Engineering Procedure

SAEP-42 15 October 2014

Capital Projects’ Efficient Energy Systems By-Design
Document Responsibility: Energy Systems Optimization Standards Committee

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards

Table of Contents

1 Introduction……………………………………... 2
1.1 Definition………………………………….. 3
1.2 Purpose and Scope……………………… 3
1.3 Intended Users…………………………… 3
2 New Projects Energy System Assessment…. 4
2.1 Project’s Execution Phases…………….. 4
2.2 Energy System Efficiency
Optimization Task Description………….. 4
2.3 General Solution Approach……………... 5
3 New Projects Energy System
Assessment Study Guidleines……………….. 5
3.1 Energy Assessment Study Guidelines
during Pre-DBSP andf DBSP………...… 5
3.2 Energy Assessment Study Guidelines
during Project Proposal Phase……….. 8
4 Efficient Energy System
By-Design Guidelines………………………... 9

Previous Issue: New Next Planned Update: 15 October 2019

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Copyright©Saudi Aramco 2014. All rights reserved.

Document Responsibility: Energy Systems Optimization Standards Committee SAEP-42
Issue Date: 15 October 2014
Next Planned Update: 15 October 2019 Capital Projects’ Efficient Energy Systems By-Design

1 Introduction

Energy efficiency optimization in Saudi Aramco has become everyone’s business.

It is mandatory for each existing process facility to find cost effective solutions to save
energy and achieve more with less in their facilities. It is also equally important for
each new project to be designed and operated in an energy-conscious manner.

A vital contribution towards the success of the company wide energy conservation policy
comes through documenting the company mandatory requirements, best practices in
methodology; tools and applications in the field of energy efficiency optimization.
Besides, capturing the knowledge of the in-house expertise in such field and distributing
such knowledge among our facilities and engineering services departments. Hence, a
consistent effort has been exerted in Saudi Aramco to produce Standards, Engineering
Procedures and Best Practices to help our engineers achieve their energy efficiency
optimization mission through the design and building of energy conscious facilities
following the same new paradigm implemented in the existing facilities.

This particular document provides guidelines for Greenfields and Brownfields projects
energy assessment studies along new projects phases and a standard requirements for
any project energy system efficient design.

The first and most important thing to apply in any of the project phases design reviews
using energy efficiency assessment study is that:

“Our project’s energy system efficiency optimization by-design review boundary includes
the total site that consists of process and utility plants and its adjacent community”

It is important during the early phase of any project that we see this big picture.

In this document when we talk about project phases we mean; project studies including
pre- design basis scoping paper (DBSP), (DBSP), and project proposal phases.

In this document, we need to highlight the importance of adapting in our energy

assessment studies the system-approach that takes into consideration the process’
heating, cooling/ refrigeration and driving utilities including power/electricity, as one of
the site-wide processes, besides the processing plants. This approach has to be adapted
versus the current state-of-art sequential sub-system by sub-system approach during the
project study phases.

It is instructive to mention here that during the project’s phases we should not be at any
phase remove some degrees of freedom from our design options subjectively. This
practice due to the decentralized nature of our project design activities nowadays shall be
avoided as much as possible. For instance, during feasibility study phase (pre-DBSP), it

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Document Responsibility: Energy Systems Optimization Standards Committee SAEP-42
Issue Date: 15 October 2014
Next Planned Update: 15 October 2019 Capital Projects’ Efficient Energy Systems By-Design

is absolutely necessary to investigate all different options for combined process and
utilities system interlinked to several processing schemes with different operating modes.

1.1 Definition

The term “Energy Assessment” refers to the methodology of collecting and

analyzing available energy utilities related process data without losing the
context of the whole process needs. This is done in order to establish the “big
picture” of the energy requirements for a particular facility and identify
component-based-energy efficiency optimization opportunities from the
operating and capital cost of energy and process sub-systems point of view.
Striking the right balance between such costs will define the close-to-optimum
solution of the energy problem in the design of any new plant. In grassroots
projects available data are mostly uncertain, time is critical and there are many
options. Therefore, the energy assessment process of any new project has to be
conceptual and fast as well as rigorous but with the right level of details at each
project phase. The term “Energy System” includes both process and utility
systems with energy components as donors and receivers/energy generators and
demanders in the total-site boundary. The “Total-site Boundary” can include the
industrial community servicing the processing facility or even the non-industrial
one adjacent to it.

