Business transformation through
real-time data management
Craig Harclerode AVEVA
T
his is a story about an innovative company
looking for innovative solutions. Petro Rabigh
deployed the PI System™ as the founda-
tion for its operations data management strategy.
The PI System implementation was spearheaded
by Nidhal Jamal, Head of Instrumentation and
Control Technical Support, and Shabaz Mukadam,
System Engineer. Ultimately, the PI System ena-
bled Petro Rabigh to create one single source of
truth for its operations data and drive digital trans-
formation across the organisation. With reliable
real-time data and insights available to key stake-
holders throughout the company, Petro Rabigh
discovered new ways to optimise refinery and pet-
rochemicals operations.
Petro Rabigh at a glance
The downstream oil and gas industry faces
a number of short and long-term hurdles.
Fluctuating oil and petrochemicals prices, chang-
ing environmental and operations regulations,
decreasing margins, and slowed industry growth
all put pressure on refineries and petrochem-
ical producers every minute of every day. Add a
Case studies (cont.)
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Secure data sharing using PI Cloud Connect
Petro Rabigh products are used in such end
products as plastics, detergents, lubricants,
resins, coolants, anti-freeze, paint, carpets,
rope, clothing, shampoo, auto interiors, epoxy
glue, insulation, film, fibers, household appli-
ances, packaging, candles, pipes and many
other applications.
global pandemic that has forced employees to
work remotely – and the pressure only contin-
ues to increase. As downstream oil and gas com-
panies face excess capacity and dwindling profits,
digital transformation is no longer an option. It’s
essential.
Seven years ago, Petro Rabigh understood the
critical role real-time data management plays in
driving business transformation. Focused on cre-
ating a more agile organisation, using real-time
operations data to increase visibility, and lever-
aging that data to uncover new efficiencies, the
Saudi Arabia-based refining and integrated pet-
rochemicals company embarked on a journey to
November 2021 1

“When you only have something that is so
basic and rudimentary, you don’t see the
potential until you actually get something
like the PI System that gives you a lot of
opportunity and capability.”
Nidhal Jamal,
Head of Instrumentation and Control Technical Support
transform its facility – and the business – using
operations data. Petro Rabigh, a joint venture
between Saudi Aramco and Japan’s Sumitomo
Chemical, was determined to find a solution that
would underpin its operational excellence strat-
egies. Petro Rabigh deployed the PI System as
its data foundation at a 400,000-barrel capacity
refinery and integrated petrochemicals complex.
The Enterprise Agreement (EA) was a critical
part of this deployment because it allowed Petro
Rabigh to scale its PI System to drive value across
the organisation. Today, the EA enables Petro
Rabigh to expand its data-driven culture and
accelerate digital transformation.
 EA signed in 2014, PI System is rolled out in
2015.
 300,000 tags/80-90,000 analysis calculations.
 400,000 bpd of crude and 15 million tons of
refined products and 5 million tons of petro-
chemical products monitored with the PI System
across 30 plants.
 800+ users of PI Vision across the company.
The digital transformation journey begins
Seven years ago, Petro Rabigh was facing a
number of data management challenges. Its leg-
er
n team gained access to real-time
The
ure
party
ays.
The power of context
2 November 2021
mand.
eant
acy historian was fraught with availability and
reliability issues, costing teams valuable time
and delaying insights. The historian required
weekly scheduled restarts to ensure availabil-
ity and intermittent failures affected third-party
applications. Recovery time caused application
delays.
In addition to data reliability issues, Petro
Rabigh lacked data quality. Legacy servers had
tag limits, requiring a multi-server setup to meet
current demand. Failures caused gaps in oper-
ations data, which meant teams had to verify
monthly reporting to ensure accuracy. “Because
of the intermittent failures of the system, we had
a lot of gaps in the data,” Jamal said. Operations
data was not contextualised, making it diffi-
cult to find and extract insights. Without access
to timely data or proper context, it was cum-
bersome and time consuming to gain real-time
situational awareness into current asset perfor-
mance. “When you only have something that is so
basic and rudimentary, you don’t see the poten-
tial until you actually get something like the PI
System that gives you a lot of opportunity and
capability,” Jamal said.
