Modeling and Economic Optimization of an Upstream Oil & Gas Processing Plant

Abstract

This thesis considers the application of a plantwide economic optimization methodology for an upstream oil and gas processing plant. A dynamic model consisting of typical components from an upstream oil/gas plant is developed to be used for optimization and control purposes. The development process follows a grey box modeling approach and aim to incorporate the main transients present in a oil/gas processing facility while maintaining a reasonable computational time. The model is implemented in MATLAB/Simulink.

The second half of the thesis concern the economic optimization of the benchmark problem. An optimization scheme governed by an economic objective for overall profit maximization of the plant is formulated. The optimization constraints is established from an optimization-relevant model derived using a steady state gain matrix linearization approach. The optimization problem is incorporated in the control system of the plant and evaluated through several simulation scenarios. The simulation results reveal that the optimization solution is mainly governed by the oil revenue, and that the optimal solution therefor remain constant for a large range of process and market conditions. However, alternative scenarios where the gas revenue is of more valued result in a 0.15 percent increase in the overall profit return of the plant when the operating region of the plant is updated according to the optimization solution.