1.2 Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this standard document is to present a methodology for the

review of new projects design from energy system efficiency optimization point
of view along the project phases through “energy assessment study”. It also
introduces some guidelines for achieving an energy efficient plant design upon
its inclusion in the final project execution. The adherence to such guidelines and
will ensure that the new facility will be energy efficient by-design. The waiving
of any of the enlisted requirements has to be supported with acceptable techno-
economic justification reports.

1.3 Intended Users

This standard document is intended for use by project and process engineers in
Saudi Aramco, who are responsible for process and facilities planning, process
engineering and energy systems engineering and as a guideline scope of work
for external energy systems optimization consultants. This particular document
will enable them to conduct review of a new project design from energy
efficiency optimization point of view to make sure that they are planning for
and/or designing of new energy-conscious facilities in Saudi Aramco.

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Document Responsibility: Energy Systems Optimization Standards Committee SAEP-42
Issue Date: 15 October 2014
Next Planned Update: 15 October 2019 Capital Projects’ Efficient Energy Systems By-Design

2 New Projects Energy Assessment

2.1 Project’s Execution Phases

In Saudi Aramco, our focus for energy efficiency optimization in projects is

mainly in FEL2 and FEL3 project stages that have four main project phases.
These phases are “Study” phase, “Design Basis Scoping Paper (DBSP)” phase,
“Project Proposal” phase and finally, expenditure request approval and
completion called “Finalize FEL” phase as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 - Phases of Projects

During each of these phases it is important to develop the appropriate level of

details in our modeling and assessment techniques to be able to render at the end
of all project phases a facility which is going to be optimal. This process shall
proceeds in a way that does not hinder next phase decisions from being optimal,
too.

2.2 Energy Efficiency Optimization Task Description

Energy Efficiency Optimization objective aims to specifying the near-optimal

design that minimizes the new plant’s overall energy consumption at minimum
capital cost, with no deficiency in energy supply to the plant’s process by the
utility systems. The task will start with listing all possible design
options/actions/modifications necessary to achieve the specified/desired process
target(s) and then, optimize the utility system design to fulfill process targets.
The optimization of the design can be iterative in order to do the integration
between process and utility components, such that both designs should
complement each other instead of designing two isolated systems. This process

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Document Responsibility: Energy Systems Optimization Standards Committee SAEP-42
Issue Date: 15 October 2014
Next Planned Update: 15 October 2019 Capital Projects’ Efficient Energy Systems By-Design

includes identification of all related engineering activities in a minimum

possible time using provided plant data and without any interruption to the
overall project schedule. Currently, the scope of the energy efficiency
optimization of new projects assessment include the power, heating and cooling
systems that are mandatory to satisfy certain process demands along the life
cycle of the project.

2.3 General Solution Approach

Nowadays in Saudi Aramco for the sake of simplicity and timely results,
decomposition and heuristic techniques are adapted in lieu of the time-
consuming but more beneficial Mathematical Programming/Optimization
Techniques. The evolutionary-approach can be adapted versus the more time
consuming revolutionary-approach. The old projects data base shall be fully
utilized to facilitate the energy review process and result in merits.

The plant’s energy utility needs shall be defined with reasonable level of
flexibility and the energy utility system; electricity, fuel, steam and other
energy-related utilities shall be defined one by one to find the near- optimal
consumption of such utilities that guarantee minimum deficiency in the utility
supply to plant processes subject to controlled minimum capital cost. On the
macro level the energy system components are generation, distribution and
utilization. The objective will be to minimize waste in energy fresh resources
and capital in these three components. This can be done via the continuous
upgrade of the efficiency of energy system components in generation,
distribution and utilization By-design through the modification of the base case
design of the new project. The utilization component has a unique feature
therefore, the room of improvement in this component can have tangible impact
on both the process capital and energy utility system costs.