In 2010, Petro Rabigh started a large-scale
project that would eventually require its leg-
acy historian to be replaced. The team chose the
PI System as its operations data management
platform. With the help of a system integrator,
Petro Rabigh deployed the PI System in just six
short months. In 2014, Petro Rabigh signed the
Enterprise Agreement (EA).
The power of context
As part of the PI System deployment, the Petro
Rabigh team created a data model in Asset
Framework (AF), the contextu-
alisation layer of the PI System.
The data model created an asset
hierarchy for structuring and
contextualising real-time data.
By moving away from tag-based
monitoring and leveraging the AF
asset hierarchy, the Petro Rabigh
streaming analysis. Currently,
Petro Rabigh is running 80,000-
90,000 near real-time analyses in
AF.
In addition, the data models
in AF laid the right data founda-
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particularly useful for process engineers during the
COVID-19 pandemic.

tion to integrate PI System data into other enter- 04 thePetro

COVID-19 pandemic.
Rabigh: Business Thesereal-time
transformation through mobile moni-
data management

prise systems, including SAP. After testing the PI toring capabilities have democratised insights
Integrator for Business Analytics, Petro Rabigh to management, engineers, and others, giving
determined that ease of integration and minimal teams the visibility they need to work remotely
maintenance needs made this an ideal solution to when necessary. Mobile monitoring was par-
integrate PI System data with SAP. Now, AF runs ticularly useful for process engineers during the
calculations using the defined model, and final COVID-19 pandemic.
values are sent to SAP using the PI Integrator.
Those values are used for reports, workflows, and From reactive to predictive operations
environmental KPIs. Prior to implementing the PI System, Petro
Rabigh used a scheduled maintenance strat-
A 360˚ view into the enterprise egy. Teams followed manufacturer guide-
After its initial PI System rollout, Petro Rabigh lines and performed maintenance based on
deployed PI Vision, a web-based visualisation set time periods rather than actual asset con-
platform for PI System data, across the com- ditions. Without real-time operational intelli-
pany. The PI Vision screens visualised infor- gence into  asset conditions, teams were likely
mation based on the asset hierarchy developed to miss performance anomalies or other red
in AF. The Petro Rabigh team converted 1,700- flags. This  could result in unplanned down-
1,800 DCS graphics into PI Vision displays based time or extra costs associated with unnecessary
on AF templates. Simple PI Vision dashboards maintenance.
now show actionable information in real time, Using the PI System and PI Vision dashboards
including asset health status, flare monitoring, to improve operations data management, Petro
and more. More complex visualisations allow Rabigh moved away from reactive strategies and
engineers to zoom into additional asset layers towards condition-based maintenance. Subject
and perform further analysis. These real-time, matter experts can monitor and visualise condi-
contextualised insights enable teams across the tion equipment in real time using PI Vision and
enterprise to quickly make data-driven decisions receive soft alarms or notifications should per-
about the plant. formance move above or below a set threshold.
By visualising operations data in PI Vision, All PI System notification alarms are parame-
Petro Rabigh eliminated the need to use spread- ter-driven, which means people at various levels
sheets to perform analyses. Team members can of the organisation receive alerts depending on
access PI Vision on the business network or via the severity of the issue.
mobile devices, which enables them to securely By moving away from scheduled maintenance
view operations data and insights away from the and leveraging real-time PI System data, Petro
sensitive process control network. Rabigh is detecting problems sooner, recog-
In addition, process engineers used DCS graph- nising early signs of asset failure, and perform-
ics and other KPI dashboards in PI Vision to ing repairs in advance to avoid unnecessary
monitor processes remotely during the height of shutdowns.

