Customer Profile

Company NameCrude Oil Production

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PetrofacOil & Gas Service Provider

Challenge:

Evaluate technical and economicfeasibility of a gas plant expansion

Solution:

Aspen HYSYS and IntegratedAspen Exchanger Design & Rating

Benefits:

• Simulate a complex system thatwas previously difficult to modelwith standalone tools

• Significantly increase accuracy ofheat exchanger blocks

• Improve understanding of processconstraints and scale-up

• Achieve 20% capacity increasewith less than one month paybackperiod

Petrofac Improves Accuracy of Process Models, IncreasesCapacity 20% for Gas PlantExpansion

Oil & Gas service provider achieves increased capacityrequirements by integrating rigorous Aspen Exchanger Design & Rating models into Aspen HYSYS® processsimulation flowsheet.

Petrofac is the largest UK-listed service provider to the international oil

and gas industry with over 18,000 employees across the globe.

Recognized as the top engineering, procurement, and construction

contractor in the Middle East for the past three years by Oil & Gas

Middle East, Petrofac is committed to excellence and strives for

increased innovation by continuing to utilize a unique, holistic approach

to process modeling.

Petrofac was asked to determine a feasible way to increase the capacity

of a gas plant with minimal changes to plant hardware. Using

AspenTech products, Petrofac was able to validate the technical and

economic feasibility of multiple process improvement schemes. For

modeling the process, Aspen HYSYS—a process simulator for Oil & Gas

applications—was utilized and Aspen Exchanger Design & Rating (EDR)

files were incorporated into the design resulting in a revamp plan with a

one month payback period.

Petrofac integrated rigorous heat exchanger models into Aspen HYSYS

process flowsheets to debottleneck a gas plant and meet 20%

increased capacity requirements.

“The rigorous Aspen Exchanger Design & Ratingmodels available within Aspen HYSYS have enabledus to solve debottlenecking problems in a way nototherwise achievable.”

— Lakshmi Venkatesh, Petrofac

Worldwide Headquarters

Aspen Technology, Inc.20 Crosby DriveBedford, MA 01730United States

phone: +1–781–221–6400fax: +1–781–221–6410info@aspentech.com

Regional Headquarters

Houston, TX | USAphone: +1–281–584–1000

São Paulo | Brazilphone: +55–11–3443–6261

Reading | United Kingdomphone: +44–(0)–1189–226400

Singapore | Republic of Singaporephone: +65–6395–3900

Manama | Bahrainphone: +973–17–50–3000

For a complete list of offices, please visit www.aspentech.com/locations

© 2013 Aspen Technology, Inc. AspenTech®, aspenONE®, the Aspen leaf logo, the aspenONE logo, and OPTIMIZE are trademarks of AspenTechnology, Inc. All rights reserved. 11-3827-0813

AspenTech is a leading supplier of

software that optimizes process

manufacturing—for energy, chemi-

cals, engineering and construction,

and other industries that manufac-

ture and produce products from a

chemical process. With integrated

aspenONE® solutions, process

manufacturers can implement best

practices for optimizing their engi-

neering, manufacturing, and supply

chain operations. As a result,

AspenTech customers are better

able to increase capacity, improve

margins, reduce costs, and become

more energy efficient. To see how the

world’s leading process manufactur-

ers rely on AspenTech to achieve

their operational excellence goals,

visit www.aspentech.com.

Rigorous Modeling Helps Debottleneck Gas Processes

The objective of the study was to revamp a gas plant with minimal changes to

the process equipment. The revamp evaluated a 20% increase in production

due to the addition of a new oil processing train. In order to accomplish this

with minimal CAPEX, the study focused on utilizing existing design margins

and relaxing some of the design criteria. This highly economical approach

requires the use of accurate process simulation tools to ensure product

specifications and plant safety. Aspen HYSYS was used to develop simulation

models; however, the heat exchangers used in the flowsheet weren’t rigorous

enough for the study.

Integration of Heat Exchanger Models Saves Capital Costs

The study revealed that the conventional heat exchanger modeling

approaches were inadequate—lacking accuracy in correctly predicting thermal

and hydraulic performance, which is critical due to the interaction between

cold product streams and hot feed streams in the self-refrigerated process.

The integration of heat exchanger configurations using Aspen Plate Fin

designs (from the Aspen EDR family) in Aspen HYSYS improved the accuracy

of the design and resulted in a realistic prediction of the sales gas

specifications. Incorporating Aspen EDR within Aspen HYSYS revealed that

only two of the three critical heat exchangers required replacement resulting

in significant CAPEX savings.

Value to Petrofac

The ability to integrate Aspen Plate Fin designs into the simulation flowsheet

resulted in an optimal design that minimized CAPEX. This unique capability in

Aspen HYSYS increases the accuracy of the simulation results with minimal

additional input. Ultimately, the plant revamp costs could be recovered in less

than one month of operation.