3 New Projects Energy System Assessment Study (ESAS) Requirements

3.1 ESAS Requirements during Project Study/Pre-DBSP and DBSP Phases

1. Preliminary review of similar old process designs, system drawings and
data analysis
2. Understand the “Big Picture” of the old plant and the new plant-wide
operations in expansions’ projects and review the process energy needs
and utility systems preference of both the old and the new plants
3. Identify interaction areas between the process and hot utility system
4. Identify interaction areas between the process and the cold utility system
5. Establish desired objectives “Targeting” for the new project’s energy

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Document Responsibility: Energy Systems Optimization Standards Committee SAEP-42
Issue Date: 15 October 2014
Next Planned Update: 15 October 2019 Capital Projects’ Efficient Energy Systems By-Design

related utilities’ sub-systems (power, steam, fuel, water)

6. Identify all opportunities for energy savings in the old project/existing
facility in the context of the new expansion (brown field integration with
the new greenfield part)
7. Identify all opportunities for energy savings in the old design project for
the existing facility and customize it as a list of opportunities in the new
project (greenfield)
8. Define obvious better design issues, such as change in plot plan of the
plants relative to each others and/or to utilities plants, considering the
cogeneration scheme, the low grade waste energy utilization, etc., missed
in old similar projects
9. Prepare a “do” and “do not do” list for the new project during the study
phase based upon lessons learned in the old projects
10. Challenge every process step in the old design schemes to generate new
process alternatives for the sake of a lower energy system’s capital and
operating costs
11. From the available data, establish at least two or more new process design
schemes
12. Propose deployment of new energy optimization technologies (ORC,
Kalina, …, etc.) to move towards best in class energy efficiency facilities
13. Study the possibilities for integration schemes with near-by facilities
and/or residential areas to optimize energy utilization
14. Propose scope for the second level of the review process that includes
more definitive assessment with some economic analysis including the
simulation of the defined process schemes
15. Propose plant-wide energy-utility system base case design modification
strategy
16. Discuss your assessment study findings with the concerned project’s
entities including this study multi-disciplinary team and process licensors,
cogeneration vendors,..etc.)

These guidelines can be conducted on three stages as follows:

(A) Data analysis, Models building and establishing Targets
(B) Insights, Opportunities and saving/ potential benefit for the base case
design modifications

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Document Responsibility: Energy Systems Optimization Standards Committee SAEP-42
Issue Date: 15 October 2014
Next Planned Update: 15 October 2019 Capital Projects’ Efficient Energy Systems By-Design

(C) Screen and Formulate Base Case design Improvements

(D) Discuss it with the project’s owners
 Gather the right amount of data that enable the energy team build the
plant’s “big picture” and understand the goals and the constraints of the
facility, this can be either in form of documents/drawings provided for
the green-field projects or can be collected by conducting site survey
through templates, checklists and interviewing of process
owners/proponents for brown-field projects.
 Define the criteria for focusing on potential areas of interest (when to
be rigorous and get to the second level of details).
 Develop site energy/utility nominal design/normal operation models
with the appropriate level of details in a high level generic “path”
diagrams for, power, fuel, H2, steam, water, nitrogen and air.
 Add more depth in the level of details of the energy utility model for
each important generator and demander and/or other criterion for focus.
 Define the effect of disturbances and uncertainty on the energy utility
system models;
 Sources of disturbances
 Site energy utility balance under disturbances
 Nominal and dynamic targeting of energy utility systems
 Check that the “big picture” depicted for the process and the utility
plants is correct with enough degree of confidence before you
proceed.
 Targeting phase (order of magnitude targeting);
o Define Intra- and Inter-plants direct and/or using buffer systems
o Identify main processing issues that affect utility consumption
o Link utility-utility interactions
o Integrate and techno-economically re-check and optimize the site
utilities.
 Integrate core processes among themselves and with utilities for energy
efficiency while trying to have capital efficiency, too.

