The big wall - Saudi Aramco

A video wall 67 meters (73.3 yards) wide and 3 meters (3.3 yards) tall is the heart of an amazing,state-of-the-art system that tracks all of Saudi Aramco’s oil and gas productionfrom wellhead to tanker. It allows the company to respond instantly to changesanywhere in the world that affect its business.DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia — When the global financialcrisis erupted several years ago, Saudi Aramco’s Oil SupplyPlanning and Scheduling (OSPAS) Department, immediatelyshifted into high gear. With money suddenly tight worldwide,OSPAS managers knew that new orders for oil couldlikely slump, at least temporarily, and that regular customersmight seek emergency delays in delivery of alreadyscheduledshipments.Both happened.For OSPAS, being sensitive to world events is critical,because the organization tracks and adjusts as necessary— in real time, 24/7 — the movement of every molecule ofcrude oil and product that Saudi Aramco produces, fromwellhead to customer worldwide. For example, when hurricanesKatrina and Rita blasted the United States’ Gulf(of Mexico) Coast in 2005, knocking out oil rigs andrefineries in the area, OSPAS had a problem to solve.Although hurricane-battered refineries suddenly didn’tneed their deliveries of Saudi crude, OSPAS was nonethelessable to reconfigure inventory and supply its customerselsewhere with everything theyneeded — without a cutback inOSPAS manager Sulemanproduction. One trick: meetA. Al-Bargan oversees thesome advance orders early.state-of-the-art system.This is what OSPAS doesevery day. It is the operations heart of Saudi Aramco.“OSPAS is the only organization in Saudi Aramco thathas a global view,” said Suleman A. Al-Bargan, manager,OSPAS. “Our mission is to manage and optimize hydrocarbonsystem capacities and inventories to deliver qualityproducts to the customer at the right time and place withmaximum net revenue to Saudi Aramco.”For most people in the world, the acronym OSPAS isdevoid of meaning; few people even inside the companyunderstand just how vital the organization is to the successof Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia and our many customersaround the world.“The key to understanding OSPAS, is that the organizationtouches almost every aspect of Saudi Aramco’s operations,”Al-Bargan said. “Its participation in virtually every28Dimensions

OSPAS keeps Saudi Aramcorunning smoothly, even in a crisisproject creates a solid foundation for the company’s continuedsuccess. This is a case where the right hand definitelyknows what the left hand is doing.”OSPAS is composed of five divisions: Oil, Gas and NaturalGas Liquids, Terminal Planning, Refined Products, andSupply Planning and Optimization.The department plans, schedules, coordinates and monitorsmovements (quantity and quality) of millions of barrelsof crude oil daily from all Saudi Aramco wellheads tocompany terminals through more than 18,000 km of pipelinesnetwork.In addition, the organization also tracks refined-productmovements from four domestic and two joint venture refineriesand one equity venture, 20 bulk plants, 19 air refuelingsites, five Saudi Strategic Storage Program complexes,and 2,000 km of refined-products pipeline. It also tracksgas and natural gas liquids (NGL) from seven gas plants,three fractionation centers and 18,826 km of pipeline.Saudi Aramco also operates 44 export berths at fivemarine ports, loading millions of barrels of oil, productsand natural gas liquids each day onto enormous oceangoingtankers that can exceed 500,000 deadweight tons.OSPAS’s comprehensive system allows Saudi Aramco toknow exactly where, in effect, every drop of its hydrocarbonsis located at any instant in time.Though not technically a part of OSPAS, electricalpower generation and distribution needs of Saudi Aramcoare also carefully managed on its Operations CoordinationCenter (OCC) Big Board.But despite its multifaceted mandate, the one virtueOSPAS obsesses about is teamwork. Communications is thebyword; no one is ever left inthe dark about any issue.