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A Supplement to

SmartRefinery

MAKINGTHEOLD NEW

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IMPROVINGSAFETY

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THE HUMANELEMENT

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Smart Refinery:CONTENTS

A Supplement To

Introduction: Putting PredictabilityBack Into Business..................................................................3

By Steve Sonnenberg, President, Emerson Process Management

What’s So Smart about Smart Refining? .................................4While the market demand is forecast to slowly recover, more new refining capacity is also scheduledfor commissioning in the next few years, maintaining the economic pressure on existing refineries.

Making the Old New—ManagingLegacy Systems .....................................................................6

Refiners often need assistance in evaluating where to get started on a migration project, andeach plant situation is unique. Emerson has had success helping refiners obtain the greatesteconomic benefit from automation upgrades.

Design to Run — Smart Refinery‘Greenfield’ Projects...............................................................9

Capital projects are driven by strategy (timing to invest) and risk (potential return on invest-ment in the short term and long term). Partnering and early involvement with the right solu-tions provider can significantly mitigate the risk.

Advanced Control and Optimization ....................................12Emerson Process Management has streamlined model predictive control applications for maxi-mum efficiency and performance.Today’s embedded tools are more efficient, ultra-integrated andeasy to use.

Discovering your Hidden Plant — TheVirtueof Increased Reliability.........................................................13

Refineries have always been concerned with improving the reliability of major equipment andavoiding unscheduled production slowdowns or shutdowns.As refineries get larger, the financialimplications of even relatively short production outages are high.

Improving Safety in the Smart Refinery ................................15Although safety incident rates have shown recent improvements, during the past 15 years,the U.S. petroleum refining industry has had more fatal or catastrophic incidents related tothe release of hazardous chemicals than any other industry sector, according to the U.S.Department of Labor.

Energy Efficiency and the GreenhouseGas Conundrum ..................................................................17

As the debate about global warming continues, regulations on greenhouse gas emissions arebecoming more stringent and potentially more costly for refiners, especially in the United Statesand Europe.

DoesYour ERP System Provide EnoughBang forYour Buck? .............................................................19

The rapidly evolving field of supply chain management has become more strategically importantto companies’ bottom lines than ever before, as global competition is forcing the refining indus-try to explore ways to improve efficiency.

The Human Element — Enhancing Operations ...................21A significant number of experienced workers will retire in the next five years; with younger, lessexperienced operators, will your refinery continue to operate safely? Reliably? Efficiently? Theshort answer is yes – even better, with complementary human-centered design.

Making the Smart Refinery of Tomorrow Happen Today .....23The advanced smart refinery is not just a vision of the future – it is quickly becoming today’s reality.

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3SmartRefinery | FUEL

Much of the world’s economy is finally showing signs ofpromise. Though the past two years have been tough,many businesses used this period of demand sluggish-

ness to invest in their infrastructure – to retool their operations.As we will see, those organizations will enter the recovery froma position of strength.

Hopefully, one lesson we’ve learned is how unpredictable lifecan be. Despite our best long-range planning, situations canarise that disrupt our thoughtfully engineered game plan andthrow us into a reactive state. On one extreme, this reactionmay be a global economic meltdown; on the other, it may be asmall asset failure that disrupts an otherwise stable production.

At a macro-economic level, this is the nature of global busi-ness. But when you’re running a volatile operation like a refin-ery, having the predictability to minimize unplanned situationsis critical to safe, reliable and profitable operations. Having theinsight and foresight – the vision – to “see around the corner”is the hallmark of a world-class operation. It means beingsmarter about each decision we make and action we take.

In reality, “smart” technologies have been around the refin-ing industry for a couple of decades. In fact, process automa-tion, control and monitoring technologies get smarter everyyear. But are they actually improving your business? Are theyhelping you address the impending workforce crisis we are allfacing? Are they helping provide you with the flexibility tochange your production strategies to deal with varying crudeslates? Are they giving you the confidence to run your refineryat your rated capacities while ensuring safe operating condi-tions, which are non-negotiable?

In the following pages, we have combined our experiencewith leading refiners with the knowledge and perspective ofour leading technology and applications specialists to stimulateinsights and ideas for bringing predictability into your opera-tion. These are not blue-sky ideas. They are down-to-earth andpractical, yet advanced ideas for harnessing the power of tech-nology to enable your staff to be their most effective and effi-cient. We call it the “Smart Refinery.”

This brief guide aspires to provide insight into how you canharness these new technologies to gain value from improvingyour plant’s operation. Let us know what you think… �

Putting PredictabilityBack into Business

By Steve SonnenbergPresident, Emerson Process Management

INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION

With over 30 years in the industry and a wealth of global experience,Steve Sonnenberg became president of Emerson Process Management in2008. Sonnenberg holds a B.S.E.E. from GeorgiaTech and an MBA fromthe University of Virginia.

Steve SonnenbergPresident, Emerson Process

Management

Amid the most significant reduction in worldwide refin-ing product demand in the past 30 years, almost 2 mil-lion b/d of new, highly efficient refinery production

capacity has been commissioned. The result has been shut-downs or mothballing of less efficient refineries or those withdisadvantaged locations. While market demand is forecast toslowly recover, even more new refining capacity is scheduledfor commissioning in the next few years, maintaining the eco-nomic pressure on existing refineries. One result is reduced re-fining margins. Still, the complexity in refinery operationscontinues to increase with refiners adding units to provide flex-ibility in processing heavier and higher sulfur feedstocks. Prod-uct specifications have simultaneously become moregeographically complicated and restrictive. The increased useof biofuels often leads to multiple product blending steps andtransport restrictions. Clients require special processing for their

unique needs in asphalts and lubricating oils. Complying withnew and existing government regulations is consuming ever-increasing resources. Now, more than ever, efficiency and pro-ductivity are the names of the refining game.

Advances in automation are enabling the smart refiners toachieve these efficiencies and improve the overall performanceof their plants. These technologies enable more efficient oper-ations, decreasing costs and increasing profit levels. The cost andsize of computing elements, the continuing increase in commu-nication bandwidths, advances in software and mathematicalanalyses and better modeling capabilities have provided newoptimizing tools for increasingly reliable refining operations.

This is not just a vision of the future – it is fast becomingtoday’s reality. Many new developments such as improvedprocess sensors and measurement devices are already being ap-plied. The era of the “smart refinery” has begun.

What’s So Smart aboutSmart Refining?During the past few years, the turbulent economy has sent refinery profit margins plunging.

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SMART REFINERY SIMILARITIES, DIFFERENCES, IM-PROVEMENTSHow is the smart refinery different? In a very important way, itisn’t. The operating objectives for the refinery still include:

• Maintaining safe operations;• Enhancing environmental stewardship;• Sustaining high equipment availability and reliability; and• Maximizing plant and product value through efficient

and optimized operation.

While refinery objectives are mostly unchanged, the perform-ance against these objectives can be dramatically improved whilereducing costs. For example, a U.S. Gulf Coast refiner showed sus-tained 50% reduction in reliability risk – increased availability – byincorporating a smart refinery process to use the additional infor-mation from smart technology. Similarly, a West Coast refiner im-plemented wireless vibration sensors on essential pumps tomonitor asset health where a wired solution was not cost effective.

The new smart refinery will complement the board opera-tor, control engineer and maintenance tech, improving their ef-ficiency. “With any new technology, ease of use and ease ofintegration with existing operations are key factors,” said Dr.Douglas White, director of refining industry solutions withEmerson Process Management in Houston. “We carefully con-sider the possible effects of our smart refinery technologies, notonly on present staff, but also on successfully transferring crit-ical knowledge to younger operators as a significant numberof older operators reach retirement age.

“The continuing evolution in digital computing and com-munication capabilities – and the application of these tech-nologies – has led to fundamental differences in the wayrefineries operate and will continue to change the way they op-erate in the future,” White said. “But people are still the mostimportant resource. New operating methods must be intro-duced without any disruption to production – and they can be.”

“The smart refinery is getting smarter,” said Herman Storey,chief technology officer of Herman Storey Consulting Inc.“Many new functions that add value are now available, butthese new features also add complexity. In addition, the pace ofchange has accelerated, so we have ever-more complex systemsthat are changing faster and faster.”

Industry expert Cliff Pedersen agreed. “The financial situa-tion, strengths and weaknesses of each plant must be assessedto determine where the benefit opportunities really are. How-ever, the right systems applied by the right people should beable to increase plant efficiencies by as much as 20%, depend-ing on how a given plant is actually running,” Pedersen said.“That gain or more could very well be achieved in a relativelypoorly run plant. Even in a very well run plant, the opportunitywill exist to increase efficiencies by at least a couple percent,and that can still be worth multi-million dollars a year.”

IT’STHE BOTTOM LINETHAT COUNTSIn today’s economic environment, management demands thatnew investments provide a clearly superior rate of return and that

returns are maximized on new and existing assets, particularly au-tomation assets. Investments in smart refinery technology oftenprovide some of the highest potential economic paybacks of anypossible investments, and these expected returns can be deter-mined in advance and demonstrated after installation.

