3D Metalforge (ASX: 3MF), a growing additive manufacturing service provider, partnered with Par Pacific to qualify AM part use cases to API standards. Par Pacific is a refining company operating three US-based refinery sites, including two Hawaii refineries, with a total refining capacity of 154,000 barrels per day.
The company, which has offices in Singapore, Houston and Perth, is now working with Par Pacific’s Hawaii refineries to identify a range of parts that will be suitable for production using its propriety additive manufacturing technology. After successful field testing of these parts and the expected adoption of API (American Petroleum Institute) standards, both companies plan to introduce 3D manufactured parts, meeting API standards, into Par Pacific’s regular supply chain, initially in Par Pacific’s Hawaii refinery, before being expanded to the rest of Par Pacific’s refineries.
3D Metalforge CEO, Matthew Waterhouse said: “We are thrilled to be starting this project with Par Pacific and having an opportunity to show how our additive technology can help refineries make their operations and supply chains more robust and sustainable.”
3D Metalforge’s intelligent Additive Manufacturing approach is already supporting many industry‐leading, global clients, in a range of market sectors, move toward greener manufacturing and production technology. The company can offer production services leveraging a variety of AM technologies which include Selective Laser Melting (SLM) for high-resolution metal parts, Directed Energy Deposition with Laser and Blown Powder (DED-BP) and Plasma-Arc and Wire Feedstock (DED-WA) for larger metal parts, as well as Multijet Fusion (MJF) and Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) for polymer prints.
In addition, 3D Metalforge’s approach to industrial production nd its proprietary processes are optimized to be eco‐friendly, producing high‐demand parts faster, better and more cost‐effectively with less environmental impact and greater sustainability than conventional manufacturing. Whilst the current contract of this partnership with Par Pacific is immaterial in value, it is a validation of the Company’s technological approach and market traction.
Par Pacific owns and operates market-leading energy and infrastructure businesses in logistically complex markets. The company combines experience in the oil and gas industry with corporate financing know-how, bringing this unique strength to complex markets.
The company’s three refineries process crude oil into refined products to serve local communities, with an operating refining capacity of 154,000 barrels per day. In Hawaii, Par Pacific primarily focuses on producing jet fuel for tourism and low sulfur fuel oil to supply the local utilities, as well as ground transportation for retail operations and other third parties. The Tacoma refinery is the only local asphalt producer in the growing Pacific Northwest region. In Wyoming, Par Pacific caters to gasoline and distillate demand in the Rockies market.
The two adjacent Kapolei refineries, Par East and Par West, are located on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu and are the state’s only refineries. The Par East refinery has a capacity of 94,000 bpd. The refining system, together with the transportation and retail arms of the Hawaii operations provides fuels to a network of Hele and 76-branded retail locations throughout Hawaii, and distributes fuels via pipelines on Oahu and on barges to all major harbors in the state.