“Open communicationsacross all divisions is an absoluterequirement,” Al-Bargansaid. “From our morning 7:05a.m. meeting to the dozens ofThe biggest video wall inthe hydrocarbon industryserves as a window intoSaudi Aramco operationsin oil, gas, refining,terminal operations andelectric power.conference calls and quick meetings throughout the day, weare in easy communications with all Saudi Aramco operationspeople around the Kingdom and around the world.”“The long-term planning is constantly adapted,” saidAbdullah H. Al-Ghamdi, general supervisor of the Supply,Planning & Optimization Division. “We are proud of thefact that OSPAS has been able to rapidly andeffectively make the critical decisions toblunt any harmful impact of disasters.”“It’s like taking pieces of a giant puzzlethat’s constantly changing and solvingthat puzzle over and over again,”said Al-Bargan. “Our success is dependentupon OSPAS people being able to putthe pieces together time after time after time.” Al-GhamdiThe wallThe focus of OSPAS is its OCC video wall, inauguratedSept. 12, 2005. The first OCC was built in 1978, and itscomputer systems were replaced and upgraded twice since1982 (a third upgrade is scheduled for 2012). The centerwas completely renovated in 1995, and upgrade of dispatchers’consoles will begin in 2010.Loaded with new display technology, today’s massiveExpo 2010, Shanghai 29

(biggest in the hydrocarbon industry) series of screens onthe OCC wall simply overwhelms visitors and provides areal-time display of Saudi Aramco’s key operations — oil,gas and natural gas liquids (NGL), terminal planning operationsand refined products for OSPAS, plus electric powerdistribution. As magnificent as the video wall is, it ismerely a tool. The real story of OCC and OSPAS is howthe massive amount of information the screens display isgathered, verified and used.This is the story about the people who are responsiblefor providing the OCC and OSPAS with information, andthe people who use that information to aggressively run,protect and optimize Saudi Aramco’s critical operations.The master SCADA systemsTwo Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA)systems serve as the centerpieces for data gathering. One isthe central dispatch system for all hydrocarbon operationsand the other is for power distribution inthe Kingdom.“The hydrocarbon SCADA system isone of biggest in the world,” saidMohammed A. Makhdoum, administratorof Hydrocarbon ApplicationsDepartment/Real-Time Systems Division(RTSD) and the leader of the groupMakhdoum responsible for obtaining the data used bythe OCC. “It provides 25,000 points The video wall, shownof data for the OCC.”above,is able to displayphotographic images andThe power distribution SCADAspecially designed icons.system interfaces with the SaudiElectricity Co. and monitors the power distribution systemwithin Saudi Aramco 24/7, watching the status of breakers,voltage and transformers.However, even the SCADA system is subject to change.Menahi D. Al-Gahtani, applications and system specialist,Real-Time Systems Division, is the project coordinator forreplacing the current OCC SCADA systems.“IT systems become obsolete quickly, so we are continuouslyupgrading and improving the system,” Al-Gahtanisaid, “but there comes a point when it needs to bechanged.”The new SCADA systems will be able to handle moreapplications and interfaces, and handle all the additionalprojects the growing OSPAS organization will needto monitor.“The new system should be up and runningby early 2012,” Al-Gahtani said.Information at your fingertipsApplications are a big part of IT support.According to Majed S. Al-Ghassab,Applications Support Unit supervisor,Real-Time Systems Division, his peopleGhassab30Dimensions

