Presented with Western Gas Resources (Now Anadarko) 2006 National GPA Meeting
James Jones eSimulation, Inc. Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
Scott Heiner and Dawayne Palmer Western Gas Resources, Inc. Granger, Wyoming, U.S.A.
ABSTRACT
Western Gas Resources, Inc. (WGR) has embarked on a business improvement initiative at the Granger, WY processing asset. The initiative includes on-line model-based process optimization provided by eSimulation Inc. The Granger plant was chosen for optimization because of its size and complexity. The plant processes almost 500 MMSCFD of gas using two Cryogenic processing units and two Refrigeration units. NGLs are fractionated to produce Ethane, Propane, Isobutane, N-Butane and Gasoline products for rack sales and excess product is sold as y-grade. The plant is staffed 24 hours per day.
The plant model was developed using the eSimOptimizerSM web-based process optimization system. The model includes a rigorous chemical engineering model of the process as well as a detailed commercial model of the gas contracts associated with plant feeds. eSimOptimizerSM continually collects and averages relevant process data. Every 3 hours, the data is used to update equipment performance tuning factors and optimize plant operating targets based on the latest product and residue pricing. The results are presented to the operators via simple tabular web pages. The results include both optimization target recommendations and the predicted economic impact of the changes.
This paper will describe the implementation and results of the eSimOptimizerSM project at the Granger plant.