Both new and existing plants can get quick return on invest-ment and sustainable value by investing in smart refinery tech-nology. New plants can easily take advantage of state-of-the-arttechnology, but existing plants can also benefit. Existing facilitiescan start small and gain experience by implementing upgradeprograms at a measured pace that can be self-funding with ben-efits from early installations paying for the later stages. Smartrefinery operators now have the opportunity to leverage theseinvestments to enhance the safety, productivity and prosperityof their plants. �

To determine which smart refinery solutions are right for your plant,visit www.SmartRefinery.com.


During the past 20 years, technology has taken hugeleaps. Remember the clunky portable phone the size ofa toaster that you were so keen to lug around in the

1980s? Compare that to the smart phone in your pocket rightnow – smaller, faster, sleeker, more powerful, and most impor-tantly, far more useful. This analogy also applies to modern re-finery technology. What once was state-of-the-art now brings– at best – a chuckle of nostalgia, and at worse, reliabilityheadaches, safety issues, breakdowns, forced turnarounds andefficiency nightmares.

“Older refineries are faced with unique challenges,” said Ed-ward Schodowski, director of industry solutions for EmersonProcess Management. “With a considerable amount of legacyassets in place that may provide suboptimal operating per-formance, opportunities are being missed to run at the high-est productivity levels. You also run the risk of installedtechnologies becoming obsolete, and with obsolescencecomes, among other things, the difficulty in getting spareparts, downtime, and challenges with maintenance – all ofwhich could result in high cost of ownership.”

The majority of installed control system technology inbrownfield refineries is of design vintage circa 1985. The ageof this technology inhibits improved productivity through theinability to effectively integrate predictive diagnostics, assethealth applications, and integrated safety systems. With en-hanced technology applications, you – and your refinery – cando things that were previously impossible.

There are a number of reasons a refiner should considermodernizing. Many plants face outdated legacy process au-tomation control systems. Field wiring terminations andwiring are complex, and those in poor condition could resultin inaccurate feedback.

Every refinery is competing daily with newer global capacitythat uses the latest integrated safety, wireless and asset man-agement solutions, giving newer plants a distinct competitiveadvantage. ARC Advisory Group reported that the total in-stalled base of systems reaching the end of its useful life is cur-rently valued around US$65 billion, and the value of the totalinstalled base of systems older than 20 years is about $53 bil-lion. ARC said the average impact of unscheduled downtime inthe process industries equates to almost 5% of production, ora staggering $20 billion.

Refiners often need assistance in evaluating where to start ona modernization project. Every plant situation is unique. The op-timum time to look at new “smart refinery” strategies is duringthe conceptual design of a major automation upgrade. Refinersshould strive to obtain the greatest economic benefit from au-tomation upgrades by using modernization consulting studiesand system life planning audits to make risk challenges under-standable and to outline pathways for transition. In many cases,migration plans can be scaled and implemented in stages. Failingto modernize can cause significant financial problems for re-fineries as operating, maintenance, safety mitigation and othercosts rise, which can mean a negative return on investment.

Of major concern to refiners is the actual, physical amount ofwork required to upgrade an older operating system. If a com-plete wiring network requires replacement, not only are costsa factor, but the logistics and potential downtime can createheadaches when considering migration projects.

Field marshalling is a traditional practice with legacy Input/Out-put (I/O) systems, requiring significant wiring to match the fieldinput with the proper physical I/O card. The result is a spaghettiwiring exercise that adds cost and risk to hot cutovers of legacycontrol systems. New “electronic marshalling” technology elimi-nates this hazardous and time-consuming exercise by making sim-plified electronic I/O assignments. Electronic marshalling reducesthe risk and cost in legacy control system hot cutovers.

“One of the barriers to making a migration is the fear of hav-ing to modify all that wiring, the junction box, the terminalbox, the I/O card, the controllers,” Schodowski said. “There is al-ways the question: ‘Is going to a new system going to create anengineering and wiring nightmare?”

With virtual I/O and electronic marshalling, refiners can by-pass the wiring nightmare and go from a junction box to thenew virtual I/O – straight into a controller panel.

Refiners are starting to see the benefits of this enhancedtechnology. “In our case, we intend to use [this] I/O technologyto replace the legacy I/O cards and reuse the existing wiring andenclosures,” said Steve Elwart, director of systems engineeringat Mississippi-based Ergon Refining. “This should result in hugecost savings.”

Brownfield situations bring a unique set of challenges andmany business drivers to consider. Refiners must evaluatewhether maintaining a legacy asset system is more effective –

Making the Old New—ManagingLegacy SystemsRefiners often need assistance in evaluating where to start on a migration project.They should seek the greatesteconomic benefit from automation upgrades.


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both operationally and cost-wise – than migrating to newerand more efficient technologies. In the end, economic factorsare usually the primary drivers.

To improve depth in service execution of refining systems mi-gration projects, Emerson acquired TAG (The Automation Group)in 2008. “Services are a critical element in successful refinery mi-grations,” said Steve Paulson, TAG president. “Emerson’s advancedtechnologies like electronic marshalling and smart wireless, com-bined with the refining migration experience of TAG, make it easyfor our clients to move to a ‘smart refinery’ strategy.” With theseenhancements to the portfolio, Emerson will continue to proac-tively improve productivity at major refineries.

THE BIG PICTUREViewing the value of the integrated system holistically can solvespecific issues. Reliability and equipment health are high prior-ities when considering refinery upgrades. For example, one op-erator needed to integrate an interface to rotating equipmentafter the equipment manufacturer recommended a stand-alonemachinery health system. According to industry experts, it iseasier to run that equipment without exceeding operating lim-its if process control and machinery health predictive diagnos-tics are combined and online.

“The conventional process controller tells the machinery howhard to run,” Schodowski said. “On large turbo machinery, a

protection system acts to prevent damage by shutting downthe machine on detection of extreme conditions.

“Alternatively, an integrated control and machinery healthreliability system makes it easier to configure the two systemsto work together, perhaps backing off on process demands be-fore an unintended shutdown occurs. It’s always better to keepthe plant running at its constraints than push it over the lineand risk a shutdown or equipment damage.”

Predictive diagnostics allow users to detect underlying prob-lems early so issues are corrected before they cause severe prob-lems. Modern control systems have integrated prediction,protection, and asset management for critical rotating equip-ment to allow engineers to validate optimum performancenearly instantaneously.

PROVEN RESULTS ATMAJOR REFINERIESThe Petropiar refinery (Chevron/PDVSA joint venture) in Mejo-rador Jose, Barcelona, Venezuela, installed predictive manage-ment software in conjunction with 4,500 HART field instruments.Using these technologies enabled the refinery to increase pro-duction, reduce costs, and improve profitability.

The elimination of repetitive problems and the ability to pre-dict unexpected instrument failures and associated downtimeresulted in a documented financial benefit at the refinery of$70 million during a two-year period. In addition to flawless

SmartRefinery | FUEL

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plant startups, by using the predictive management software,Petropiar’s pre-commissioning and commissioning time was re-duced by 40%, lost profit opportunities caused by instrumentfaults were reduced by 60%, and 95% of problem-causing com-ponents were eliminated.

“The HART technology, along with [the software], has deliv-ered significant savings, and we believe there are even moreopportunities for increased reliability and improved perform-ance in our facility,” said Mariela León, instrumentation leader,reliability team, at Petropiar.

Elsewhere, Petrobras is investing $1.5 billion to make itsReplan refinery more competitive in international markets.Refinery capacity is being increased to 390,000 b/d and relia-bility/availability improvements are in the works. Part of thisexpansion was the retrofit of old controls.

The results of these upgrades include significant benefits, in-cluding “increased utilization of our plant, enabling them tooperate closer to their capacity limits,” said Petrobras managerof Electro Instrumentation, Rogerio Daisson. “This has helpedus reduce energy costs by reducing the consumption of energyper unit of charge, and we have improved the optimization oflower-volume products and re-processing of final products.”

Petrobras is particularly pleased with the increase in effi-ciency and time savings the company is experiencing since theupgrade. “Since we began implementing new control and au-tomation technologies, our refinery has nearly doubled in size,”said Petrobras’ Ederson Marcos Divinio Faustino. “On the otherhand, the team that works with instruments and automationhas been streamlined to almost half the number of people. Wehave experienced major improvements in reliability.”

Technology advances ofmodern control systemshave also allowed newinnovations to improverefinery reliability throughadvanced diagnostics. Risksare mitigated because ofexperience, tools and stan-dard procedures. Special-ized companies havecompleted thousands ofmigrations from a numberof systems, making “risk-free migration” a reality.

“In a gasifier plant whereI worked, we installed anintegrated DeltaVSIS andcontrol system,” said GeorgeCushon, an industry consult-ant and automation expertbased in Calgary “The sys-tem contained an amazingnumber of protection rou-tines and really optimized

start-up and shut-down while integrating safety controls, givingthe ability to monitor safety and process together. And, using[this] technology, we were able to configure in six months whathad previously taken two years or longer with other systems. Itwas very cost-effective.”

BP also recently decided to upgrade controls on 18 units atthree U.S. refineries. “Following an extensive evaluation of thesupply market and available technologies, BP has taken a strate-gic decision to introduce Emerson digital control systems into itsrefining base,” said Patrick Gower, BP’s refining vice presidentfor the U.S.

