In recent years higher oil prices and energy conservation have forced a squeeze on operational costs whilst at the same time seeking more efficient and continuous running of refining units. This session will discuss in depth safety and measures to keep stable operations both in hard and software by applying lessons from practical experiences and risk assessment.
The golden age of the downstream is over. Pursuing the effectiveness and efficiency of the refinery operations to the limits is a must. About 65 billion USD is spent yearly for maintenance in HPI which is a high potential to optimize.
The budget spent for maintenance is a trade-off between reliability and cost. It is a matter of fact that high performers are able to achieve reliability at low cost, and vice versa, low performers spend a lot for maintenance but still are facing with low reliability. The maintenance cost should be driven by the reliability, and not the lack thereof.
The sustain-type expenditures are fallen into distinct categories, such as retrofits/revamps, simple replacements, turnarounds, and maintenance on demand.
In MOL Group wealth of experience have been collected, and based on that and supported by internationally recognized best practices we've set up a systematic approach to manage our production assets.
First, the prerequisites of the excellent unit/asset performance should be identified around their product life cycle. A unit/asset performs well if it is designed for the specific purpose with correct design inputs and outputs. It should be secured that the equipment were selected and manufactured according to the relevant project specifications. Sound quality control and inspection procedures should be maintained to ensure that the equipment is constructed in line with the specifications.
It is an on-going task to ascertain that the assets are operated in their respective operating envelope which was set by the design parameters.
The maintenance should be performed in the optimized time window set by the production scheduling, the health of the assets and the authority requirements. Any modification during maintenance must be done according to the original or improved (if justified) specifications.
Overlooking any of these fundamentals may lead to unexpected shutdowns.
