Data driven innovations in oil and gas refining

The connected service streams and analyzed real-time data from various assets, providing a far more accurate picture of operations.

Oil and gas refining is a high-stakes, high-pressure business that also demands a high level of operational precision.

Material flows must be monitored and analysed; reaction temperatures must be carefully calibrated; prices are constantly shifting, as are a myriad of other variables that can affect plant performance and profits. 

As conditions change over time, the optimal way of running these plants changes. It’s very hard for operators to anticipate how they should adjust as conditions are constantly changing more or less in real time.
Christophe Romatier of Honeywell UOP, one of the leading process licensors in the downstream oil and gas industry

Bearing these challenges in mind, Honeywell UOP in 2016 launched the Connected Plant programme, a customisable, connected service that streams and analyses real-time data from various assets, providing customers with a far more accurate, detailed, and constantly updated picture of their operations. 

“The Connected Plant is a way to drive improvements in the operational outcomes of our customers,” says Romatier. “Running trainings and sending in consultants is simply not enough anymore. Connectivity through the cloud provides access to expert knowledge much faster.”

And considering Alfa Laval’s Packinox heat exchangers have been specified in Honeywell UOP plant designs for more than 30 years, inviting Alfa Laval to join the programme was a natural step in the companies’ long-standing relationship. 

“This is an expansion of an already very strong and mature relationship,” explains Romatier. “Alfa Laval and Packinox have a great deal of very well recognized expertise that’s respected in industry. The ability to pull them in as a partner adds a lot of value for our customers.”

How Alfa Laval’s Packinox optimizes performance

Today, Packinox heat exchangers can be found on more than half of the roughly 600 refineries operating around the world. They play a central role in the production of high-octane motor fuels and aromatics, ensuring that crude distillation, catalytic reforming, and waste heat recovery take place as efficiently as possible. 

“Packinox is specialized equipment that performs very well, and the addition of Alfa Laval’s expertise helps refiners operate that equipment even more efficiently,” says Romatier. “Connecting them allows us to operate as close to the edge as possible to get the maximum performance while still staying reliable.” 

In addition to optimizing process performance, adding Packinox to the Connected Plant programme will also bring important benefits when it comes to equipment maintenance. 

Failure to detect a slight anomaly or see a critical trend in time can have a direct and significant impact on profits. Thus, refiners are always on the lookout for services and equipment that keep their facilities running at peak performance, which is a driving force behind Honeywell UOP’s Connected Plant initiative. 

A partnership for the future

Honeywell UOP is planning to have the first Packinox-enabled Connected Plant online by 2020, at which point plant operators can benefit from the predictive maintenance capabilities that come with the transition from a slow, occasional, manual process to one that is automated, continuous and in real time. 

“Previously when problems arose, we only had access to backward-looking data. Now we can continuously analyse data and help identify potential problems before they emerge,” says Sourp. 

And staying ahead of potential problems is crucial considering shutting down can cost refiners up around €1 million per day. Adding in the time required for a refinery to cool before maintenance as well as the time needed to ramp up to full capacity, any plant shutdown translates into a minimum of €5 million in lost revenues. 

Even planned maintenance needs to be carefully scheduled in order to minimise costly downtime, and insights from the Connected Plant programme can make a difference. 

“Trend analysis allows us to give customers advance notice about what they need to do during their next shutdown or even if they should consider planning an earlier shutdown to plan maintenance accordingly,” adds Sourp.

In addition to operational efficiencies, adding Packinox heat exchangers to the Connected Plant also gives Alfa Laval a new tool to help customers operate their equipment in a sustainable manner. 

“There’s a lot of talk these days about programmed obsolescence, but in this case, we’re doing the opposite. We want to make sure our compact heat exchangers operate in a way that will maximise equipment lifespan,” says Sourp. 

Innovative food processing to turn bugs to burgers, or new technology to store renewable energy are only two examples of articles in the new edition of HERE magazine. The articles illustrate what we mean by responsible growth, providing solutions that benefit both people and planet. HERE won the Swedish Publishing Prize in 2019.

Here magazine