Hydrocarbon Processing - February 2022 - 34

Digital Technologies
checks, with the option to alert non-paying customers that their
payments are due. Additionally, bots can automatically upload
invoices to the cloud, enable smart accruals from spreadsheet to
accounting system, and create sales inquiries via screen scraping.
To improve vessel and/or berthing planning. Having realtime
visibility into transportation vessels' current and planned
locations is a must. Instead of creating vessel or berthing plans
based on details from a haphazard collection of emails and information
from multiple sources-tanker plan, notice of readiness,
cargo loading completion date and time, bill of lading, expected
time of berthing at port, expected time of sailing off at a discharge
port and all the other moving parts-bots can streamline
the process through automation, while also ensuring real-time
updates are made to tanker plan reports. The result is a sharp
reduction in manual effort, a seamless vessel planning process
and significantly less pre-berthing time. FIG. 2 shows how this
process might unfold with multiple bots on the job.
Ultimately, all the moves these bots make behind the scenes,
i.e., planning, scheduling or some other aspect of an operation,
contribute to building a more efficient and intelligent downstream
enterprise.
Taking advantage of RPA is merely a matter of identifying the
manual activities across the business that could be automated-
there likely are many-then finding an RPA provider with the
right mix of pre-built automations that can be readily integrated
into the enterprise resource planning system. Once those boxes
are checked, it is time to sit back and watch your bots in action.
ALEX ANDRADE is a Principal Director in Accenture Oil and Gas
Practice based in Houston. Mr. Andrade focuses on innovation as
he advises energy clients on strategies and initiatives to improve
operational and commercial performance. With more than
25 yr of consulting experience, he has worked both domestically
and internationally in the downstream and upstream sectors.
FIG. 2. RPA automation for vessel planning. Source: Prasanth
Padmanabhan Menon of SAP.
STEPHANE LAUZON is a Senior Director with SAP's global oil,
gas and energy industry business unit. With 25 yr in the oil, gas,
energy and process industries, Mr. Lauzon focuses on digital
innovation and solutions for customers' business and
operational initiatives.
LIVE WEBCAST
Wednesday, Feb 23, 2022 | 10 a.m. CST / 4 p.m. UTC
Dan Wispinski
Standard Methods Development
Manager
VUV Analytics
Characterization of hydrocarbon streams, including speciation and quantitation, has
traditionally been accomplished using Detailed Hydrocarbon Analysis, or DHA, by GC-FID.
Requiring long run times, very good chromatographic separation, signifi cant manual review of
data, and specialized resources; traditional DHA has changed little since it was fi rst introduced
over 40 years ago.
George Hoekstra
President
Hoekstra Trading, LLC
Verifi ed Hydrocarbon Analysis™ is a modern approach to traditional DHA using Gas
Chromatography (GC)- Vacuum Ultraviolet Spectroscopy (VUV) and spectral validation
to characterize complex hydrocarbon streams - accurately, without the need for human
intervention, and in a fraction of the time of traditional DHA.
This presentation will describe VHA, technology and methodology, and provide relevant
examples including of how VHA can be implemented by refi nery operations to optimize FCC
and Alkylation unit processes.
Register for Free:
HydrocarbonProcessing.com/Webcasts
Lee Nichols
Editor-in-Chief/Associate Publisher
Hydrocarbon Processing
34 FEBRUARY 2022 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Process Optimization using Verifi ed Hydrocarbon Analysis

http://www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/Webcasts

Hydrocarbon Processing - February 2022

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