Advanced engineering tools and methodologies allow easyhot cutover with reduced safety and downtime risk, and mod-ern software solutions speed migration. Electronic marshallingprovides flexibility in field wiring cutover during system transi-tion, and data highway and legacy I/O hardware interfaces tosimplify system transition. Industry solution experts can workwith plant personnel to justify and plan projects to meet theplant’s business and operational objectives, improve perform-ance, and increase operational efficiency.

“This is not a theoretical exercise,” Schodowski said. “In thenext five years, many systems will be going obsolete. Competi-tive market pressure will continue to drive the need for im-proved profitability at refineries with legacy systems. The statusquo is no longer an option. The new technology is here todayto take refiners to the next level of performance. No refinerwants to leave money on the table.” �

Is there an automation upgrade in your future? To find out more, contactEmerson at [email protected].


Modern technology allows smaller footprint and easier manageability

160 Classic Card I/O with Traditional Marshalling 288 Electronic Marshalling I/O


As in every industry, new capital construction projects inthe refinery sector are decided upon and dictated byeconomics today and forecast for tomorrow. Capital ex-

penditure is the most visible and arguably the most critical facetof undertaking a new refinery project. Risk mitigation is a highpriority; leveraging experienced resources and key stakehold-ers early in the project can mitigate risk.

To identify potential risks, and mitigate and align on oper-ating objectives and capital constraints, the best time to get keystakeholders – including strategic partners – involved is at thevery outset. The early phases of a project are the most crucialsince they provide a blueprint for the entire project. Projectalignment among all stakeholders early in the game can makethe difference between meeting or exceeding budget andschedule constraints, and getting a faster return on investment(ROI) once the project is complete. The goal is to mitigate riskduring the project design and implementation, while maximiz-ing profitability once operating.

“People will penny-pinch on an initial quote, and integra-tion is one of those areas that falls into the cracks,” said SteveElwart, director of systems engineering at Mississippi-basedErgon Refining. “You’ve got all sorts of new equipment andnew vendors, and you’re heading in a completely new direc-tion with brand-new, unknown quantities – you forgot that allof these new systems need to talk to each other. If you’re notcareful, it can really get ugly.”

The continuing evolution in digital computing and commu-nication capabilities as well as the application of these tech-nologies has led to fundamental differences in the wayrefineries are designed, commissioned, operated, and main-tained. When implementing a greenfield project, ownersshould thoroughly understand the project incentives setup forengineering, procurement and construction (EPC); capital proj-ect managers; and procurement compared with post-projectoperations objectives.

“Don’t lose track of the objective of a project,” said TimOlsen, Emerson’s refining performance consultant. “The objec-tive is to meet a consumer demand and get the expected re-turn on the investment.”

A recent trend is using automation providers as a main au-tomation contractor (MAC) to be involved early with thefront-end engineering and design (FEED), and then through-

out the project. FEED (or “A FEED phase”) provides a well-de-fined scope for the project, which results in better alignmentwith key stakeholder expectations, more accurate estimates,lower contingency and typically lower overall project costs.The effort and upfront cost of FEED is just an earlier invest-ment as this is work that would otherwise be done in the first10% to 25% of detailed engineering. The resulting blueprintis further refined during the detailed engineering and designphase of the project. The project plan is defined from start tofinish including engineering, resource requirements, hardwareprocurement, implementation and startup.

Projects with a thorough FEED are more likely to be com-pleted on time and within budget. Identifying potential prob-lem areas and/or necessary changes early allows for immediateresolution, resulting in less impact further into the project. Withkey stakeholder alignment, business drivers and constraints de-fined, the project risk is identified and mitigated. Business man-agement can proceed with full disclosure of opportunities toevaluate project alternatives and mitigate risk.

Early planning, project definition and goal setting are majorfactors in gaining user involvement and management support.These factors greatly increase the opportunity for a successfulprocess automation project. Changes in scope are best madewhen they have the least financial impact on the project. It ismore difficult to improve project costs later in the project life-cycle when project execution and operation of the facility arealready in place.

One example of how an automation solutions provider isworking with an EPC is how Emerson Process Management andFluor use PEpC (the Procurement of Strategic Suppliers, Engi-neering, procurement of commodity items and Construction) asa partnership from the FEED throughout the project. Using aPEpC strategy instead of a traditional EPC model has shown timesavings of 10% to 15% and cost savings of 4% to 8% comparedwith the traditional EPC process. “Clients today are recognizingthe importance of developing their automation platforms earlyduring the project development phase to ensure a fit-for-purpose solution,” said Fluor’s Vincent Grindlay, senior projectdirector of supply chain solutions. “As a consequence, theprocess for evaluating suppliers is somewhat different from thatused during a competitively bid scenario. Therefore, to ensure asuccessful PEpC implementation, it is important to develop a

Design to Run—Smart Refinery‘Greenfield’ ProjectsStrategy and risk drive capital projects. Mitigating the risk and having the right project mindset helps achieve betterreturn on investment – design-to-run, rather than design-to-build.

commercial model that supports early supplier integration aswell as demonstrating the benefits technically to drive cost andschedule certainty. Working with our strategic partners, such asEmerson, allows Fluor to develop these models, methodologiesand work processes to support the PEpC process.”

If strategic suppliers and partners are identified early andsynergies of these are leveraged into the concept and designprocess, time and cost of new projects are reduced, accordingto a study by the Construction Industry Institute (CII). In addi-tion, risk is reduced if key partners are committed to deliver abroader scope of supply and take ownership of performance.

Not all items benefit from early procurement, however. Sometruly are commodities and can be purchased inexpensively.However, some – including process automation – are criticalcomponents in the early phases of planning and construction.Early selection of these technologies and a partnership with aMAC, for example, can reduce cost and schedule while lower-ing risk. In short, early selection ensures alignment, risk is iden-tified and mitigated and the project has a better probability ofbeing delivered on time and within budget.

DIGITAL IS OPTIMALChoosing digital technology ensures ROI is achieved. Benefits ofsmart instrumentation are achieved during the project with com-missioning, calibration and startup completed more quickly, moreaccurately and more efficiently. The same smart instruments con-tinue to capture value by monitoring their own status, which al-lows immediate alert of abnormal asset health and the ability topredict required maintenance. Using these smart digital tech-nologies has led to fundamental differences in the way refineriesare designed, commissioned, operated and maintained.

For example, more than US$4.5 billion was invested at theFujian refining and petrochemical (FREP) facility in China, ajoint venture with ExxonMobil, Saudi Aramco and Sinopec,tripling the capacity of the existing refinery to 240,000 b/d toproduce transportation fuels and other refined products. FREPdigitally automated the existing refinery with eight distributedcontrol automation systems, predictive maintenance software,safety instrumented systems (SIS), fire and gas systems, pressureand temperature transmitters and digital valve controllers – allusing FOUNDATION™ fieldbus, HART, OPC and Modbus communi-cation technologies and delivering information to a real-timedatabase, as part of the largest integrated refining and petro-chemicals project ever undertaken in China.

In addition, the project added a new petrochemical complexthat included an 800,000-ton-per-year ethylene steam cracker,800,000-ton-per-year polyethylene unit, 400,000-ton-per-yearpolypropylene unit and a 700,000-ton-per-year paraxylene unit.The complex also features a state-of-the-art 250MW cogenera-tion facility, which will meet the majority of the site’s power de-mands and lower operating costs as well as significantly reducegreenhouse gas emissions. China’s first integrated refining andpetrochemical facility with foreign partners was officiallyopened in November 2009.

SmartRefinery | FUEL10


The plant’s digital architecture networks intelligent field de-vices, and sensors throughout the facilities continuously collectand report real-time predictive data about the process, instru-ments and equipment. Operators and maintenance personneluse this predictive data to optimize performance, anticipate is-sues and correct them before operations are interrupted or shutdown. The digital architecture is based on open systems, whichkeep pace with new technologies and enable refiners to preservethe capital investment in their control systems. Digital architec-ture also makes it possible to lower startup and commissioningcosts by reducing wiring costs and streamlining device installa-tion, communications verification and troubleshooting.

WAVE OFTHE FUTUREWhen a greenfield project is given the green light, today’s tech-nologies can bring the future into the present. A well designednew plant will include key control loops and applicationsequipped with smart instrumentation to ensure optimal oper-ation, performance and reliability.

Control rooms may be hundreds of miles from the physicalplant, but because of new technologies, more informationabout the state of the plant will be available in real time. Forexample, suppose low instrument air pressure on a digital con-trol valve positioner is detected. Alerts – along with root causeinformation – are sent to the appropriate personnel in a timelymanner, allowing an opportunity to repair the low instrumentair pressure before it affects the process.

Technical support will likely be remote from the plant and de-pend on communication to convey data and information aboutcritical operational issues. Predictive diagnostics on all equipmentwill identify problems early. Enhanced model-based control analy-sis will bring better decision support and more efficient and adap-tive response capabilities to abnormal situations.

Modern automation systems with smart instruments canshorten the amount of time required to identify, commissionand calibrate in preparation for an on time startup.

