BP gains USD2.5 million with Asset Optimisation

Implementation of AMS Suite: Real-Time Optimiser on BP Grangemouth utilities and ethylene plants has delivered cost savings, increased plant throughput, and improved environmental status

The BP petrochemical facility at Grangemouth, Scotland, reports USD2.5 million annual savings by using AMS Suite: Real-Time Optimiser from Emerson Process Management.

This includes USD1.5 million energy savings from utilities optimisation, and USD1 million benefit driven by a 4 percent increase in plant throughput from the KG Ethylene optimisation application.

A key component of the efficiency-increasing Emerson PlantWeb digital plant architecture, the AMS Optimiser has also enabled BP to achieve consistent plant operation, improve control of daily key performance indicators and enhance the planning process through improved equipment selection.

"Following the installation of the Emerson AMS Optimiser package on the power station, we have been able to realise and improve our plant operations," said Tim Desmond, Utilities Optimisation Engineer, BP.

"The optimiser has been instrumental in reducing our energy costs, which is a strategic goal for the site, saving us approximately USD1.5M per year and reducing our CO2 emissions by up to 25 kilotonnes.

BP has worked very closely with Emerson on several optimisation systems and this project reaffirms why they are a key supplier of optimisation technology at the Grangemouth site".

The utilities optimiser delivers operational benefits by reducing fuel usage and increasing generation of electricity.

AMS Optimiser, a component of the Emerson AMS Suite, provides recommendations for the optimal steam and power generation.

The recommended set points are displayed for the operators including the amount of opportunity that is lost (ie the difference in cost between current and optimal operation).

The cumulative opportunity lost on a shift-by-shift basis is also calculated and used by management at each start-of-day meeting.

The KG Ethylene closed-loop optimiser generates the optimal operating set points based on current operating conditions.

These are sent directly to the DCS controllers.

Operators are able to open and close the loop between the optimiser and plant controllers at any time.

Engineers also have the facility to use an open-loop optimiser that specifies the operating margin assuming that each variable has moved to its full range of operation.

This optimiser has been upgraded with each plant expansion.

This is the third closed-loop optimiser commissioned by Emerson on the KG site and has been instrumental in increasing throughput and improving operational performance.

"The AMS Optimiser has increased plant throughput by 4 percent, resulting in benefits of over USD1M per year on the recently expanded KG ethylene plant," said Simon Lopez, Lead Control Engineer - Commercial and Optimisation Team, BP.

"The optimiser has been instrumental in pushing the operating boundaries of the plant, specifically the compressor trains that were a major constraint on throughput.

By selecting the loading on each of the operating cracking furnaces, the AMS Optimiser is able to achieve improved product yields from the available feed stocks and, based on the product prices on the day, targets the optimal product spectrum.

Since the optimiser is closed loop, we are able to achieve maximum benefit with no delay in the implementation of the set points".

"The plant operators and management, who see the AMS Optimiser as an integral part of the plant control system and operating procedures, have embraced the technology.

We are committed to this leading-edge technology and have formed a close working relationship with Emerson over the last 10 years.

This has been evident with the success of the optimisers on the KG and G4 plants which were instrumental in a third optimiser recently being commissioned on the site utility station.

AMS Optimiser from Emerson has been, and will continue to be, a success across the Grangemouth site".

"Emerson's strong relationship with BP around the world is based on delivering solid results like they've experienced in these projects," said Craig Llewellyn, president of the Asset Optimisation division of Emerson Process Management.

"As companies face the challenge of managing operations in more dynamic environments, it is mission-critical to use the most advanced technologies and services to maximise throughput at best cost.

The enhanced visibility into all aspects of operations provides the necessary foundation to help companies gain the most from their production facilities".

AMS Suite is an integrated family of applications for predictive maintenance, performance monitoring and economic optimisation.

AMS Suite enables companies to dramatically improve availability, plant throughput and product quality, while reducing operations, maintenance and utility costs.

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