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Document Responsibility: Energy Systems Optimization Standards Committee SAEP-42
Issue Date: 15 October 2014
Next Planned Update: 15 October 2019 Capital Projects’ Efficient Energy Systems By-Design

 Develop a comprehensive opportunities list/modifications via

identifying and estimating energy utility savings opportunities.
 Develop possible integrated design modifications strategies for realizing
savings for the new facility mapped to the new facility strategy.

3.2 ESAS Requirements during Project Proposal Phase

1. Data extraction for the study to be done for each stream that needs to be
heated or vaporized and any stream that needs to be cooled or condensed
in the “base design case”. As if each stream will be handled through
utilities. (No integration in the base case design).
2. Targets for energy utility to be calculated for the process with integration
and without integration.
3. The grand composite curve for the base case design shall be utilized to help
show the right/optimal level of utility-mix for heating and cooling utilities.
4. The same graph (GCC) needs also to be utilized to show the potential
cogeneration opportunities and best drivers for the process, if any.
5. List of possible design and operational modifications to be investigated to
explore its impact on the utility consumption and other process units.
6. These steps should be done for several ΔT_min., before selecting the right
one. Of-course, in such cases a preliminary evaluation of the HENs capital
cost will be needed, or whatever targeting method you use, to reach the
close-to-optimum ΔT_min.
7. Preliminary HEN synthesis developed will render several process
initiatives for improving the design from energy efficiency point of view
compared with the base case design.
8. The process scheme produced may have some environmental, safety and
control/operability constraints that may justify forbidding streams
matching and warrant the removal of some streams from the heat
integration schemes or even removing all of them from integration
scheme; it does not matter as long as the design is pursued systematically
and the techno-economical justifications are detailed and documented.
9. One-by-one, of “problem” stream(s) shall be taken out from the integrated
process scheme and its energy impact in “Dollars” is defined. In the same
time an engineered solution for solving this problem/ constraint, safety;
control/operability or other problem, shall be suggested and its impact
shall also be roughly quantified/estimated in Dollars if possible and
documented.

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Document Responsibility: Energy Systems Optimization Standards Committee SAEP-42
Issue Date: 15 October 2014
Next Planned Update: 15 October 2019 Capital Projects’ Efficient Energy Systems By-Design

10. Trade-off between the energy saving “$” gain and, for instance, the
control/operability “$” loss shall be calculated, documented and shown in
the energy assessment study.
11. Other subjective decisions need to be mentioned and documented clearly
with enough techno-economical support as much as possible to support the
decisions of accepting or rejecting process initiatives for the sake of
energy efficiency optimization.
12. Combined heat and power system (cogeneration system) shall be
optimized from capital point of view to ensure using best number and sizes
of equipment to enable via simultaneous design and operation concept the
efficiency of the system for multi-period demand change during operation.
13. The new technologies such as variable speed drivers, low grade waste
energy recovery systems and hydraulic turbines for liquid power recovery
shall be applied or not based upon techno-economic justification.

4 Efficient Energy System By-Design Requirements

1. A Cogeneration system is adapted when power-to-heat ratio is rendering
cogeneration efficiency higher than the central power generation plant efficiency
or not adapted according to a techno-economic justification report.
2. A combined heating and power generation system is optimized according to Saudi
Aramco cogeneration standards.
3. A combined heat and power generation optimization model has to be developed
and documented, that simultaneously considered the process and utility system,
during the project DBSP phase or Project proposal phase.
4. A Gas oil separation plant energy consumption shall exhibits a global minimum
approach temperature of less than 20°C.
5. A semi-conversion medium grade crude oil refinery with aromatics energy
consumption shall exhibits a global minimum approach temperature of less than
20°C, or not but according to economic justification report.
6. A full-conversion heavy grade crude oil refinery with aromatics energy
consumption shall exhibits a global minimum approach temperature of less than
15°C, or not but according to economic justification report.
7. A gas processing plant, gas treating area energy consumption shall exhibits a
global minimum approach temperature of less than 10°C, or not but according to
economic justification report.
8. A gas processing plant, liquid recovery area energy consumption shall exhibits a

