Refinery Blending Optimization

A vertically integrated multi-national oil and gas company operating in exploration, refining, distribution and marketing, and trading engaged Trindent Consulting to reduce gasoline quality giveaway at one of North America’s largest refineries.

HOW WE MADE IT HAPPEN

Planning and Optimization

• Implemented a process and a real-time application that integrates component tank and unit rundown sample results, improving property estimation by 44% and reducing recipe variance by 3.7%.

• Installed MBO backcasting process and volatility class specific RVP blend laws, improving property prediction accuracy by 44% and reducing quality incidents by 75%.

• Implemented a process to review MBO and LP constraints using statistical quality control charts, robust post-ethanol models, and execution performance tracking, resulting in 0.10 psi and 4.0°F buffer reductions for RVP and T50.

• Established a process to optimize aromatics and olefins distribution through grade specific post-ethanol models and a regression tool that updates analyte coefficients, maximizing post-ethanol octane uplift and reducing E0 octane targets by 0.25.

• Enhanced processes to improve product margins and achieve Profit Blend Optimizer’s objective function by implementing methods to utilize LP incentive prices and Tank Property Control that mitigates product quality concerns and giveaway.

Execution Excellence

• Minimized performance variability amongst Board Operators by 46% through standardized bias and limit adjustment processes, site specific blend start-up and execution checklist, system tools to support blend adjustment decision making process, and coaching to upskill new Board Operators.

• Implemented weekly cross-functional Blend Review Meeting with Root Cause Analysis framework to holistically identify reasons for quality giveaway and develop actions to address underlying issues.

• Mitigated 0.15 psi vapor loss during sampling through sustained adherence to newly implemented ASTM D5842 standard operating procedure (SOP), resulting in improved blend predictions, backcasting, and buffer reductions.

• Provided in-depth quality giveaway training, showcasing the economic impact of either removing or adding butane, alkylate, and heavy reformate to mitigate suboptimal blending practices.

Measurement Accuracy

• Improved measurement accuracy of components with low octane by up to 4.0 ON and reduced stress on lab knock engines through implementation of a SOP bringing an iso-octane mixture into the knock engine linear range.

• Implemented VUV method to determine aromatics, olefins, and ethanol content, improving hand blend accuracy by 10% and post-ethanol model predictions.

• Reduced sample turnaround time by 31% through active management, improving execution performance by 18%.

• Developed NIR modeling best practices and statistics log for model refining process, while discontinuing unnecessary NIR models by 33% to reprioritize lab resources.

• Implemented a site-specific blending guideline to sustain and improve on the new gasoline optimization program.

“Your team was collaborative and seamlessly integrated with our local team as technical augmentee, implementing best practices and reducing quality giveaway […] we are confident that the project annualized savings will continue to exceed the original plan.”

– VP Midstream Refining and Specialties Solutions, Americas