provide all-day everyday support for the hydrocarbon andpower SCADA systems. Also, they relentlessly seek andimplement the latest technologies that help OCC plannersperform their job in a more efficient manner. Another functionof the applications support unit is to develop newapplications that provide users with monitoring and controlcapabilities of field devices. “Our applications allowthe shift superintendent in the OCC to control valvesremotely from his computer,” Al-Ghassab said. The objectiveis to make the technology work at the optimum rate.Developers have created a wide range of applications thatprovide critical information quickly and effortlessly. Oneexample is the Tank Monitoring Application.“We’ve been able to provide a view of all of the company’stanks,” said Al-Ghassab. “We can see which tanks areavailable, which are under repair. A planner can click on atank icon and see its activity, which product it is storing,its level and the pumpable quantity on a real-time basis.”One strength of the application-development team thattranslates across all of OSPAS is communication among allmembers of the team and RTSD.“How impressive is the control center! The world economy may rely on theefficiency of Saudi Aramco.” — Oliver Appert, President & CEO, French Institute of PetroleumOSPAS’s giant, high-tech Big Walltracks 18,000 real-time, hydrocarbon-movementoperations,updated every 15 seconds, and22,400 electric-power-generationand distribution operations,updated every two seconds.“We live with the users,talk their language andvalue their requirements sowe can deliver solutions tothem to do their jobs,”Makhdoum said. “In addition,if we see an application or any enabling technologywe believe will help operations, we obtain it and configureit for our people’s specific use.”Applications development also created the Marine TerminalPlanning Board System. This provides a view of alltankers arriving at and departing from Saudi Aramcomarine terminals within a four-day time frame.“This application providesinformation about thecargo, load, destination,arrival date and all theships’ data,” Al-Ghassabsaid. “Operations must beon top of all aspects of distribution all the time, and thisapplication provides key information that allows them tomake decisions accurately and quickly.”The bottom line is that IT has positioned itself to seeexactly what Operations needs. According to Makhdoum,“We keep on top of technology advances around theworld. In fact, you could say our job is to make Operations’jobs easier by providing enabling technology thatExpo 2010, Shanghai 31

Above: Critical meetings can be held in the roomthat overlooks the OCC. Pictured from right areEssam Ali, General Supervisor Abdullah Al-Ghamdi,OSPAS Manager Suleman Al-Bargan, GeneralSupervisor Hisham Shah, Saeed Al-Amri, andMansour Al-Mansour. All planners can call up vastnumber of images on their computer systems andact accordingly.

avails accurate informationthat can beeasily accessed.”It isn’t just technology;it is also people.As Makhdoum underscored,“They bringthat quality to theirwork. What we do isfind the best peopleand develop themto be integratedwith everyone inRTSD and OSPAS.That gives them thegrounding to be proactive,come up withideas, and turn thoseideas into value-addedreality.”Operations: Efficiencyin actionOSPAS is at the veryVideo WallReplaced the map-boards with videowalls in 2005.The video wall’s size is 67 meterslong by 3 meters high.Consists of 150 stitched, blackmasked 1.7-meter screens.Projection uses Digital LightProcessing (DLP) technology.heart of Saudi Aramco. This remarkable organization is dedicatednot just to perfection but continual improvement.That’s because everything its people do can be ultimatelymeasured in money — a lot of money. Present and futureare always considered in great detail. The time span coveredranges from every two seconds that data is refreshed to an11-year plan that forecasts demand and supply of hydrocarbons,as well as all the factors that may potentially affectSaudi Aramco’s future business.All aspects of operations are monitored, and any impacton supply of products to customers is determined. Forexample, the entire Testing and Inspection (T&I) of plants,pipelines, etc., is carefully noted and arranged so thatthere is little or no disruption when a facility is routinelyshut down.Of course, not all shutdowns are routine. Emergencyclosings of plants or specific operations mustbe quickly contained and contingency plans putinto play. Every person — from planners and staffengineers in the OCC to all the divisions — quicklydetermines how to mitigate any difficulty. That iswhy they are well trained with a clear objective:Always ensure supply gets to the customer