Taking an integrated approach

Paul Feder is a Senior Refining Marketing Manager with Honeywell Process Solutions. Here, he talks to O&G MENA about competitive pressures in the refining business and why taking an integrated approach can pay dividends.

O&G. What challenges do refiners face in terms of meeting product demand and maintaining profitability?
PF. Competitive pressures in the refining business and the ever-changing demands on refiners due to product demand and changing specifications have been the driving forces behind major modernisation projects and the integration of control technology and information systems. Capital projects are becoming riskier due to margin variability, escalating raw material costs, demand on steel manufacturing facilities, supplier consolidation, increased projected global capital expenditure, and the greying of the workforce causing a shortage in qualified personnel. New plants and expansions are taking too long to commission, there is poor handover to operations, and sub-optimal operations once the plants are commissioned. Traditional project execution is not getting the job done.

O&G. How does Honeywell’s differentiated approach meet these challenges?
PF. An integrated approach to automation project execution helps refiners quickly reach first and full production with the lowest possible risk, maximising their return on investment. Honeywell provides the knowledge to integrate project delivery, safe operations, automation, information management, security and maintenance all in a safe and secure environment. With innovative technology and project execution methodologies, our strategy goes beyond reducing project risk and compressing schedules. It extends into optimising the entire operation, business performance and automation lifecycle.

Honeywell’s Integrated Main Automation Contractor (I-MAC) concept takes a three dimensional approach to build upon the benefits of traditional MAC with: 1) project objectives of cost, schedule and risk; 2) operational and business readiness, ensuring that the asset is ready for flawless start-up and reliable first year operations; and 3) lifecycle sustainability through integrated lifecycle services. It is a differentiated approach that can extend ‘from the field to ERP’, and that delivers value during the entire life of the asset.

O&G. What are some of the key integrated operational areas addressed by this approach?
PF. UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, offers refiners a full portfolio of process technology and operational support services. Honeywell has the unique opportunity to leverage UOP technology, deliverables, and resources in order to assist in the successful and early development of dynamic simulators and operator training systems (OTS) systems for UOP designed process units, allowing for timely delivery of OTS to provide maximum operational exposure to the process unit and an early start into advanced process control implementation.

Another important aspect to the I-MAC process is Honeywell’s strategic approach to applying wireless-enabled technology to not only help reduce time and cost of construction and commissioning but also that comprehensively supports our refining customers’ wireless-enabled applications enabling them to achieve maximum plant productivity, safety and security, through a single infrastructure investment.

Safety needs to be approached from a refinery-wide perspective by incorporating layers, such as a secure process design, abnormal situation management, and physical security. Additionally, robust safety technology, with integrated fire and gas detection, lowers the cost of safety and reduces the risk of incidents. The Honeywell safety system is operationally integrated with our control system to align a refinery’s goals for safety and reliability with a proven solution that combines process safety data, system diagnostics and critical control strategies. Integrated refining applications (APC, oil movements and blending, planning and scheduling, and ERP integration) optimise the refinery in real-time, including integrated solutions for tank management and terminal automation.

O&G. What kind of benefits can be achieved through an Integrated Main Automated Contractor approach to refinery modernisation?
PF. Bottom-line results allow the owner/operator to accelerate the design process and ensure seamless integration while looking forward to opportunities that create value in every project phase. The potential savings in safety, reliability and efficiency utilising the integrated Honeywell/UOP I-MAC approach to building a Greenfield 300,000 b/d refinery, assuming a US$3.50/barrel margin, can exceed US$75 million over the project lifecycle. Additionally, the potential savings utilising the Honeywell OneWireless solutions can range from US$33-64 million during construction and US$4-7 million during the operations lifecycle.

O&G. Why should a refiner select Honeywell as their modernisation partner?
PF. Honeywell leverages its unique capabilities as an I-MAC to help our refining customers design, implement, and maintain a world-class asset; whether it be a large Greenfield refinery, Brownfield expansion, small project or migration. Utilising our global I-MAC capabilities and local infrastructure to coordinate all interfaces, we are able to drive project schedule, maintain cost-effective discipline and proactively work to eliminate all forms of risk along the way. Leveraging our refining leadership and portfolio of integrated solutions (automation infrastructure, advanced refining applications, industrial security solutions and UOP process knowledge), we can cost effectively design and deliver integrated projects that cover the entire automation landscape from field to ERP helping our refining customers start-up the refinery or process units ahead of schedule, meet and/or exceed design capacity and maintain a safe, reliable and efficient asset for the life of the plant.