Oil and Gas - ControlSoft

Eliminate the impact of outside disturbances on your production processes.

Operate Safely, Reliably and Efficiently Near the Capacity Limits of Your Plant

Constantly changing market dynamics and operational challenges make it difficult for Oil and Gas companies to meet their business and performance goals. ControlSoft can help you implement real-time plant performance measures that will improve your operational efficiencies. From the reservoir to production, through transmission and gas processing, we can help you safely optimize operations and maximize production, while making the most efficient use of your resources.

Experience and a Proven Track Record

We have implemented oil and gas solutions worldwide with expertise in:

Midstream

pipelines

gas plants

gas treating units

Downstream

refining

The ControlSoft Difference

We have a team of dedicated project and support engineers with industry experience who provide a full range of project services and deliver the best process consistency across all your plants. No matter how big or small your project is, we have scalable solutions to fit your needs. Combine these solutions with our ability to understand your applications and get results that will help you remain competitive.

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Case Studies

Oil and Gas Case Studies

Our flexible control solutions can help you reduce your energy consumption and make better use of the data you collect. See how we’ve applied advanced control in oil and gas applications to increase efficiency and productivity.

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Advanced Controls in Midstream Operations

Gas compression

Minimize the impact of disturbances caused by events such as large slugs of liquid. Reduce the number of compressor trips.
Reduce the fuel consumption of compressors by more effective capacity controls. Minimize recycle volumes.
Intelligent loading of pockets and unloaders. Reduce the disturbances caused by these actions.

Sweetening and dehydration of gas

Reliably produce on-spec product by improving the control of the amine regenerator. Minimize fouling and corrosion in the amine process.
Operate process chillers at the optimum levels of refrigerants.

Hot oil or steam heating systems

Isolate heat disturbances and reduce their ability to spread throughout the entire operation.
Maximize the consumption of sources of waste heat thereby minimizing the heat requirements from “more expensive” heat sources.

Distillation of natural gas liquids

Minimize energy costs due to over-processing which is necessitated by sloppy controls. Run closer to the limits of the tower safely and more reliably by minimizing the variability in the controlled variables.
More effectively compensate for the dead time caused by analytical equipment. Use the results of the analyzers to update mathematical models of stream composition.
Maximize the production of higher valued components at the expense of lower-valued ones.
Ensure that towers operate near maximum capacity while respecting flooding constraints.

Extraction of natural gas liquids

Maximize recovery of natural gas liquids and more consistent product quality of the gas with model-based control of cryogenic demethanizers.
Minimize disturbances to deethanizer operations caused by disturbances in feed flow and composition.
Improve coordinated control over turbo-expanders and recompression equipment minimize the close-coupling of these control loops and encourage operators to run these loops in Automatic instead of Manual.

Advanced Controls in Downstream Operations

Heavy oil fractionators

Use empirically developed models for predicting properties of sidestreams. Update models with real-time analytical data.
Calculate liquid/vapor traffic in the columns for use in flooding prediction calculations.
Optimal use of pumparound systems to maximize heat recovery while providing control of liquid/vapor traffic in the column.
Maximize column throughput by providing more stable control allowing operators to run closer to operational limits of the tower.

Light ends fractionation

Minimize energy costs due to over-processing which is necessitated by sloppy controls. Run closer to the limits of the tower safely and more reliably by minimizing the variability in the controlled variables.
More effectively compensate for the dead time caused by analytical equipment. Use the results of the analyzers to update mathematical models of stream composition.
Maximize the production of higher valued components at the expense of lower-valued ones.
Ensure that towers operate near maximum capacity while respecting flooding constraints.

Catalytic reactions

Predict conversion rates and selectivity of various catalytic reactions based on empirical models. Update the models based on actual results.
Use model-predictive control to coordinate all variables that affect reaction rates in order to achieve the desired rates at the lowest cost.

Gasoline blending

Predict properties of gasoline based on property models of the various blended components. Update the models based on actual property values from analytical equipment.
Minimize “octane giveaway” by improving property control allowing operation closer to specification.
Pacing algorithms to control overall production at rates in line with the production rate of the lowest volume component.

Refinery-wide steam systems

Use advanced control with power boilers and CO boilers:
- Optimal fuel-air ratio control
- Reliable operation of air preheaters
Minimize blowdown and pressure letdown systems by producing the proper amounts of various steam levels. Predict the steam requirements for the entire refinery operation.