in the safestmanner and thatprofits aremaximized.These goalsexplain the manyfacetednature ofOSPAS. On onehand its peopleare thoroughlyengaged in ensuringthat Saudi Aramcooperations areuninterrupted. TheCentral Dispatch Center has about 18,000 huge video-walldata points updated every 15 seconds. projects an amazingamount of viewsSAP (operations-management software)and information thatinformation is also updated everyhelp instantly spot15 seconds, except for the Saudi StrategicStorage Program information, which ispotential problems.updated every 20 minutes.If a problem occurs,contingency plansPDS has about 22,400 points updatedare immediatelyevery 2 seconds.launched so thatany potential supplyinterruption is eliminated or, at least, minimized. Onthe other hand, OSPAS also is responsible for continuouslyoptimizing operational processes, ensuring that all decisionsreflect the goal of increasing the Kingdom’s profits.The organization that focuses on long-term supply andprojects is Supply Planning and Optimization.“Our vital objective is to provide long-term supply planningto ensure continuous supply of hydrocarbon productsto Saudi Aramco customers, and provide technical supportto OSPAS operations divisions and Executive Management,”said Al-Ghamdi. “We provide optimization analysis,economic reviews and evaluations on projects, operationsand system operating strategies.”“We also produce all types of optimization plans —from monthly to annually to 10-year plans — forcrude, gas, NGL, gas condensate and refinedproducts systems,” he said. “And since we seethe entire picture of Saudi Aramco operations— present and future — we sometimes haveto adjust a specific plant operation to keep instep with our global optimization,” said EisaM. Al-Suwaigh, Refined Products Supply PlanningGroup Leader.Al-SuwaighExpo 2010, Shanghai 33

“Congratulations for your safe and reliable operational control room.We, from Petrobras, appreciate very much your experience and efficiency.”— José Sérgio Gabrielli de Azevedo, President and CEO, Petrobras“That sometimes means a plant locally loses money byrunning against its own optimal operation, but globally theKingdom is realizing additional revenue,” he said. “TheOSPAS intricate global optimization modelenables us to see how losing a few milliondollars within a plant may help us earnhundreds of millions of dollars globally.It’s a matter of perspective, and OSPASoperations are full of such examples.”Eisa S. Al-Madani, Projects andTechnical support Group Leader, said,Al-Madani “We also review capital projects and incorporatemajor comments that contain operationalsense to achieve company objectives. In addition, weare the only entity that looks after the long-term testing andinspection plans for all Saudi Aramco facilities. We alwaysThe video wall, below, candisplay real-time imagesfrom cameras, satellitesor the Internet utilizingstate-of-the-art technology.assure that shutdown activitiesare planned in due time withno impact on meeting customers’commitment.”The Big BoardWhen you walk into the OCC, the enormous video wall(67 meters wide and three meters high — about 219.2 feetby 9.8 feet) grabs your attention. This is the nerve center ofSaudi Aramco. All 18,000 real-time, hydrocarbon-movementoperations, updated every 15 seconds, and 12,000electric-power generation and distribution operations,updated every two seconds, are reflected on its 150 1.7-meter (5.6 ft.) screens.In this room, planners, shift superintendents and engineersmonitor all data, looking for possible problems,checking to see which product or tanker needs to be redirected,and they are in contact by phone, radio and networkto field personnel. Itis a free flow of informationcoordinated and managedby highly motivatedpeople with a great deal ofexperience. In fact, mostOSPAS employees have15 or more years of fieldexperience and know Saudi Aramco operations from topto bottom.The video wall also reflects the reality of OSPAS: Everythingis interconnected. One operation smoothly flows intoanother — on the wall and in real life. And if somethinginterferes with the smooth operation, all operating organizationsare flexible enough to rapidly adapt.