“A constant frustration to automation professionals isthat most project people still do not seem to have a goodgrasp of the capability and value of the control systems andapplication software that are becoming increasingly neces-sary to operate process plants at optimum efficiency and ef-fectiveness,” said Cliff Pedersen, president of PedersenEnterprises Inc. “In most capital projects, process controland automation is added as an afterthought with the min-imum required for safe operation, and the plants must thenbe enhanced later by the owner/operators to achieve its‘right-time’ objectives. A good example of this is alarmmanagement, where systems are installed with the samealarms as were used in previous projects, with little newanalysis for cost control reasons – a situation which then hasto be rectified after plant commissioning.”

Involving automation experts early helps uncover potentialdesign and implementation risks, which can affect projectbudget and schedule. It is important all players understand the

“end game of the project – the ROI,” Olsen said. “These newplants must be approached from the design-to-run viewpoint,rather than the design-to-build mindset – only then can the re-finery meet or exceed estimated ROI long term.” �

Is ROI important to you? To discover how Emerson’s Smart Refinery so-lution can maximize your automation ROI, visit www.SmartRefinery.com.

In 2005, Emerson created the Global Project Manage-ment Office (GPMO) to provide predictability and con-sistency in its global project execution services. The

GPMO develops processes, standards and tools for useby Emerson’s engineering centers worldwide. For Emer-son’s clients, the GPMO initiatives provide a methodol-ogy for consistent project execution, with lower risk andimproved efficiency and the ability to add Emerson proj-ect resources globally and integrate them into each proj-ect quickly.

“The GPMO processes offer our engineering centersstep-by-step instructions on how to execute projects the‘Emerson way,’” said Tim Prickette, director, GPMO –Americas for Emerson Process Management. “Theprocesses cover project management and our technicaldisciplines. In each process, templates are available as thestarting point for the creation of project deliverables tothe client. Each template contains best practice infor-mation culled from previous projects.

“Our projects start with an estimate to the client onproject cost,” Prickette said. “All of our projects globallyare estimated using our Enterprise Estimating Tool,which allows users to estimate a bill of material forequipment and software and services hours to providethe automation solution. Using a common estimatingtool provides clients with confidence that they will get aconsistent estimate from any Emerson engineering cen-ter around the world.”

Tools are available for project managers to scheduleproject tasks, assign and manage resources, manageproject financials and provide a variety of project statusreports based on earned value, project cost and projecthours. The project manager tools have been integratedto allow for automated data flow to enhance data ac-curacy and reduce administration. �

Emerson’s GlobalProject ManagementOffice

11


For many years, refineries have demonstrated the value ofadvanced process control (APC) to optimize processes andpush constraints. Traditional APC tools are mature and fea-

ture-rich, but complicated to use and difficult to maintain.“In the refining sector, advanced control applications have tradi-

tionally been implemented and maintained by a very specializedgroup of individuals with deep knowledge of APC applications, sup-ported by a whole host of specialists who can deal with separatecomputer systems connected to the control system, software inter-face drivers, customized graphics, DCS programming, database ad-ministration and networking,” said Pete Sharpe, director of refineryand chemical industry solutions at Emerson Process Managementin Virginia. “As a result, APC projects were expensive to engineer, in-stall and maintain. They do make money, and they’ve certainlydemonstrated very quick payback. But they also carry an associatedoverhead cost, which can become a hurdle to getting them done.”

All of that is about to change now that automation compa-nies have entered the game. Embedded APC tools are designedto be easier to use, lower cost and dramatically shorten imple-mentation schedules. Modern APC applications require no ad-ditional hardware or software because they are additionalcontrol blocks seamlessly configured in the DCS, similar to con-figuring DCS-based PID controllers. There are no files to transfer,no communications to link up and no historians to configure.

“While there are certainly a number of large, complex processunits like FCCs [fluid catalytic crackers], reformers and cokers thatwarrant a large-scale, multivariable approach, there is also awhole class of problems where small, high-speed and redundantembedded APC tools are an ideal fit,” Sharpe said. “There arethe very fast dynamic problems like fired heaters and compres-sors, where one-second execution-frequency for an MPC loop isrequired for safe operations. And you have the long time frame,highly-constrained single variable controllers, such as setting thefeed rate to the hydrogen plant to balance the hydrogen systemin the face of disturbances from the users. Each of these is a smallapplication in terms of matrix size and implementation effort,but a large application in terms of economic impact.

“Even though the basic designs may differ between unitsfrom site to site, you find that the control objectives, key per-formance calculations and basic control strategies are very sim-ilar from one to the next,” Sharpe said. “By engineering thesolution into reusable libraries integrated with the control sys-tem, we have reduced the time to implement one of the‘canned’ applications to a matter of weeks. And using ‘stan-dard’ applications makes it supportable for the future.”

KEEPING IT RUNNINGThere are many reasons advanced controls get turned off or gounused. Soon after the commissioning team leaves and theproject is declared a success, many applications are not workingor are not used. Up to 50% of the APC applications imple-mented during the past decade were turned off within twoyears from their initial implementations.

How do you prevent the APC from becoming an expensive setof CDs and software folders? Sharpe suggests spending some ofthe annual control system maintenance budget to keep it alive.

“Modifications, additions and enhancements are inevitablefor an advanced control application,” Sharpe said. “With onlya little bit of training, the plant’s engineers become quite pro-ficient at using embedded tools to keep the system evergreen– without much assistance from us.”

Lack of training is another reason that APC applications fallinto disuse. While staff development is a responsibility of the re-finers, automation vendors are taking strides in making train-ing easier and more accessible to all types of users.

Automation developments will continue to enable the re-fining industry’s response to future challenges. Modern processcontrol systems include embedded tools that continuously mon-itor loop performance, identify issues and proactively addressloop-tuning issues. Adaptive tuning for non-linear processes isbuilt in and can be tuned online. Automatic alerts, reports andhistorical data highlight and prioritize control problems. �

To discover how Emerson’s Smart Refinery solution can get you startedon your path to becoming a smart refinery, visit www.SmartRefinery.comor contact Emerson at [email protected].

Advanced Control and Optimization

Model predictive control applications have been streamlined for maximum efficiency and performance.Today’s embeddedtools are more efficient, ultra-integrated, and easy to use – no Ph.D. required.


Modern smart refining technology can significantly im-prove equipment availability and return on invest-ment (ROI). One major refiner even gained capacity

equivalent to a new refinery by increasing equipment reliabil-ity and availability at its existing refineries.

PREDICTIVE INTELLIGENCEWORKS SMARTER, NOT HARDERThere are several approaches to maintenance in refineries.The “break-fix” approach is to wait until the equipmentbreaks and then – if it is really important – fix it. Preventivemaintenance uses average times until predicted equipmentfailure to schedule maintenance before the expected failuretime. Since equipment can vary in actual performance, somescheduled maintenance is unnecessary, while some equipmentfails before its scheduled shutdown.

Predictive maintenance, on the other hand, can determinemore precisely whether equipment is underperforming orabout to fail and can save as much as 30% of unscheduledmaintenance costs while improving equipment reliability.

The more technology develops, grows and evolves, the more“smart” information can be obtained from facilities. Instead of dis-patching personnel to collect information with the right predictiveapplications, information can be viewed remotely, diagnosed andcorrected with little or no downtime. High-performance comput-ing equipment continues to decrease in size, while communicationand bandwidth capabilities continue to grow. Sensors on equip-ment are becoming cheaper and can now include enhanced com-puting and communication features. With these improvedcomputing and communication capabilities, predictive mainte-nance can be based on actual device performance data, obtainedand analyzed in near real time. The objective is to identify poten-tial equipment problems early, before catastrophic failures occur,which minimizes downtime and repair costs.

MAINTENANCEMADE EASIEROptimal production is the goal for any processing facility. Withtoday’s slim operating margins and increased global competition,increased performance is becoming a Holy Grail. Unplannedshutdowns due to equipment failures, higher-than-expectedmaintenance costs and lack of experienced personnel can seri-ously affect the bottom line.

“Surveys conducted by different sources at different timesreveal that more than 80% of maintenance is reactive (too late)or preventive (unnecessary),” said Emerson Business Develop-ment Manager Chuck Miller. “In fact, typical maintenance prac-tices have not changed in over 15 years. This is primarily theresult of an insufficient tool set capable of improving mainte-nance practices – a situation that a modern integrated controland safety system (ICSS) can change.

“An ICSS solution lowers upfront costs of engineering,installation, and commissioning, and it certainly will also reduceongoing maintenance and management costs to satisfy anysafety and regulatory requirements.”

Emerson’s AMS Suite predictive maintenance software ini-tially focused on intelligent field devices and applications tomanage them. During the past decade, through strategic ac-quisitions and internal development, the company extendedthe scope of predictive diagnostics to cover critical refinery pro-duction assets. These assets include mechanical equipment (tur-bines, compressors, pumps), electrical equipment (switchgear,electric motors), process equipment (boilers, heat exchanges,furnaces), instruments and valves. If the systems are operatingsmoothly and predictably, planning becomes more reliable, sav-ing time and money at all stages.

