HP March 2022 eBook—Energy Transition - 9

Digital Transformation
leveraging the digital twin prediction feedback
to the operation staff. Digital twins
can be developed for process units or assets
such as compressors, exchangers, fire
heaters, pumps and electrical equipment.
INSIDE
INTELLIGENCE
for the
Downstream Industry
Unifying power and process. Power
and automation are two key digital elements
in digital transformation, so it only
makes sense to integrate power and automation
that are traditionally separated. By
adopting this unifying concept through
the entire lifecycle of a plant-beginning
with incorporating power data into the
digital twin from design to build to operations
to maintenance-profitability and
sustainability can be improved dramatically.
By integrating energy data with process
data into a unifying process automation
system, operators can visualize asset health
and energy efficiency; conduct rapid diagnostics
of motors, pumps, fans, MOV
and electrical assets problems through sequence
of events; diagnose problems; and
resume productions in minutes vs. days.
Energy sourcing. Strategically sourcing
energy can reduce energy cost. For
example, the author's company can help
customers make smarter purchases,
whether it is improving efficiencies or increasing
renewable energy content. The
company has helped more than 6,000 clients
globally and managed $30 B in portfolio
spending to date.
Active energy management. Traditionally,
companies manage the three
elements of energy efficiency, sourcing
and sustainability in silos (FIG. 1). A better
way of approaching this is by adopting
strategic comprehensive planning to help
reduce energy cost and lower emissions.
The author's company's energy experts
can help improve energy forecasting and
purchasing decisions, and benchmarking
energy KPI goals. An energy management
softwarea
that is based on a global
data management platform collects vast
data sources and integrates them into one
single source of energy and sustainability
information depository.
Value chain optimization. Enterprisewide
value chain optimization is based
on enterprise visualization and unified
planning and scheduling. By optimizing
feedstock purchases and production
schedules, companies can make faster
decisions and improve asset performance.
Companies can track production costs,
energy cost and materials in real time as
they move through the supply chain. A
major Middle East oil and gas company
asserts that it has realized a $1-B benefit
since implementing a value chain optimization
solution only a few years ago.
Microgrid optimization. Microgrid optimization
is optimized energy management
from multiple distributed energy
sources, interconnected loads, controlled
as a single entity, operating in parallel
with the grid or in an intentional island
mode. Hospitals and airports are utilizing
microgrid to improve their resiliency and
energy efficiency. The microgrid strategy
is not a new concept to oil and gas companies.
Plants have been optimizing energy
sources and trade-offs using steam, fuel
and electrical grid energies. Refineries
have been utilizing cogeneration technology
for a long time, while some plants
are selling power back to the grid, and
most plants have fast load-shedding capabilities.
What will be new for oil and gas
companies is incorporating renewable energies
as part of the energy management
system. Some onshore well pads and offshore
platforms are already incorporating
solar and offshore wind energies. We
may see microgrid applications for downstream
oil and gas soon.
Energy as a service. This is a new concept
of operating companies outsourcing
energy to a third-party company to design,
build, own, operate and maintain with no
capital investment. One of the major benefits
is the shifting of CAPEX to OPEX,
especially when capital budgets are constrained.
The idea behind this is that companies
can choose to focus on their core
business in oil and gas by leasing energy.
NOTES
a EcoStruxure™ Resource Advisor
CONSTANTINE LAU is a Global
Director of the Oil and Gas segment
with Schneider Electric, and has
more than 20 yr of experience in
industrial automation and software.
He is responsible for oil and gas
segment business strategies,
sales and marketing programs. Mr. Lau has published
numerous articles on advanced software topics,
such as advanced process control and optimization,
AI systems and Fieldbus. He graduated with dual
engineering degrees from the University of Texas,
and an MBA from the University of Houston, Texas.
Hydrocarbon Processing | FEBRUARY 2021 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
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HP March 2022 eBook—Energy Transition

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of HP March 2022 eBook—Energy Transition