“Tankers are responsible for movingcrude oil and products,” said Khalid M.Al-Dukeer, general supervisor, TerminalPlanning Division. “We have to interactwith oil and refined products becausewe are working in a fine balance.Al-Dukeer Weather, breakdowns or various disruptionsmay cause one or more tankers to belate in getting to one of our terminals. This has ramificationsfor production, storage and customers. If productcan’t be transported, we may have to cut production as thelast resort after maximizing storage. Our decisions must befast and accurate or we will lose money.”Movement of oil, gas, natural gas liquids (NGL), terminal(shipping) and refined products all have a place on thevideo wall.“For oil, monitoring the ever-changingdemand for product and creating theperfect mix of products for export andin-Kingdom consumption is vital,” saidMohammad Z. Al-Shammari, generalsupervisor, Oil Division. “We plan outeverything, taking input from petroleumAl-Shammari engineering to understand oil availability.”Again, the objective is to ensure the rightmix of product for Saudi Aramco’s customers.The Oil Division is responsible for monitoring the vastcomplex of pipelines in the Kingdom.“We are the first line of defense,” said Al-Shammari.“We need to see the overall picture of interconnecting thepipeline among operations.”The absolute scale of operations overseen by OSPAS isgargantuan. In addition to being the major supplierof oil to the world, Saudi Aramcoowns the fourth largest gas reserves, butthat isn’t the whole story.“Our Master Gas System is the largestintegrated system in the world,”said Khalid I. Al-Khudair, generalsupervisor, Gas and NGL Division. “Weare unique. There is nothing like this anyplace.Our system is huge, and we are lever-Al-Khudairaging these resources for the Kingdom’sbenefit. Our gas and NGL operations aremassive to an extent that our NGL productionexceeds the oil output of someOPEC countries.”As vast as OSPAS operations are,everyone continues to be focused on thebottom line. Hisham A. Shah, generalShahsupervisor, Refined Products Division, understandsthe importance of histask: “My customers arethose who drive cars, runutility plants and providepower to their nations.”The video wall is designed toshow the real-time interrelationshipof oil, gas, refining,terminal and electric poweroperations.Expo 2010, Shanghai 35

The Refined Products Division, as is the case with allOSPAS operations, has to be flexible. “We need to meet ourcustomers demand, but we also must meet the Kingdom’sneeds and maximize profitability,” Shah said. “Plus, whenan unexpected event occurs, Refined Products must be ableto shift on the fly and create a new mix of products thattakes advantage of any situation.”Not part of OSPAS, but critical to operations is thePower Operation and Control Unit (PO&CU). It monitorsand controls the Saudi Aramco power network. “We arestationed at the OCC to effectively coordinate with the company’soil and gas operations to ensureelectrical power is provided safely, reliablyand in a cost-effective manner,”said Abdulmuhsen I. Al-Shuhail,Supervisor, Power Operation &Control Unit. “We also are the singlepoint of contact for Saudi ElectricityCompany (SEC) in dealingwith interrelated power operations.” Al-ShuhailA team approachOne aspect of operations that every single person emphasizedwas teamwork. “All divisions and IT work together,”Al-Bargan said. In fact, teamwork and communications is“Congratulations on this extraordinary room at OSPAS, which demonstratesAramco’s technological leadership and mastery, its unique place in worldoil and the outstanding capabilities and dedication of its people. This is ahistoric occasion.”—Mr. Daniel Yergin, Chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA)so important that at 7:05 every morning there is a conferencecall meeting in which key personnel in OSPAS, operationsorganizations and IT are represented. Just like the oldAmerican police dramas on television, everyone gatherstogether to discuss potential difficulties that may beencountered during the day.