Rotating equipment (turbines, motors, pumps, compressorsand fans) is critical to plant operations. Failures can signifi-cantly affect plant production capacity. Maintenance costs onthis equipment can also be high. Deteriorating rotating ma-chinery health and performance is usually associated withmisalignment or imbalance, corrosion and wear, fouling, sed-iment build-up or poorly lubricated parts. Detecting these un-derlying problems early allows refineries to correct issuesbefore they affect processes. With modern predictive main-tenance software solutions, smart refineries can reduce main-tenance costs, while increasing availability. Online machinerymonitoring extends protection, prediction and performancemonitoring capabilities to a plant’s most critical machinery,which allows the staff to diagnose problems before they be-come critical issues.

What are the enabling technologies that permit refineries tomove from reacting to predicting?

“A dream I had fulfilled was to have an instrument tech come

DiscoveringYour Hidden Plant —TheVirtue of Increased ReliabilityRefineries have always been concerned with improving the reliability of major equipment and avoiding unscheduledproduction slowdowns or shutdowns. Every refiner knows reliable and efficient equipment operation is essential for prof-itable production.As refineries get larger, the cost of downtime increases dramatically.

into the control room to tell the operator they are going to workon an end device that was failing,” said Ergon Refining’s Steve El-wart. “The operator replied, ‘Oh, I didn’t know anything waswrong with it.’ At that point, we knew we had moved frombreakdown maintenance to predictive maintenance.”

NOMORE OBSTRUCTIONSThe ability to move from a reactive to a predictive reliability ap-proach is a major component of smart refinery technology. Pre-dictive diagnostics enable early identification of equipmentproblems and create “self-aware” assets and smart field de-vices. With today’s wireless technology, the cost of adding thesesmart devices and sensors to monitor important plant assets has

decreased dramatically. These smart devices analyze data in realtime to provide diagnostic information and integrate it intomaintenance procedures, providing an opportunity to act onthe information before a failure or safety incident occurs. Thereliability and safety of the entire smart refinery is improved bypreventing unplanned shutdowns.

Remote locations, physical obstructions and the high cost ofengineering and integrating new technologies are no longerthe barriers they once were. With traditional point-to-pointwireless solutions or where network reliability is a concern, sitesurveys are required to define line-of-sight communicationpaths. These surveys can be time-consuming, especially if equip-ment or other obstacles limit available communication paths.

Recent advances in smart wireless technology provide accessto parts of the facility that were previously out of reach. Withsmart wireless, sophisticated planning and costly site surveysare unnecessary. As long a device or gateway is within range ofat least one other wireless device, it can communicate with thenetwork. The self-organizing mesh technology overcomes thebarriers, obstructions and limitations of typical line-of-sightwireless installations.

Self-organizing mesh networks continuously monitor trans-missions from a variety of measurement devices that keep trackof pressure, temperature, flow and vibration. The network au-tomatically finds the best communication route back to the net-work gateway (receiver). If a connection is temporarily blocked,signals are rerouted to adjacent wireless devices, which act astransceivers or repeaters that maintain connectivity. These re-dundant data pathways eliminate single points of failure and,since the system is automatically reconfigured, no user inter-vention is required.

This mesh technology is the basis for the IEC 62591 (Wire-lessHART®). IEC 62591 enables users to quickly and easily gain thebenefits of wireless technology while maintaining compatibilitywith existing devices, tools and systems. A large number of fielddevices, valve and equipment position monitors, vibration datatransmitters and smart gateways meeting this standard are cur-rently in use throughout the industry.

Smart wireless technology using IEC 62591 opens the doorfor new possibilities in predictive maintenance and smart re-finery reliability. Because these smart wireless devices have thesame process connections as traditional wired HART devices, ex-isting procedures can be used to complete the installation.Smart wireless sensors can be calibrated using the same con-figuration tools as for the traditional HART devices. And digitalHART communication provides device diagnostic and equip-ment health information to enable predictive maintenance, in-creased reliability, and perhaps even the discovery of yourhidden plant. �

To discover how Emerson’s Smart Refinery solution can improve the re-liability of your plant, contact Emerson at [email protected].



Safety-related incidents – including explosions, fires,heavy equipment-related accidents, and falls – havecaused an alarming number of injuries and fatalities in

the refinery setting. While these facts are serious and sober-ing, much can be done to improve the safety aspects of re-finery operations. Providing safe and environmentally benignoperations not only for plant personnel, but also the sur-rounding communities, is an essential part of a refinery’s bot-tom line. Achieving safety-related goals at the lowesteffective cost with optimized process reliability is imperativein today’s economic environment.

“In the refinery setting, there are so many risks and threatsto safe reliable operation that refiners are forced to take onthe credo of the Hippocratic Oath: ‘First do no harm,’” said GaryHawkins, global refining business consultant at Emerson ProcessManagement. “Improving reliability and safety, protecting peo-ple, your investment, the community and your production areall lofty goals, but how does an operation achieve all of thiswhile maintaining profitability? It’s a juggling act around beingoperationally nimble, being able to dial up and dial down de-pending on market changes and crude slate changes and hav-ing the flexibility in your production – which includes yourpeople – to be able to respond to those changing conditionssafely and with predictable success.”

Employing state-of-the-art safety logic solvers can create asafer work environment. Integrating equipment diagnosticsand status information within the safety logic solvers permitsimprovements in availability and reliability of the safety in-strumented system (SIS). Most SIS in a refinery are applied tothe process heaters, and the most frequent causes of SIS fail-ure on demand or spurious trips are due to failures of the in-strumentation or the final element (shutdown valve), not afailure of the logic solver. Integration of smart devices withinthe SIS – integrated, but within separate architecture – pro-vides device status and alerts that can be used to increase thereliability of the SIS, reducing spurious trips and avoiding un-expected shutdowns.

“Safety instrumented systems perform a critical role in pro-viding safer, more reliable process operations,” said Emerson’sJoanne Salazar, manager of the company’s DeltaV SIS mar-keting program. “Based on industry research, over 92% of allfaults in SIS applications occur in field instruments and controlelements. Therefore, it is critical to consider the entire safety

instrumented function (SIF) – from sensor, to logic solver, tofinal control element – as a complete entity. This approachincreases process availability and reduces lifecycle costs forend users.

“Digital HART communication is the enabler,” Salazar said.“It provides device diagnostic and health information to enablepredictive intelligence and allows appropriate action to betaken before the process is unnecessarily shut down – resultingin significant savings of time, labor and lost throughput.”

Integration of smart devices within the SIS provides device sta-tus and alerts that can be used to increase the reliability of theSIS, reducing spurious trips and avoiding unexpected shutdowns.Operator interfaces that employ human-centered design princi-ples can now increase operator attention and avoid alarm over-load (or “alarm flooding”) during abnormal situations.

“Integrated equipment performance monitoring gives earlyindication of efficiency loss and potential equipment failure,”Hawkins said. “For instance, light-off of a fired heater is gen-erally considered the most dangerous time of fired heater op-eration. Therefore minimizing spurious trips of the heater alsoincreases safety. And integration permits many startup activi-ties to be performed remotely rather than in the field – reduc-ing man-hours and time to startup.”

BIG BROTHER ISWATCHINGNearly every process plant is subject to some form of regula-tory compliance. In the U.S, these include OSHA, NFPA, API,ASME, CSD and FM. Additionally, most plants have committedto complying with ISO 9000, and where safety system confor-mance is required, the governing safety standard is ANSI/ISA84.00.01-2004 (IEC 61511-Mod.), Functional Safety: Safety In-strumented Systems for the Process Industry Sector. Even theU.S. Department of Homeland Security is starting to get intothe act.

A modern SIS provides an audit trail to ease change man-agement with automated testing documentation to demon-strate regulatory compliance. The ideal SIS solution shouldprovide considerable assistance in complying with mandatedand voluntary regulations by completely integrating changemanagement and generating – on demand – detailed docu-mentation from several aspects, including the device audit trail,calibration history, control and/or safety configuration audittrail, process history and event history.

Improving Safetyin the Smart RefineryAccording to the U.S. Department of Labor, during the past 15 years, the U.S. petroleum refining industry has hadmore fatal or catastrophic incidents related to the release of highly hazardous chemicals than any other industry sector.

SAFETY IS AS SAFETY DOESNew technologies require new or additional training require-ments. A modern refinery’s staff is cross functional, and itssafety team often includes safety, operations and maintenancepersonnel, as well as the process licensor and a representativefrom the safety system provider. Process and safety experts maybe remote from the plant site. While all staff should be cog-nizant of the refiner’s safety schema, those with potentialsafety roles need specific and detailed training and mentoring.

“With the predicted retirement and turnover of experi-enced staff in the upcoming years, operator training in notonly normal unit operations, but also in infrequent events like

startups and shutdowns and emergency procedures will bekey to maintaining safety in the refinery,” Hawkins said.“Safe equipment operations and employee safety is rarelytaught in schools. It is something that is primarily learned inthe work environment for specialized situations. Safety be-gins at the top, and our expanding offerings in the realm ofsafety are designed for top operating managers as well assafety professionals.” �

To discover how Emerson’s Smart Refinery solution can get you started onyour path to becoming a safer, more secure smart refinery, visit www.SmartRe-finery.com or contact Emerson at [email protected].

