TotalEnergies SE has expanded implementation of AI and industrial automated technologies to assist on-the-plant-floor workers at subsidiary TotalEnergies Petrochemical & Refining USA 238,000-b/d integrated refining and petrochemical platform south of Houston in Port Arthur, Tex.
Part of an ongoing pilot program at the Port Arthur complex, the latest implementation involves installation of Honeywell International Inc.’s proprietary AI-assisted Experion Operations Assistant (EOA) distributed control system (DCS), an advanced AI-powered program that enables monitoring of site operations from the control room to expedite informed decisions supporting improved production at the site, Honeywell said on Nov. 11.
Alongside improving efficient workflow within critical refinery operations improving operational autonomy, integration of the EOA-DCS technologies—which merge operational analytics with real-time predictive insights—will allow operators in the control room to forecast potential maintenance events before they occur to minimize operational risks and production losses, according to the service provider.
Honeywell said this new phase of AI deployment for the EOA-DCS solution comes amid the current acute shortage of skilled oil and gas workers, with the goal of the technologies to equip engineers and operators only 2 years into their careers with access to insights and experience previously available to 20-year veterans in the field.
Initial Port Arthur pilot study
This latest implementation comes as part of a preexisting pilot program under way at the Port Arthur complex undertaken by TotalEnergies, TotalEnergies OneTech SAS—the operator’s technical and scientific research and development branch—and Honeywell.
Honeywell said the expanded component of the pilot follows a previous implementation of EOA technology in a pilot study at the Port Arthur refinery’s 56,000-b/d delayed coking unit (DCU). Preliminary results of that pilot indicated the AI-assisted EOA to date has succeeded in forecasting five potential events, helping to minimize downtime of the DCU, as well as reduce emissions from associated flaring should those events have gone undetected.
Of the five events identified during the DCU plant’s initial pilot, the EOA system specifically issued operational predictions an average of 12 minutes ahead of an alarm incident, enabling operators to quickly implement corrective actions before the potentially disrupting event occurred, Honeywell said.
Still in its piloting phase, Raphael Duflos, TotalEnergies’ vice-president and general manager of the Port Arthur, said the company believes use of the EOA-DCS system ultimately “could contribute to safer operations, reduced downtime, and minimized product losses” at the site.
One of TotalEnergies’ largest global integrated refining platforms, the Port Arthur complex most recently completed installation of a 1-million tonnes/year (tpy) ethane steam cracker in 2022, followed by startup of an integrated 625,000-tpy polyethylene unit in nearby Pasadena, Tex., in 2023.