“This meeting brings everyone together,” said AbdullahBedah, Planning & Programs Group Leader. “All divisionsare represented, and anything that may impact operationsis brought to light. We all have our objectives, and we actaccordingly.”Of course, during any major crisis, OSPAS goes on aneven more impressive footing, activating additional personnel(in addition to those who would be there anyway, sinceOSPAS is a 24/7 operation), having some staff stay on dutyall night and other adjustments. And the president andCEO and senior management can monitor crisis developmentsfrom a specially designed conference room with awindow that overlooks the OCC and the video wall.The futureOSPAS will continue to search for improvements and optimizeperformance. “We are the Think Tank of SaudiAramco daily hydrocarbon management,” Al-Bargan said.As operations grow ever more complex with additionalhuge projects, joint ventures and third party operations,OSPAS will continue seeking new technologies to overcomefuture operational challenges.Al-Bargan said that Sales and Marketing departmentsmay place representatives in the OCC tocapture market opportunities on theminute.Also, in the optimization arena,Nasser H. Al-Hammad, Oil, Gas andNGL Supply Planning Group Leaderof Supply Planning and Optimizationhighlighted that his group has co-developeda new technology that shortens the Al-Hammadoil-and-gas planning process from onemonth to one week. This technology netted Saudi Aramcothe Technology Achievement Award at a recent internationalconference on supply-chain management in Seattle,Washington, in the United States.The award recognized Saudi Aramco for the implementationof the Integrated Oil and Gas Model, which is thefirst model of its kind forhydrocarbon productionplanning and optimizationin the upstreamindustry. The modelcombines a linear programoptimization toolwith 80 rigorous plantsimulation models ofgas-oil separation plants,crude stabilizers, gas plants and natural gas liquids (NGL)fractionation facilities. That enables all hydrocarbon moleculesto be tracked from their wellhead production sourceto their final delivery to customers. The model optimizeseach production case by maximizing the net revenue.“One thing is certain,” Al-Bargan concluded, “OSPASwill continue to lead the way to bring the latest technologyand highest level of expertise to ensure Saudi Aramco continuesto be the reliable supplier of energy to the world.”IT – A critical component“We can’t make mistakes,” said Makhdoum. “You’veheard of learning by your mistakes — well, that goldenrule doesn’t apply here. We make a mistake, the companycould lose millions of dollars and people could beinjured.”The Information Technology (IT) component of OSPASis vital, because it enables OSPAS to perform OCC corefunctions.36Dimensions

In addition, OSPAS recruits its members from all overthe company — including Sales and Marketing, Engineering,Exploration and Refining, among many others — inorder to provide a complete view of Saudi Aramco’s operations.In short, OSPAS’s people represent a cross-section ofthe company, and this bolsters the excellent coordinationamong Saudi Aramco’s component parts.That is important because OSPAS majors on two interrelatedjobs — long-term planning and contingencyplanning.“We are constantly planning for the future,” Al-Ghamdisaid. “We try to anticipate everything that may affect theentire span of Saudi Aramco operations up to a decade andmore in the future.”Long-term planning puts concepts on paper. But the realworld has a way of producing surprises at regular intervals.OSPAS relies on vast amounts of information and needsto be fed from as wide a range of sources as possible.Information gathering is a vital part of OSPAS’s success.“Data is gathered from all operation sites — plants,refineries, GOSPs, terminals, pipelines,” said Al-Ghassab.Much of the data is gathered by Remote TerminalUnits, or RTUs. These units monitor operations locatedfar from plants or manned operation centers. The RTUsand SCADA systems are highly sensitive, and able todetect developing problems and alert operators at theOCC with alarms.“The ability to provide uswith critical information rapidlyhelps us prevent stoppagesor failures,” Makhdoum said.Screens from individualsystems can be displayedon the video wall to get alarger perspective.“In fact, we have a field electronics system that not onlygathers data but enables us to actually control remoteoperations without anyone being present. The shift superintendents,who watch over the entire OCC, can instantlytake action to prevent major problems.”One of the hallmarks of OSPAS is change. “Nothingstands still,” Ghassab said. “We are continually upgradingand optimizing.”One example is the use of the Plant Information Systems(PI) components. PIs gather all types of informationfrom within the plant environment.“Right now, we get 27 percent of our data from PIs,”said Makhdoum.The PIs’ advantage is that they are in the plant anywayand can gather the data automatically. This eliminates theneed for RTUs and frees up the RTU-dedicated circuit.However, the RTUs play an important role out in thedesert with the pipelines.Expo 2010, Shanghai 37