The vulnerability of critical infrastructure is of majorconcern, both to operators and government entities.Refineries and chemical plants, power plants and oil

and gas pipelines are particularly attractive targets to hack-ers and terrorists – not only for the potential economic im-pact, but for the “big boom” and visible damage that canoccur, drawing coveted media attention. Are you doingeverything you can to protect your facility?

In remote locations, ramming a pipeline with a truck orthrowing a bomb over a fence are the easy ways to damagecritical assets. But if the adversary is more sophisticated, thetarget may be the control systems that monitor and controlfacilities. By accessing a control center, an attacker can gainaccess to critical operations and wreak real havoc.

“Many people don’t understand how cyber security fitsinto control systems,” said Steve Elwart, director of systemsengineering at Ergon Refining, and chairman of the EnergySector Control Systems Working Group for the U.S. Depart-ment of Homeland Security (DHS). “We’re at a point in cybersecurity now where safety and environment were 20 yearsago. Back then, environment and safety were consideredoverhead, a nuisance – and that’s how many view cyber se-curity today. It is perceived to have no return on investment,so it gets relegated to the IT department to handle – andwith all due respect to the IT teams, they don’t know much

about control systems. We need to get to the point wherecyber security is everybody’s business.”

Elwart gave an example of walking into an unnamedrefinery for a DHS “red team assessment,” and within sevenminutes, the team had gained administrative access and theability to control the plant’s operating systems. “That’s howweak some systems are,” Elwart said. “Simple things can tripyou up, like never changing the default password, which isoften published in manuals that can be downloaded off theWeb. Control systems personnel are finally taking thingsseriously, but there is still a long way to go.”

Unless the plant in question is a new-build, most plantscan’t begin with a blank slate where security is concerned.Instead, security solutions must be integrated into existing sys-tems, networks and equipment, which can pose a formidablechallenge. Tying in remote locations without influencing pro-duction can add further complications for security upgrades.

The U.S. government is currently spending about US$12billion on cyber security for critical infrastructures. Cybersecurity bills are in the works that would bring more gov-ernment influence and control into the private arena. TheU.S. Department of Homeland Security has started a volun-tary certification program for infrastructure personnelinvolved in cyber security, but it is only a matter of timebefore mandatory standards are put into place. �

Cyber Security in the Refinery


Safety loop (sensor, logic solver and final control element)

In March 2010, the United Nations launched the first commonsystem of calculating the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions produced by specific sector. This sparked specula-

tion about impending global pressure for mandatory emissionsreductions. As the industry keeps potential regulations undersurveillance, and refiners strive to increase efficiency withinchanging market conditions, how can today’s refineries meettomorrow’s environmental standards?

“Right now, with the new regulations regarding CO2 [car-bon dioxide], the focus is all about measuring greenhouse gasand equivalents, and the new greenhouse gas mandatory re-porting requirements,” said Tim Olsen, Emerson’s refineryperformance consultant. “We are taking a proactive stance,talking to our clients about preparing themselves for whatmight next be in store, especially here in the United Stateswith the [U.S.] Environmental Protection Agency [EPA]. TheEPA will probably want to limit greenhouse gases, so from

our point of view it is no longer just about taking measure-ments, it’s about applying some of these applications to im-prove operations and reduce emissions at the same time.”

Because U.S. operators are now mandated to report GHGemissions, control systems are increasingly more important forobtaining accurate information. “On the safety side, controlsystems now act as a watchdog – if the H2S [hydrogen sulfide]sensor goes off, or if a calculated quantity or prediction holdstrue, pagers and cell phones start ringing the alarms,” saidSteve Elwart of Ergon Refining. “I predict we’ll see the samething soon for greenhouse gas emissions.”

According to Joel Lemke, Emerson’s Americas marketingmanager, flow rate is one of the most challenging GHG-relatedprocess measurements. Performance depends on matching themeter to the application, installing and operating it properly,ensuring it is robust to changes in operating conditions andmeeting Capex and Opex economic constraints.

Energy Efficiency andthe Greenhouse Gas ConundrumAs the global warming debate heats up, increasingly strict regulations on greenhouse gas emissions are becomingpotentially more costly for U.S. and European refiners. Energy efficiency can help keep plants competitive globally, whilemaintaining regulatory compliance.


“The new regulation requires ongoing data collection from avariety of measurement points located throughout the plant,”Lemke said. “Multivariable technology in flowmeters enablesaccurate reporting even if process conditions change, and wire-less can create a dedicated, central GHG data network to collectthe data and make it easy to compile into an annual report.”

SOLOMON SAYS…The Energy Intensity Index (EII) as benchmarked by Solomon As-sociates generally measures energy efficiency in the North Amer-ican refining market. The EII is an aggregate value that essentiallyindicates how much energy is expended to process each barrel ofcrude oil – the lower the number, the more efficient the opera-tion. A Solomon EII value of 100 is standard; a Solomon EII plant-specific value below 100 indicates a more efficient plant, while avalue above 100 indicates a less efficient plant.

“Many different factors can affect energy use in a plant, andin nearly every plant, there is the potential for energy efficiencyimprovement. Automated process controls can really have long-term benefits not only for helping to control and monitor CO2

emissions, but also when it comes to complying with CO2 regu-lations,” Lemke said. “Automated process controls are quick toinstall and maintain, easy for the operators to understand anduse, and many tools built into the system help operators do abetter job of managing the regulatory layers.”

According to the Solomon guidelines, differences in crudecharacterization, petroleum products generated, technologyand general practices can be significant in determining a plant’senergy use. Because reducing energy consumption is importantto society and the environment, as well as industrial competi-tiveness, energy efficiency improvements deserve attention.

Shell Refining representatives said their plants have im-proved energy efficiency steadily since 2002 due to operat-ing their refineries closer to full production capacity,running their energy efficiency program and conductingbusiness improvement reviews.

“Since 2002, our programs have reduced our GHG emissionsby approximately 1.7 million tons a year and saved us a com-bined [US]$180 million annually at our refineries and chemicalplants,” the company said.

However, Shell representatives did note that in 2008, energyefficiency at the company’s plants worsened, partly because ofmore unplanned shutdowns.

“It was also due to refineries running below their full pro-duction capacity, hence less efficiently, as demand for their out-put dropped during the year,” the company said. “However, weare stepping up our efforts to improve energy efficiency in ourrefineries and chemicals plants. For example, we are rolling outenergy management systems that allow plant operators to spotenergy losses faster and immediately make small corrections tostop the losses. These systems have already improved efficiencyby more than 8% at our Geismar chemical plant in the UnitedStates. They were implemented at four more plants in 2008. Weplan to install them at a further five plants in 2009.”

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENTMany factors impact energy efficiency, and there is plenty ofroom for improvement across the refining industry.

“Sustaining improvements is definitely a challenge,” said Emer-son’s Gary Hawkins. “There is value in tracking emissions, andthere is value in implementing systems to make energy consump-tion more visible to plant operations. This makes it easier for plantsto take corrective action when necessary or to automate systemsto take the operator intervention factor out of the process.”

Hawkins said process units are designed around a certain100% throughput value. This is generally the most efficient op-eration, excluding details of “best efficiency point” for pumps.A typical plant is designed to also operate at 60% of thisthroughput, but it won’t be as efficient.

“This is mostly due to the operation of fractionationcolumns,” Hawkins said. “Given the diameter of the fractiona-tion columns to process the 100% value (plus some contin-gency), a certain vapor-liquid traffic is required as a minimumfor proper contacting and hence separation of the feed intothe desired products. This vapor liquid traffic is generated bythe heat input in the reboiler – or in the case of crude, vacuumand hydrocracking fractionators, the heat comes from a feedheater and the feed is introduced toward the bottom of thecolumn.”

INVESTING INTHE FUTUREDelaying investment in energy conservation programs can wreakhavoc down the road. A low-cost interim solution such as repairingsteam traps and other steam leaks will inevitably bring low return.Conversely, higher-cost options such as installation of integrated gasturbines, fluid catalytic cracking power-recovery turbines (vapor)and hydrocracking charge pump power recovery turbines (liquid)can bring higher returns, but are not automation-based solutions.Smart refineries should invest in automation technology, which in-volves low to medium initial cost, but enables substantial returns inthe long run – including better flow and analytical monitoring.

“With modern process controls, you should expect to see en-hanced control loop dynamic performance: measurement im-provement, control valve improvement and faster controlalgorithm execution, not to mention the benefits of bettersteam management,” Hawkins said. “Modern process controlssave time, effort and money and reduce the occurrences of ex-pensive unplanned shutdowns.”

Plant flexibility can be readily achieved, according to Emerson,with their SmartProcess applications, which command a basicprocess control system with high dynamic performance. Theseadvanced automated controls can help operators of smart re-fineries reduce variability, minimize energy usage and increaseproduct yield. An added benefit of this small step is a giant leaptoward energy efficiency and reduced GHG emissions. �




For integrated oil companies, supply chain managementmeans integrating business processes and lowering inven-tories across traditional boundaries – from crude oil pro-

duction to intermediate components, product blending,transportation and final product deliveries at the retail outlet.

