Oryx Gtl Data Integration And Automation System For 21st Century Environmental Reporting

Abstract

ORYX GTL is an environmentally responsible company committed to creating an efficient, diversified energy business, developing its employees, and adding value to Qatar's natural resources. ORYX GTL considers the monitoring and reporting consistent environmental data and setting accurate targets is a critical component to increase the operational efficiency on sustainable manner. Monitoring key metrics such as air emissions, criteria pollutants, flaring and energy can provide an opportunity to reduce the environmental impacts and cost savings. ORYX GTL has adopted a state-of-art information technology (IT) solution to enhance the data handling process in support of the company's environmental performance reports such as the greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and reporting (A&R) program required by Qatar Petroleum (QP). The automated system to report environmental data is proven to be more efficient and accurate which also increases consistency & requires fewer resources to report the data in a reliable manner. The system selected by ORYX GTL is the Data Integration and Automation (DIA) system designed developed by Trinity Consultants on the Microsoft® .net platform. The objective of this paper is to share the challenges and experience during the design, develop and implement this advanced DIA system for critical environmental reporting functions at ORYX GTL as a part of the company's commitment to improve environmental performance. The DIA application can be used as the central data storage/handling system for all environmental data reporting. The DIA software includes several functions built on a state-of-art IT platform to achieve near real-time environmental monitoring, performance tracking, and reporting. The key functions include: -Hourly data retrieval, aggregation, validation, and reconciliation from the plant process historian on a pre-defined schedule. The data retrieved from the process historian may include data such as hourly fuel usage and continuous emission monitoring data, and sampling data collected on routine basis. -Powerful calculation engine allows user to build complex emission calculation equations. Calculated results are stored in the database for use in reporting. In addition to user specified equations, the system also includes a complete calculation module to handle complex calculations for tank emissions. -Through the web interface of the DIA, users can manage system reporting entity hierarchy and user security, set up tags/sources, create manual data entries, create/modify equations, and execute emission reports. The DIA application sends email notifications of errors of tag data and calculation results at user specified intervals. Email recipients can provide timely response to the system with proper root causes and corrective actions. -Custom reports can be designed to generate regulatory reports in the format required by QP or the Qatar Ministry of Environment. The DIA system has significantly enhanced the quality of ORYX GTL's environmental reporting by reducing human interactions required for process data extraction, validation, reconciliation, calculations, and reporting. ORYX GTL's proactive approach to implement and integrate DIA system provided the opportunity to improve reporting functions and stakeholder & regulator satisfaction as well as it ensures the principles of environmental data reporting such as complete, consistent, transparent and accurate.