Successful upgrade at petroleum refiners with simulation software

The National Petroleum Refiners of South Africa consists of different functional areas that are integrated in a very complex manner. The production processes through the plant can follow various routes based on the type of crude oil and the type of end product. NATREF needed a way to more effectively manage such aspects of the plant as: shutdown scheduling of individual sub-plants; how to react on sudden demand changes due to market forces; and indications of possible capacity constraints or additional requirements. A simulation model was developed using Arena® simulation software. The model performed shutdown planning and transfer capacities between units. The project resulted in a tool that allows users to easily import data from other systems and view the resulting outputs. The use of this model as a decision support system will assist NATREF in objectively analyzing shutdown scheduling alternatives and facility throughput enhancement and indicating possible bottlenecks for cost effective capital expenditure. Read more on the simulation software and simulation models as a decision support system on Analista.

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