Major integrated oil companies were early adopters ofenterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, spending signif-icant amounts to better control costs and to streamline andfine-tune global operations. Although companies havespent billions of dollars on ERP systems, they are still strug-gling to get the full value from these applications. Duringthe past 10 years, the processing industry alone has spentmore than US$17 billion for SAP licenses and services. Fac-toring in the various system integrators, hardware, trainingand other costs, the total industry tab for their SAP systemscould easily be three to five times that amount over the lifeof their systems.

A 2010 Panorama Consulting Group survey asked 1,600global organizations what they thought about their ERP in-vestments. The survey revealed that:

• 35% of ERP implementations take longer than expected;• 51% of ERP implementations cost more than initially as-

sumed;• 67.5% failed to realize 50% or more of their projected

benefits;• 40% of participants suffered operational stoppages upon

implementation;• only 39% said ERP implementation standardized their

business practices to their expectations; and• only 39% responded that ERP implementation made em-

ployees’ jobs easier.

Surprisingly, the survey also revealed that 56% of the partici-pants plan to implement new ERP systems in 2010. Clearly, ERP ishere to stay, but how can today’s smart refinery take full advan-tage of what these systems have to offer?

“In order for these ERP systems to achieve their full potential,it’s important to know what material is where within the sup-ply chain,” said Emerson’s Pete Sharpe. “As a result, we see re-finers moving toward a more comprehensive automation of thetank farms, terminals and logistics around their refineries. Withmore stringent ultra-low sulfur specifications now in play, weoften see oil movement infrastructure becoming more of an

operating constraint, where small mistakes, like contaminatinga transfer line, can cost a lot of money.”

Investing in automation for tank farms is usually low prioritybecause coverage for such large areas is expensive to imple-ment. However, as offsite infrastructure becomes stretched withunit expansions and new units come online, error frequencyand financial risk increase dramatically.

STRATEGIZETO OPTIMIZE“Unexpected outages of equipment in major process unitscause disruptions to the whole refinery supply and demand pic-ture,” Sharpe said. “As a result, spot purchases or sales at dis-tressed prices when the refinery is long or short on a blendingcomponent can have a large financial impact on operating mar-gins. The flexibility to make operating adjustments and changeor communicate plans quickly – responding to upsets or takingadvantage of market opportunities – can be extremely valuableto in a refinery environment.”

Leading refiners are implementing new and innovative op-erations management systems that automate the linkage be-tween planning and scheduling functions and field operations.Daily orders, shipments and receipts are downloaded, executedand reported electronically. Information on performance

DoesYour ERP System ProvideEnough Bang forYour Buck?As global competition forces refineries to improve efficiency, supply chain management has become an increasinglyimportant cost-saving strategy.


against plan is immediately available to the entire organizationfor strategic decision-making and responses to upsets.

“The logistics for operating a refinery can be quite complexand dynamic,” Sharpe said. “For instance, decisions on whichcrude to run and how much to buy must be made months inadvance. If you get it wrong, it could cost the company millionsof dollars per incident.”

Most refinery operations are usually planned using a cus-tomized linear program (LP) based on the expected product lift-ing schedule, crude availability, refinery configuration,equipment condition and economic parameters. Ideally, the LPmodels should reflect the actual capabilities of the process unitsunder various operating scenarios and feedstocks. The abilityto compare actual vs. expected unit performance and “back-cast” the LP models to predict the period that just completedcan be complex and time consuming. Model errors can causeplanner results to be suboptimal or unachievable.

THE BEST LAID PLANS…A primary consequence of the operating uncertainties refiner-ies face is the amount of inventory held in the supply chain.Whether it’s crude in ships, tanks or pipelines; intermediatecomponents ahead of the blenders; or finished products wait-ing for certification and shipping, inventory ties up fixed andworking capital. Reducing uncertainty by better planning andreal-time adjustments to field instructions and targets allowscompanies to reduce total inventory substantially.

“In the area of supply chain and operations management in-tegration, we see refiners moving from reactive to a predictiveoperation with better models, accurately calibrated with cur-rent equipment status, supported by on-line measurements ofactual versus plan,” Sharpe said.

KEEPING IT REALTo survive in a highly competitive global economy, enterprisesmust transform themselves into “real-time enterprises.” Theymust monitor and control their enterprises in time incrementsthat allow them to operate optimally under any circumstances,while demonstrating sustainably high levels of community andfiscal accountability.

“Those time increments vary by industry, market andwhere the enterprise operates in that industry/market,” saidCliff Pedersen, president of Pedersen Enterprises Inc. “Themost successful enterprises will optimize that time incre-ment according to the velocity of the processes generatingcompetitive saleable output, the magnitude of the conse-quences of losing control, and the maximum speed ofchange with which they can influence business drivers. In sodoing, they will become ‘right-time enterprises,’ which willdemand that application software and systems across thelength, breadth and height of the enterprise be seamlesslyintegrated and interoperable. In order to achieve thatheightened level of operation/interoperability, it will be ab-solutely necessary that standards-based integration be im-

plemented in all applications and systems, beginning in thedesign and construction of the plant itself. These standardsexist today (e.g., The Open O&M Initiative), and enterprisesand suppliers who fail to recognize and implement them willbe risking their very future.”

When the condition of an asset can be tied to plant-level keyperformance indicators, users are better empowered to makeinformed decisions about how to operate their facilities.

“If a refiner chooses an integrated operations managementsystem to manage the operating and logistics orders from anERP, the plant will see the benefits immediately by eliminatingmanual steps, providing validated, reconciled production dataand improving order-to-invoice time for product shipments,”Sharpe said. “The same system can then be used as the basis forreal-time decision making, improving a refiner’s flexibility andagility as well as better managing the workflow between plan-ning and scheduling functions with the field operations.Frankly, there is a lot of opportunity here.” �

To learn how to get more bang for your ERP buck, contact Emerson [email protected].

In an ideal world, refineries can optimize maintenancestrategies to direct resources to the areas that will de-liver the greatest return and eliminate activities that

do not create value. When diagnostics can be linked di-rectly to business performance, predictive intelligencedelivers its greatest value. When the condition of anasset can be tied to plant-level key performance indica-tors, users are empowered to make informed decisionsabout facility operations.

Emerson recently entered a joint relationship withMeridium, a supplier of asset strategy management, re-liability analytics and decision support, to provide solu-tions that tie real-time online predictive intelligence tocritical production asset management and maintenancesupport.

The combined Emerson-Meridium solution also sig-nificantly enhances the value of CMMS (computerizedmaintenance management system) applications such asSAP Plant Maintenance (PM) and IBM Maximo, whichare used for maintenance planning and scheduling. In-stead of driving work according to time schedules, userscan drive activities based on actual equipment conditionand its impact on smart refinery operation. �

Meridium,Emerson:AStrategicFit for SupplyChainOptimization


Manufacturers are faced with a demographic challenge:a generation gap between the seasoned people whoare retiring and the younger people coming in, who

may be highly knowledgeable but without the experience oftheir older counterparts. There is a significant loss of knowl-edge and lack of replenishment, and those with whom they doreplenish don’t have the necessary experience or perspective.Consequently, it is vital that automation manufacturers developintuitive technologies. These new technologies must becomethe knowledge base that captures legacy knowledge andmakes it available and usable to these new operators, mainte-nance techs and reliability engineers.

“The workforce is changing,” said Steve Elwart of Ergon Refin-ing. “People are retiring, and working in a refinery setting is justnot perceived as glamorous to the new generation of workers.There is hope for the future, however – with automation, youdon’t need an advanced degree anymore. A plant engineer or asharp instrument person can easily and effectively use these tools.”

While the younger generation generally embraces new tech-nology as a fact of life, seasoned operators are sometimes resist-ant to change, remaining content to operate with older, lessefficient technologies because they already understand how touse them. New technology has “human-centered design” builtinto its capabilities, allowing operators, engineers, maintenancetechs and office staff to be much more effective in their roles.

“People who were born before 1953 are more comfortablewith text – they like log books and manuals,” Elwart said. “Theones born after 1953 – the ‘TV’ generation – would rather usevisual aids, like graphics, pictures and video. Generation Xersare much better at assimilating information from multiplesources and at multi-tasking. Modern automation systems fitperfectly with their way of operating.”

Modern systems also use this same technology to train con-sole operators on infrequent events such as startup, shutdownand emergency situations. Simulation software is used to trainoperators in a controlled environment without damaging theequipment or causing a shutdown. Training simulators mimicactual processes and are easily maintained.

“To my mind, the biggest impact of modern automation isthe ability to bring the capability and tools that enable a moreefficient, effective, reliable, sustainable and safe operation,”said Pedersen Enterprises Inc. President and Automation Con-sultant Cliff Pedersen. “However, the tools in themselves are

not enough – that capability must be applied by intelligent andknowledgeable people, so it is only as good and as effective asthe people who apply it and use it. There are so many thingsthat can be done, have been tried and shown to add value, butunless they are applied smartly in a sustainable manner, theylose their value and have even introduced new problems thatweren’t previously present.