www.digitalrefining.com/article/1002658 November 2021 3

 Case studies Complying with environmental standards
Petro Rabigh
With a solid at a glance
operations data management strat- Petro Rabigh closely monitors environment pro-
egy in place, Petro Rabigh engineers can now cess parameters to ensure compliance with emis-
quickly and easily use the PI System to configure sions and national standards. The team defined a
The downstream
real-time oil and
decision gas industry
support toolsfaces
anda solutions.
number The Enterprisemodel
hierarchical Agreement
in AF(EA) was a critical
specifically part
for environ-
of short and long-term hurdles. Fluctuating oil and of this deployment because it allowed Petro Rabigh
Here are just a few of their successes. mental parameters from the plant. These param-
petrochemicals prices, changing environmental and to scale its PI System to drive value across the
eters include air monitoring (stack, flare, flue
operations regulations, decreasing margins, and organization. Today, the EA enables Petro Rabigh to
A single source of truth for reporting gas, fuel gas, etc.), waste water (cooling tower,
slowed industry growth all put pressure on refineries expand its data-driven culture and accelerate digital
Prior to deploying the PI System, Petro Rabigh blow down water, oil/water separator pits, sump
and petrochemical producers every minute of every transformation.
had no single source of truth for reporting. pits, etc.) and lab data (including ammonia,
day. Add a global pandemic that has forced employees
Analyses were split across numerous spread-
to work remotely – and the pressure only continues
COD, sulphide,
y EA signed turbidity,
in 2014, PI Systemetc.) is sent
is rolled out in from
2015. the
sheets and compliance reports were time con-
to increase. As downstream oil and gas companies
Laboratory Information Management System to
y 300,000 tags/80-90,000 analysis calculations.
suming.
face excessData quality
capacity impacted
and dwindling monthly
profits, digital and the PI System where it will be contextualised in
quarterly reporting
transformation and an
is no longer teams spent
option. hours con-
It’s essential. the model.bpd of crude and 15 million tons of refined
y 400,000
tinually verify reporting accuracy. The system
products and 5calculates
million tonshourly and daily
of petrochemical aver-
products
Seven yearsto
Thanks ago,
thePetro Rabigh understood
PI System and the AFthe critical
data hier- ages in AF using
monitored with thePIPI Analytics. This
System across 30 data
plants.is then
role real-time data management plays in driving
archy, all of Petro Rabigh’s reports are seamless sent to the SAP system using PI Integrator
business transformation.
and centralised. Focused
Standard KPIson are
creating
based a more
on the y 800+
for users ofAnalytics.
Business PI Vision across the event
In the company. the values
agile organization, using real-time operations
AF model, which created consistent benchmarks data to received from the PI System exceed acceptable
increase visibility, and leveraging that data to uncover
for all areas of the operation. Teams can now limits, the defined workflows in SAP are trig-
new efficiencies, the Saudi Arabia-based refining and
confidently extract monthly and quarterly com- gered. This enables Petro Rabigh to take immedi-
integrated petrochemicals company embarked on a Petro Rabigh products are used in such end
pliance reports without spending valuable hours. ate corrective actions.
journey to transform its facility – and the business – products as plastics, detergents, lubricants,
using operations data. Petro Rabigh, a joint venture resins, coolants, anti-freeze, paint, carpets,
Production accounting calculations
between Saudi Aramco and Japan’s Sumitomo
Real-time asset monitoring
rope, clothing, shampoo, auto interiors,
Together, the PI System and AF have trans-
Chemical, was determined to find a solution that
Real-time asset monitoring is critical to ensuring
epoxy glue, insulation, film, fibers, household
formed
would PetroitsRabigh’s
underpin operationalproduction accounting
excellence strategies. that equipment is operating
appliances, packaging, safelypipes
candles, andand
efficiently.
processes.
