Connected Plant Improves Plant Performance for Al Waha Petrochemicals Company

Connected Performance Services technology recommends actions to prevent production interruptions and improve plant performance

Honeywell today announced that it will provide its IIoT-based Connected Performance Services (CPS) offering to AL WAHA Petrochemicals Company to explore possibilities of maximising propylene production.

CPS is a key part of Honeywell’s Connected Plant initiative that helps manufacturers leverage the IIoT to improve the safety, efficiency and reliability of operations across a single plant or several plants across an enterprise. CPS integrates Honeywell UOP’s process and service expertise into the Connected Plant cloud platform.

AL WAHA will use a tool within CPS called Process Reliability Advisor at its plant in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, to continuously analyse the operation of its Oleflex™ unit, quickly detecting and resolving problems to ensure the plant operates at its peak capability. This tool will use Honeywell UOP process and fault models, fed by current plant data, to provide key performance information and process recommendations.

“Process Reliability Advisor provides detailed analysis of the unit operation and makes corrective recommendations to prevent production interruptions and improve plant performance,” said Zak Alzein, vice president for Honeywell UOP’s CPS business. “AL WAHA will be using it to maximise on-stream reliability of its Oleflex unit, while also optimising propane consumption.”

The solution uses Honeywell UOP’s deep troubleshooting experience and proprietary models to identify and resolve problems that affect plant efficiency and productivity, giving refineries, petrochemical and gas processing plants greater visibility into their operations. By proactively identifying problems that can lead to unplanned shutdowns, it can prevent millions of dollars per year in lost productivity for plant operators.

“Process Reliability Advisor is designed with the user experience in mind,” Alzein said. “It uses an intuitive interface that delivers recommendations in a way that allows engineers to get the information they need to take quick action.”

CPS also offers Process Optimisation Advisor, which continuously monitors streaming plant data and applies Honeywell UOP process models to determine the economic optimisation. All solutions use big-data analytics and machine learning to drive a plant’s full potential.

AL WAHA Petrochemicals Company is a joint venture between Sahara and Basell Arabie Investissements S.A.S. It was incorporated to operate a petrochemicals complex that produces 467.6 KTA of propylene as primary feedstock for the production of 450,000 KTA of polypropylene for domestic use and export. Al Waha plants are located in Jubail Industrial City in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia and began commercial operations in 2011.