“For modern automation to achieve its potential impact inreality,” Pedersen said, “the system must be robust, reliable andsustainable with the available human resources so that the op-erators gain confidence that their plant is being well run andmanaged. Once that confidence is achieved, they are more will-ing to try new ideas and methods, which may be as simple asoperating control loops in ‘auto’ instead of ‘manual.’ Once theyare confident in the automation system, they become less likelyto blame the system during a process incident, which usuallywastes time and effort and diverts attention away from diag-nosing and correcting the root cause, and trust it to operatethe plant better.”

HUMANTECHNOLOGYIn smart refineries, tools that make tasks more time effectiveand efficient such as advanced handheld field communicators,vibration analyzers and predictive maintenance software cannow interface seamlessly with automation systems and the as-sets they control, better preventing breakdowns and unex-pected process shutdowns. Newly designed interfaces knownas device dashboards are now available from technologyproviders for many field devices. Information is provided in realtime with enough advance warning to act on the informationto prevent a safety or shutdown incident.

“We evaluated device interfaces across the industry andfound a common problem,” said Peter Zornio, chief strategicofficer at Emerson. “Routine steps operators and maintenancepersonnel perform frequently were cumbersome, confusingand illogically laid out. It’s an endemic problem in the industry.Based on user input, we believe the changes we’ve made to theDevice Dashboard will improve speed and accuracy of confi-dently performing these tasks.

Engineers and engineering contractors can have unprece-dented flexibility in Input/Output engineering thanks to elec-tronic marshalling. Hard-wiring each device as a uniqueconnection from field to controller means intermediate con-

The Human Element —Enhancing OperationsA significant number of experienced workers will retire in the next five years.Will your refinery continue to operatesafely, reliably and efficiently?

nections are eliminated. This means less engineering up frontand fewer change orders later in the project.

“We observed that client project engineering and designprocesses across the industry put too much emphasis onlocking down designs very early in the project, often beforethe process design was complete. Not only does this increaseFEED [front-end engineering and design] and detailed de-sign cost and time, but it also exposes the project to in-creased labor and potentially significant change-order costsduring construction.”

“The main issue now is not the engineering, technology, in-stallations or systems,” Pedersen said. “Rather, it is having enoughpeople in the owner/operator companies and the operatingplants that understand both the processes and the technologieswell enough to apply the systems intelligently and effectively.When that is achieved and the systems are applied appropriatelyto address the right objectives, they will then capture a better re-turn on investment and be easier for both operations and man-agement to understand and adopt.”

MAINTAINTO SUSTAINAlthough every smart field device offers diagnostics, not alldevices provide the same information. As a result, multiple andoften confusing instrument displays confront plant mainte-

nance personnel. State-of-the-art dashboards inherent in mod-ern predictive maintenance software give workers an instantview of the critical items they need to evaluate, diagnose andact upon. Expert guidance is provided to streamline the mostimportant and frequently performed tasks by plant operations,engineering and maintenance personnel. The dashboards aredesigned to make complex information easier to understand,including screen displays that provide information to cover 80%of the most common tasks.

“In evaluating how people use maintenance tools, wefound a common problem,” Zornio said. “The routine stepsrequired by plant personnel to work through automationsystem issues were often cumbersome and confusing, andthe interfaces were very product and feature-oriented in-stead of task-centric. They assumed the user had a detailedknowledge of the product. Based on the inputs of manyprocess industry workers, we have initiated an across-the-board overhaul of our products intended to improve thespeed and accuracy of their job performance and to increaseeach individual’s productivity.” �

How will the reality of the changing workforce affect your plant? To findout how human-centered design can help you through this transition,visit www.SmartRefinery.com.

Within petroleum refining, much of today’s tech-nology complements control room operators tomake them more efficient, safer and effective.

“You can’t appreciate how good design is in a human con-text – how good ‘good’ is – until you see ‘bad’ next to it,”said Emerson’s Tim Olsen.

Human-centered design promotes improved job per-formance. Work practice studies show personnel are oftenoverwhelmed with multiple systems and user interfaces,making it difficult to find crucial information, especially inthe field. For example, the need for easier access to the di-agnostics available in smart field instrumentation has be-come critical, along with clear presentation of thatinformation and standard “action” procedures to follow incase trouble is indicated.

As Emerson developed its Smart Wireless technologies, theneed for more improvement in ease-of-use and workforce pro-ductivity products became apparent. The company took its ideasto Carnegie Melon University’s (CMU) Human Computer Interac-tion Institute, a recognized leader in the study of how humans in-teract with technology, to study in depth how best to tailorautomation products and services to the company’s human users.

Armed with knowledge gained by the joint venture with

CMU, five years later, Emerson launched its own Human Cen-tered Design Institute (HCDI), incorporating human-centereddesign specifically into its automation products and servicessuite with a goal of making process controls easier to use.HDCI’s objective is to ensure Emerson products are engi-neered to enhance workforce productivity and ease of usewhile maintaining cost-effectiveness and compatibility withother systems. So far, Emerson has trained 65 product devel-opment teams on the science of human-centered design.

“Process control technologies have come a long way in thepast 40 years,” said Peter Zornio, chief strategic officer atEmerson. “But the industry has invested almost exclusively infeature and technology enhancement, instead of designingaround how people actually use this technology. Webelieve it is time technology began serving people, instead ofthe other way around.”

“There is a demographic paradox facing the industry,”Zornio said. “In mature markets, knowledgeable workers areretiring. In emerging markets, finding knowledgeable andskilled workers is very difficult. By putting increased empha-sis on ease of use, we can meet this demographic challengehead-on and simply make it easier to extract value from tech-nology investments.” �

A New Level of Efficiency


23

In refining, efficiency and productivity are no longer idyllicgoals – they are necessities. This is true now more than ever.Increasing regulatory requirements, refinery complexity and

demands for higher quality continue to place higher economicdemands on refineries while reducing operational margins.

The new smart refinery can offset these barriers. Technologyenables and enhances this smart refinery. For example, wirelesstechnology extends sensor reach, enabling smart refinery op-erators to monitor areas of the plant that were previously in-accessible due to location or wiring installation costs. Becauseof automation, the smart refinery has the ability to predictmaintenance issues, prevent failures and greatly improve plantand process reliability. Not only does this translate into moreefficient operation, higher product quality and reduced main-tenance costs, it also means that the smart refinery has im-proved and increased uptime, which adds dollars to both thetop and bottom lines.

Smart refining offers more – and requires more – than justleveraging state-of-the-art technology. Evolving developmentsare leading to new methods and procedures for plant opera-tion; increased monitoring capabilities that continually checkthe pulse of the refinery; advanced modeling and analyticsthat compare refinery production against expectations; ear-lier detection of anomalous conditions; and tools that canplan future operation with increased confidence. These de-velopments synergistically enable significant changes in theway refineries operate.

THE FUTURE IS NOW“Most refineries were originally constructed with the minimalamount of instrumentation required to operate the plant,” saidDr. Douglas White, director of refining industry solutions withEmerson Process Management in Houston. “What we see in thefuture is more use of collaborative software tools, and stan-dards-based software and hardware to reduce ongoing supportcosts. The operating systems of the future will process, storeand analyze much more data and information, including manymore sensors in primary and secondary locations and a widerrange of live video and spectral data. This data will be analyzedand displayed as information to be acted on in a timely manner.

“Even 10 years ago, when we talked about technologies likepervasive wireless in a plant, people thought of it as a dream –something way off. Now it’s becoming a reality, and the next 10years will really bring some exciting changes. The technologies

that are being put into the marketplace today are only the step-ping stones to that future.”

Another smart refinery trend is toward increasing levels ofremote operation. Individual refineries can be geographicallydispersed. Control rooms can be many miles from the physicalunits. Complete information on the state of the plant can becommunicated to the remote control room. Fully reliable auto-mated plant startup and shutdown systems enable safe remoteoperations. Today, major sites operate across hundreds of miles.

In the future, smart refineries will continue this trend, plac-ing greater demands on reliable automation and communica-tion. Fortunately, the automation developments that supportthese remote operations have kept pace.

While smart sensors, wireless, predictive technologies and au-tomation continue to make the smart refinery even smarter,these enablers do not replace the power of the human decision-making process, nor the accompanying responsibilities. Tech-nology must be used, not only to make the smart refinery moreproductive and more profitable, but to make it safer as well.

We have the technology to make this happen. Smart refineryoperators have the opportunity to deploy these technologies toensure the safety of their personnel, communities and the envi-ronment, while enhancing the productivity and prosperity ofthe enterprise. It takes a dedicated and deliberate level of com-mitment and vision on the part of refinery owners/operators toleverage this smart enabling technology to allow it to transformtheir facilities into safe and profitable smart refineries.

Emerson has taken a leading role in providing smart refinerysolutions, including improvements to energy efficiency, safety,health and environmental issues, value addition, cost control,mass and energy balance and overall energy conservation.

“Our smart refinery solution addresses each of these in newand differentiated ways,” White said. “We also have experi-enced refining consultants who can help clients prepare strate-gies to enhance operational excellence, improve refineryoperations and reliability and maximize plant performance.” �


Making the Smart Refinery ofTomorrow Happen TodayThe advanced smart refinery is not just a vision of the future – it is quickly becoming today’s reality.


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