PTQ Q2 2022 Issue

Carbon dioxide is formed both on the process side of syngas flowsheets and the steam methane reformer (SMR) furnace firing side of syngas production. Energy efficiency projects can impact these CO 2 emissions, but that has only recently been the focus of energy efficiency projects. Johnson Matthey’s Low Carbon Solutions busi - ness has been established to help our customers in the chemical and refinery markets decarbonise their exist - ing syngas production and facilities. JM’s Advanced Reforming technologies, combined with the applica - tion of decades of experience in syngas production, have resulted in a portfolio of solutions that can impact the CO 2 emissions of existing syngas production, not only to enable enhanced carbon capture of up to 95% but also to reduce the overall CO 2 emissions being produced within the flowsheet by 20-30% through improved carbon inten - sity of the syngas production. A Tom Chupick, Principal Consultant – Carbon and Energy Management, Petrogenium, tom.chupick@petrogenium.com A wide range of (refinery) energy efficiency projects have led to varying degrees of success. The optimisation and maintenance projects demonstrate close to the expected benefits in the short term, but benefits often degrade over time without adequate systems and accountabilities. Major successes include heat exchanger cleaning-cycle optimisation, distillation optimisation (with a $ gap com - plementing both base layer and APC systems) and cata - lyst/reaction ratio optimisation, particularly on reformer H 2 :Oil, SMR S/C ratios, and some hydroprocessing units with flexibility. Capital projects include heat recov - ery (such as modifying the exchanger to reduce fouling, re-piping, adding a new area, modifying pumparounds to make more heat available at higher temperatures on CDU/HVU systems). Steam systems operations and maintenance usually give sustained benefits, aided by a number of platforms available for steam models plus a focus on leaks, traps, losses, and turbine vs let-down optimisation, plus heat recovery/optimisation to reduce site steam use. Major utility projects like GT based cogen systems to replace boilers are increasingly diffi - cult to justify due to cheaper/lower CO 2 footprint renew - able power and major steam demand reductions due to optimisation/downsizing. Q How is the downstream industry progressing in the application of data analytics to support plant operations? A Keith Tilley, CEO, Intoware Ltd, k.tilley@intoware.com Our research found that over three-quarters, 80% of oil and gas companies post-pandemic, are relying on legacy systems and spreadsheets to get tasks done, believing this inflexible, often out-of-date, disconnected data is suf - ficient to support corporate decision making. This independent survey showed that the vast major - ity of those working in oil and gas, 92% claimed to be data-informed and 76% said that they trust data enough to complete tasks, this is despite most of them still rely - ing on disparate legacy systems.* Most of those surveyed believe they are data-driven, when in reality they could be relying on old, out-of-date

data. This disconnected data acts like a ball and chain, tying down staff as they spend a huge amount of time trying to unlock data trapped in spreadsheets and legacy systems to meet the demands of businesses, customers and regulators. Our research shows that over three-quarters, 80% of decision makers have access to data and the large major - ity 84%, believe that data is an asset, which is very good news. However, just under half of those surveyed, 47% use data only occasionally to help get the job done - as the reality is that their data is siloed. While nearly two-thirds 72% are interested in using digital software ‘tools’ to support their role, it seems that a significant minority simply don’t have the skills to use the new data these systems provide, with 21% feeling overwhelmed and another 24% feel only slightly con - fident when using data to back decision-making, that is almost half, 45% of those surveyed. Despite this, when it comes to passing on critical skills and expertise from ageing workers to help plug the skills ‘gap’ for the next generation, 76% see digital ‘tools’ as playing a valuable part in sharing knowledge. So, it’s no surprise that most companies (80%) intend to invest in data skills, training and development in 2022 to help meet this challenge. It seems that a culture of un-informed decision-mak - ing still persists for many, with just under a half (40%) having made decisions based on ‘gut-feel’ during their careers, with 32% doing this on a monthly basis and a worrying 8% each week. This was particularly prevalent in the oil and gas industry, where un-informed decisions are relied on by 40% of those surveyed. This culture goes right to the very top of businesses, with just under a third, 28% of senior decision makers and 27% of managers relying on ‘gut-feel’ all the time. This can have serious implications, such as when man - agers need to introduce engineering changes without assessing the impact on current works or raw materials for example – which are all factors that are detrimental to business performance. A reliance on siloed data severely hinders business operations with accountability and visibility issues, as each department has their own interpretation of data, which is a problem for businesses that are increasingly under pressure to evolve how they manage resources and communicate data insights. If you digitise paper-processes with work-instruction ‘tools’ that integrate with connected smart devices and third-party systems, this information can be more easily shared, providing staff with access to quality data, and a ‘single source of truth’ right across the business, for more proactive and rapid, ‘real-time’ insights to improve pro - ductivity and satisfy compliance. As oil and gas operators persist in the belief that they are data-driven by relying on spreadsheets, legacy sys - tems and ‘gut-feel’, it will negatively impact on their efforts to be more competitive as staff spend time gather - ing and cleaning data just to respond to requests, which means they risk not focusing on the insights that will really add value and future growth. *This research survey was conducted by Surveygoo with 1,030 industrial businesses, between the 28th February and the 3rd March 2022.