry; and Supply Chains Under Stress, examining how leaders are responding to global supply disruptions with executives from LyondellBasell, Brenntag North America, and the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region. A workforce-focused session, Shaping Tomorrow: The Petrochemical Workforce and Next-Gen Leaders, addresses talent pipeline challenges. Market analysis sessions include S&P Global's "Petrochemicals: The Phoenix Amid the Flames" and Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS's "Chemical Crossroads: Mapping the Route to 2060." A Women in Industry panel addresses mid-career leadership in the chemical industry, and the International Petrochemical Luncheon features a conversation with former President George W. Bush.

Technical programming covers corrosion and protective coatings through peer-reviewed technical symposia, research-in-progress symposia, a research topical symposium, and a student poster session. The research topical symposium, “Toward Reliable Corrosion Prediction: Data-Driven Environmental Characterization and Accelerated Test Correlation,” addresses environmental severity and corrosivity, ISO corrosivity categorization, corrosion monitoring and sensing, environmental data collection and analytics, mechanistic and data-driven corrosion models, machine learning and artificial intelligence applications, accelerated corrosion testing, laboratory-to-field correlation, service-life prediction, climate-specific corrosion assessment, and standards development. The conference also includes an exhibit hall.

The program spans chemical engineering, process industries, and process safety. Spring Meeting topics include process intensification; automation, data analytics, and machine learning in Industry 4.0; ethylene production; gas processing, conversion, and utilization; refinery operations; distillation; petrochemical processing; and energy-transition technologies, policies, and industry strategies. The AI and Energy Nexus and Chemical Engineering & the Law are also listed as program areas. Process-safety programming includes the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) International Conference, the Process Plant Safety Symposium (PPSS), the Annual Loss Prevention Symposium (LPS), the Process Safety Management Mentoring (PSM2) Symposium, and a Process Safety Topical Conference. Listed subjects include process-safety management practices, plant-level methods and tools, explosion prevention, fire protection, lessons from incident investigations, hydrogen production, storage and use, and process-safety issues affecting regions around the world.

The conference brings together offshore energy, maritime, defense, and technology industries around shared infrastructure, capabilities, and supply chains. Its preliminary program will examine offshore energy and autonomous systems, ports and vessels, subsea infrastructure, and maritime security, alongside market developments and opportunities for established companies to apply their expertise across emerging ocean technology markets. Related sectors include offshore wind, shipbuilding, manufacturing, engineering, marine robotics, grid innovation, and advanced manufacturing. The agenda is in development, with additional sessions and speakers to be announced.

The Committee on Refinery Equipment is responsible for more than 220 standards that form the basis of the API Individual Certification and Process Safety Site Assessment programs. Technical subcommittees cover aboveground storage tanks; corrosion and materials; heat transfer equipment; inspection and mechanical integrity; piping and valves; pressure-relieving systems; refractory materials; electrical equipment; instruments and control systems; mechanical equipment; petroleum refining technical data; and API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 Fitness-For-Service. The meeting addresses consensus-based standards and best practices for downstream operations, equipment, process safety, inspection, mechanical integrity, materials, corrosion, piping, valves, controls, and refinery engineering. Participation is open to parties with a direct and material interest in the subject of a standard.