Apex Optimisation - Leading Dynamic Control Evolution

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zenith awards

The 2011 PACE Magazine Zenith Awards ceremony was held in Sydney on 16th June with over 220 attendees from the Australian and New Zealand Process Automation Industry. The competition was tough with over 60 project entries across 8 industry categories with a growing emphasis on innovation and plant efficiency improvements. Our 2010 LNG APC project with Woodside Energy won the Oil, Gas and Hydrocarbons category in addition to the Overall Project of the Year Award. This is the second time that we have won the Overall Project of the Year Award for a Woodside Energy APC Project and this emphasises the value of our achievements with this established LNG producer.

Left to Right: Ian Johnston (Consultant, Apex Optimisation), Paul Kjellgren (Senior Process Control Engineer, Woodside Energy) and Andrew Taylor (Principal Consultant, Apex Optimisation) receive the Overall Project of the Year trophy from Kevin Gomez (Editor, PACE Magazine).

The project pursued some substantial APC design evolution under a challenging schedule to deliver some outstanding benefits to the plant. Here is what the judges had to say about our entry: “Advanced Process Control was successfully and appropriately employed to deliver sustained improvement in plant profitability and operability in a cost effective manner. This excellent implementation of Advanced Process Control has rewarded the business with exceptional returns.”

See more detail on the nature of this project entry here.

Find out more about the Zenith Awards and the other Finalists here.

Left to Right: Dirk Kuiper (President, IICA and General Manager, AMS Instrumentation & Calibration) presents the Oil, Gas and Hydrocarbons category trophy to Paul Kjellgren (Senior Process Control Engineer, Woodside Energy) and Andrew Taylor (Principal Consultant, Apex Optimisation).

After a break in the habit last year (not enough time to write up projects!), we tackled the 2011 PACE magazine Zenith Awards with gusto again this year with two entries. Our joint entry with Woodside Energy highlights the benefits realised from our APC implementation on their two larger LNG trains and this project is a finalist in the Oil, Gas and Hydrocarbons category. In the Mining and Minerals category, our Dynamic Optimiser for Precipitation Solids Control entry which describes the excellent payback delivered in an Alumina Refinery is also a finalist.

This year we break new ground with PACE magazine Zenith Award finalist entries in both the Oil, Gas and Hydrocarbons category and the Mining, Minerals and Exploration category. Our joint entry with Santos Limited entitled "Port Bonython Advanced Process Control Project" won the Oil and Gas category. This project was particularly challenging on a number of fronts (in particular, the need to interface between systems which were multiple decades apart in age) and the benefits delivered were exceptional in terms of profitability improvement and reduced environmental footprint.

Andrew Taylor (Apex Optimisation) and Daniel Duffy (Santos) accepting the Oil, Gas and Hydrocarbons category award from category sponsor Corrie van Rensburg (Rockwell Automation).

Read the PACE Magazine Zenith Award winners announcement here.

Our Mining and Minerals entry entitled "Precipitation Tanks – MPC Magic" was recognised as a exceptional project by achieving finalist status. This innovative Multivariable Predictive Control project at Worsley Alumina demonstrated some unique APC design expertise and a fast track approach to quickly solving an operations issue without sacrificing any project quality or siginifcant value.

For the third consecutive year, our entry in the Oil, Gas and Hydrocarbons category of the PACE magazine Zenith Awards has been selected as a finalist. This year we submitted a joint entry with Santos entitled "Moomba Gas Plant Throughput Maximisation". Our entry describes the development of a suite of Multivariable Predictive Control applications designed to optimise the pressure profile through the plant and increase sales gas production.

We are delighted with the achievement of again being a finalist and the recognition by the judges of the substantial value delivered by these advanced process control improvements (that is, tangible production improvement without the need for any hardware modifications or plant interruption). Read our 2008 PACE Magazine Zenith Award Submission "Moomba Gas Plant Throughput Maximisation" here.

PSE Enjoys More Success at the 2007 Zenith Awards

The joint Woodside Energy and ProSys Engineering submission entitled "Condensate Stabiliser MPC Revamp" is named a finalist in the Oil, Gas and Hydrocarbons category. This is the second year running that a joint Woodside - PSE entry has made the finals and this highlights the substantial value delivered by these process control improvements.

Although this was not the winning entry, we are very proud of the achievement of again being a finalist and the recognition by the judges of the positive project results. Read the complete 2007 PACE Magazine Zenith Award Submission "Condensate Stabiliser MPC Revamp".

ProSys Engineering wins at the 2006 PACE magazine Zenith Awards held at the Sydney Opera House on 31st May! Both the 'Oil, Gas and Hydrocarbons' category and Overall Project of the Year Awards were presented to ProSys Engineering and Woodside Energy for the project entitled "LPG Fractionation Unit Advanced Control Revamp".

Read what the judges had to say about this winning entry.

Read the complete 2006 PACE Magazine Zenith Award Submission "LPG Fractionation Unit Advanced Control Revamp".

Sarah Perkins and Andrew Taylor with the Oil, Gas & Hydrocarbons Category and Project of the Year Awards.