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Document Responsibility: Energy Systems Optimization Standards Committee SAEP-42
Issue Date: 15 October 2014
Next Planned Update: 15 October 2019 Capital Projects’ Efficient Energy Systems By-Design

global minimum approach temperature of less than 4°C, or not but according to
economic justification report.
9. A natural gas liquid fractionation plant exhibits a global minimum approach
temperature of less than 4°C, or not but according to economic justification report.
10. Plant-wide heat exchangers network total surface area should be less than or equal
to 110% of the heat exchangers network minimum total area.
11. Steam turbines are adapted for any continuous letdown greater than or equal to
50,000 lb steam, or not adapted but according to economic justification report.
12. Optimal number of trains/drivers and its associated capacities are adapted for
systems with total power consumption of greater than or equal 50 MW, or not
adapted but according to techno-economic justification report.
13. Economizers and Pre-heaters are adapted in boilers.
14. Turbo-expander for gas streams is adapted instead of JT valves for applications
which produce greater than or equal to 5 MW or not adapted but according to
economic justification report.
15. Power generation from high pressure liquids is adapted for applications which
produce greater than or equal to 3 MW or not adapted but according to techno-
economic justification report.
16. Boilers and/or HRSG maximum pressure, as per the manufacturer current state of
art, is adapted, or not adapted but according to economic justification report.
17. Air pre-heaters for combustion air is adapted, or not adapted but according to
economic justification report.
18. Adjustable Speed motors are adapted for applications with flow rates fluctuation,
or not adapted but according to economic justification report.
19. Flue gases is integrated with the rest of the process or used to generate and/or
superheat steam with an exit temperature of 20°C above the dew point, or not used
but according to techno-economic justification report.
20. No stream from any process or utility unit with a temperature above 105°C is
omitted/wasted to the environment directly or indirectly without a techno-
economic justification report.
21. Inlet stream temperature to compressors is cooled or not but according to techno-
economic justification report.
22. Inlet stream temperature to turbines is heated or not but according to techno-
economic justification report.

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Document Responsibility: Energy Systems Optimization Standards Committee SAEP-42
Issue Date: 15 October 2014
Next Planned Update: 15 October 2019 Capital Projects’ Efficient Energy Systems By-Design

23. Refrigeration systems’ number of cycles increase, refrigerant sub-cooling

existence and the cooling medium temperature used as well as the minimum
approach temperature in the chillers are adapted or not adapted but according to
techno-economic report.
24. Heat rejected in the refrigeration systems is adapted to be re-used or not adapted
but according to techno-economic report.
25. Using motors instead of turbines or vice versa or a combination is decided
according to techno-economic report.
26. Lowest quality steam is adapted for use for heating and/or heat tracing purposes or
not adapted but according to techno-economic justification report.
27. Live steam utilization is minimized or not but according to technical justification
report.
28. Production of off-gases and unnecessary recycles are avoided.
29. Operating pressures are optimized to reduce both energy quantity and quality.
30. Piping system is optimized to minimize excessive pressure drops.
31. Low pressure steam is extracted from boilers blow-down and other high pressure
condensates.
32. Steam generation from waste heat is maximized in the context of the site-wide need.
33. Steam condensate return lines, valves, flanges, etc., are insulated.
34. In the plotplan the energy exporters are close to energy importers.
35. Use cooling water, if available, to cool down compressors discharge, motors.
36. A condensate recovery system is in place to ensure 90% recovery.
37. Piping insulation is adapted for long distance pipelines and/or high surface area
tanks, or not adapted but according to techno-economic report.
38. All Saudi Aramco patents is adapted, if application permits, or not adapted but
with techno-economic justification report.

Revision Summary
15 October 2014 New Saudi Aramco Engineering Procedure.

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