02-05-2019

Eastham Refinery selects terminal automation solution from Emerson

Integrated solution combines logistics management and distributed control systems to drive greater uptime and reduce operating costs to help the UK’s largest bitumen operation achieve Top Quartile performance
 
Eastham Refinery Ltd., located on the Wirral Peninsula in the UK, selected Emerson to design and implement its terminal automation system to cost-effectively enhance system reliability and availability for bitumen loading operations at the refinery’s Eastham Terminal. The scalable, enterprise-level midstream logistics management solution based on Emerson’s TerminalManager™ software and DeltaV™ distributed control system (DCS) is helping the terminal achieve its goals of digitally transforming its operations and accelerating on a path toward Top Quartile performance, achieving operational and capital performance within the top 25 percent of peer companies.
 
“We have transformed how we operate with Emerson’s solution,” said Doug Watt, senior process engineer of Eastham Refinery Ltd. “Our previous system resulted in many operator interventions on a daily basis. Today, there are practically zero interventions due to the reliability of our new system, leading to a significant reduction in downtime and maintenance costs. The accuracy and performance of Emerson’s solution have also helped us maximise tanker load quantities and minimise the potential for safety incidents. As a result, loading delays that were commonplace are no longer a burden and our customer service levels have significantly improved.”
 
“Operational challenges are common in terminals and lead to losses in productivity and profitability,” said Pedro D’Ascola, vice president and general manager for remote automation technologies at Emerson. “Addressing critical system and asset availability issues requires modernisation, and our integrated solution is enabling optimisation at the Eastham site. Operators can now access real-time inventory levels and other operational data on demand to minimise costly errors and delays.”
 
Eastham Terminal is an example of how Emerson helps customers identify operational challenges to develop a highly effective automation strategy that can lead to Top Quartile performance. By performing in the top 25 percent of their peers, terminals can improve shareholder value through asset optimisation and greater operational efficiencies.