Petro RabighPI Systemthedata
deployed from as
PI System across the plant
its data As part
manyof theapplications.
other PI System deployment, Petro
is collected,
foundation at aaggregated, andcapacity
400,000-barrel processed in AF. AF
refinery Rabigh opted to make its compressor vibration
quickly
and and easily
integrated gives Petro
petrochemicals Rabigh consistent,
complex. data available to key stakeholders in the organ-
reliable production information that can be easily isation. “They wanted to monitor compressor
analysed and validated – without having to man- health and compressor data as well,” Jamal said.
ually export raw data or perform time-consuming The team pushed vibration data into the PI
Excel calculations. Production summary informa- 02 System to monitor
Petro Rabigh: its compressor
Business transformation fleet
through real-time in real
data management
tion from AF is interfaced to SAP to easily enable time and enable teams to view contextualised
financial reporting, including operational margin data from compressors in PI Vision. Today, the
calculations. main dashboard shows all compressors and

4 November 2021 www.digitalrefining.com/article/1002658

identifies if any compressors are currently una-
vailable or operating outside of set parameters.
Thanks to the AF hierarchy, teams can easily
drill down into specific compressors to investi-
gate further.
Such real-time monitoring quickly became crit-
ical for the team’s day-to-day operations, includ-
ing power supply test and pressure relief valve
monitoring. The PI System enabled teams to
respond faster than ever in the event of a perfor-
mance anomaly.
In addition, real-time asset monitoring also
helped with the creditors reliability test (CRT).
“We set some soft alarms and critical alarms
as well as dashboards to monitor live data,”
Mukadam said. “This proved to be incredibly
important during the critical reliability test.”
Thanks to PI Vision’s visual alarms that changed
depending on levels or urgency, Petro Rabigh
prevented asset failure and passed its CRT.
Monitoring and mitigating flaring activity
Reducing flaring is a high priority for Petro
Rabigh. Not only will flare reduction save the
company money, decreasing hydrocarbon burn-
ing improves sustainability and is good for the
environment. Prior to deploying the PI System,
Petro Rabigh did not monitor flaring in real time,
making it difficult to determine the root cause
and ensure accountability.
To enable real-time monitoring, the team first
created a model in AF to define the hierarchy of
assets. They added more than 150 control val-
ues and used those values to analyse and mon-
itor flaring activity. “Asset Framework helped
us design the hierarchy for the flare model, so
we continuously know how much it is flaring
in real time,” Mukadam said. The results were
displayed in PI Vision, allowing teams to eas-
ily analyse flaring. Teams also received notifi-
cations when flaring occurred, enabling them to
take action.
Now, each area of the operation is responsi-
ble for monitoring its own flaring activity and
the associated costs from them. Management
receives notifications when the cost exceeds a
certain amount per hour, giving them the infor-
mation they need to ask the right questions.
Thanks to the PI System, Petro Rabigh is working
to reduce flaring, which also reduces the associ-
ated expenses and the environmental impact on
company operations.
www.digitalrefining.com/article/1002658
Defining and monitoring critical operating
parameters
Critical operating parameters, or COPs, are mon-
itored attributes that can be used to detect any
deviations from standard operating conditions.
Deviations can potentially offer an early indi-
cation of a developing problem. These COPs are
critical to ensuring product quality and profita-
bility. Asset parameters operate within the design
limits to ensure availability and that plant equip-
ment is continually operating correctly. COPs are
critical, which is why Petro Rabigh uses the PI
System to monitor them in real time.
The team configured a COP model in AF, so
they could monitor parameters on a daily basis.
The AF model calculates KPIs, including COP
exceedance count and accumulated exceedance
time, 24 hours per day for the past seven days.
These calculated KPIs are then visualised in PI
Vision dashboards, giving teams quick and easy
access to critical information. Operations person-
nel can use PI Vision to view a plant-level sum-
mary and details of all COPs that have exceeded
set parameters.
Alleviating pressure valves in real time
There are many high-pressure vessels inside the
Petro Rabigh process plant. These vessels are
equipped with pressure relief valves (PRV) that
passively release pressure if it exceeds set param-
eters. When they did operate, they were diffi-
cult to monitor, and the company lacked data for
future analysis. This hindered any subsequent
investigations that sought to identify the root
cause.
Using the PI System, Petro Rabigh developed a
pressure relief valve monitoring system. The sys-
tem uses predefined pressure reference setpoints.
