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Optimizing Shale Oil Shutdown

The document discusses the planned maintenance shutdown of Distillation Unit 5 (DU5) at Shale Oil Company's manufacturing complex. DU5 must be shut down every 3.5 years for cleaning, inspection, and repairs to avoid breakdowns and efficiency losses. Proper planning of the shutdown is critical to minimize production losses, as DU5's shutdown severely impacts other operating units. Shale Oil uses PERT to plan and control the shutdown activities, which includes 29 tasks with estimated time ranges to complete the maintenance.

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162 views2 pages

Optimizing Shale Oil Shutdown

The document discusses the planned maintenance shutdown of Distillation Unit 5 (DU5) at Shale Oil Company's manufacturing complex. DU5 must be shut down every 3.5 years for cleaning, inspection, and repairs to avoid breakdowns and efficiency losses. Proper planning of the shutdown is critical to minimize production losses, as DU5's shutdown severely impacts other operating units. Shale Oil uses PERT to plan and control the shutdown activities, which includes 29 tasks with estimated time ranges to complete the maintenance.

Uploaded by

john
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Shale Oil Company

Internet Case Study: Shale Oil Company

The Shale Oil Company contains several operating units that comprise its
Aston, Ohio, manufacturing complex. These units process the crude oil that
is pumped through and transform it into a multitude of hydrocarbon
products. The units run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and must be
shut down for maintenance on a pre-determined schedule. One such unit is
Distillation Unit No. 5, or DU5. Studies have shown that DU5 can operate
only 3.5 years without major equipment breakdowns and excessive loss of
efficiency. Therefore, DU5 is shut down every 3.5 years for cleaning,
inspection, and repairs.

DU5 is the only distillation unit for crude oil in the Aston complex, and its
shut down severely affects all other operating units. Some of the production
can be compensated by Shale refineries in other locations, but the rest must
be processed before the shutdown and stored. Without proper planning, a
nationwide shortage of Shale gasoline could occur. The timing of DU5's
shutdown is critical, and the length of time the unit is down must be kept to
a minimum to limit production loss. Shale uses PERT as a planning and
controlling tool to minimize shut-down time. The preventive maintenance for
DU5 is as follows.

  Time Estimates    
(days)
     

Activities Opt Most Pess   Pred(s)


Likely

1. Circulate wash water throughout 1 2 2.5   -


unit
2. Install blinds 1.5 2 2.5   1
3. Open and clean vessels and 2 3 4   2
columns
4. Open and clean heat exchangers, 1 2 3   2
remove tube bundles
5. Open and clean furnaces 1 2 4   2
6. Open and clean mechanical 2 2.5 3   2
equipment
7. Inspect instrumentation 2 4 5   2
8. Inspect vessels and columns 1 2 3   3
9. Inspect heat exchanger shells 1 1.5 2   4
10. Inspect tube bundles 1 1.5 2   4
11. Inspect furnaces 2 2.5 3   5
12. Retube furnaces 15 20 30   5
13. Inspect mechanical equipment 1 1.5 2   6
14. Install new pump mechanical 3 5 8   6
seals
15. Repair instrumentation 3 8 15   7
16. Repair vessels and columns 14 21 28   8
17. Repair heat exchanger shells 1 5 10   9
18. Repair tube bundles, retube 2 5 10   10
19. Repair furnaces 5 10 20   11
20. Repair mechanical equipment 10 15 25   13
21. Test and close vessels and 4 5 8   16
columns
22. Install tube bundles into heat 1 2 3   18
exchanger shells
23. Test and close heat exchangers 1 2 2.5   17, 22
24. Test and close furnaces 1 2 3   12, 19
25. Test and close mechanical 1 2 3   14, 20
equipment
26. Test instrumentation 2 4 6   15
27. Pull blinds 1.5 2 2.5   21, 23,
24, 25
28. Purge all equipment with steam 1 3 5   27
29. Start up unit 3 5 10   28

1. Determine the expected shutdown time and the probability the


shutdown can be completed one day, two days, three days, four
days, five days, six days, or seven days earlier?
2. Shale Oil is considering increasing the budget to shorten the
shutdown. How do you suggest the company proceed?

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