These setpoints are modelled in AF, and results
are visualised in PI Vision dashboards. Once a
PRV is activated, it is reported and can be visual-
ised in existing plant KPI dashboards.
These PI Vision dashboards enable operations
and other users to monitor all activated PRVs
and take required corrective actions to main-
tain safe operations. The dashboards provide the
details, such as PRV name, set pressure, pressure
reference, and site location for each PRV that is
being actively monitored by the plant. Operations
teams can easily see active valves using high-
lighted displays that also show the active time in
hours. Now, teams within each individual depart-
November 2021 5
 ment have access to PI Vision dashboards, ena-
bling them to quickly and easily monitor active
pressure valves in real time.
Secure data sharing using PI Cloud Connect
Petro Rabigh often enlists third-party experts,
such as manufacturers and licensors, to analyse
asset performance. Licensors often use proprie-
tary models and information to perform analysis.
These third-party companies must have access
to Petro Rabigh’s asset data to run analyses. PI
Cloud Connect quickly and easily enables Petro
Rabigh to share the real-time process data in the
PI System with licensors.
Models for the different process units are cre-
ated in AF, and these models send configured
process data to the licensor through PI Cloud
Connect. Now, Petro Rabigh shares real-time
data for its Naphtha, Aromatics, a-Butyl, EPR
processes with licensors so they can moni-
tor numerous areas of the plant. Licensors can
now monitor Petro Rabigh’s reactor feed heat-
ers, stripper reboilers, preheaters, inter-heaters,
column monitoring, clay treaters, and feed and
effluent heat exchangers.
This in-depth data sharing not only harnesses
third-party expertise to fix issues, PI Cloud
Connect enables Petro Rabigh to get expert
knowledge about the efficiency and health of its
process critical equipment. This includes pumps,
compressors, heat exchangers, and more. This
time-series process data is further used by the
licensor to calculate proprietary KPIs. Licensors
send calculated KPIs back to Petro Rabigh
through the licensor cloud system. This enables
Petro Rabigh’s process engineers and licensors
to collaborate and respond quickly in the event of
any operational changes.
In addition, Petro Rabigh is now conduct-
ing a proof-of-concept using PI Cloud Connect
for an advanced digital twin concept for the
Naphtha continuous catalytic reforming (CCR)
unit. Process data, including reformer, separa-
tor, drum, and bottom pumps, is shared with the
licensor through PI Cloud Connect.
Enterprise Agreement (EA) program
Upon deployment, customers immediately real-
ise the value of the PI System. This often leads to
6 November 2021
organisations spreading data collection, point by
point, from one installation to the next. However,
while each site gains value, companies are miss-
ing the opportunity to deploy the PI System
strategically across the entire organisation. The
deluge of IoT data from the rapidly growing num-
ber of sensors, tag pricing for each new installa-
tion, and the need for consistent data modelling
often become logistical challenges, posing barri-
ers to expansion and strategic growth.
While many organisations unroll the PI System
incrementally, more and more customers are
choosing to deploy enterprise-wide with the
Enterprise Agreement (EA) program. With an
EA, your company can collect and visualise all
operations data and strategically integrate IT and
business data for optimal vision and value reali-
sation. The result is an accelerated and more effi-
cient path to success.
The EA removes the burden of counting
licenses, minimises complicated deployments
and ad-hoc practices, and delivers advisory ser-
vices for a successful enterprise deployment of
the PI System.
Today, over 175 PI System customers have
taken advantage of the EA program to accelerate
strategic vision and deliver business transforma-
tions. Through an EA partnership, our custom-
ers mitigate technical and business risk while
future-proofing their companies to take advan-
tage of change.
EA delivers a program that is designed to:
 Accelerate the value and business impact of
the PI System.
 Encourage people to capture more data.
 Reduce and eliminate pricing penalties and
licensing headaches.
 Minimise the cost of deployment and total cost
of ownership.
 Deliver improved scalability and reliability for
the future.
LINKS
More articles from: OSIsoft
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Instrumentation, Automation and Process Control
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