OSPAS Implementation of a Real-Time Predictive Virtual Model (SMART) for Master Gas System Network
Authors: Bugubaia Abdulrahman , AlHomaid Fahad , Jain Arun , Algahtani Bassam , Gunther R. Ken 
Published: November 2024

As part of the Saudi Aramco Digitalization initiative, SMART (Sales Gas Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Tool), a digital twin of the Master Gas System (MGS) pipeline network was deployed to provide operational and maintenance insights, meet delivery agreements, predict survival times, and load forecasting. This paper shares the process of building the virtual model, tuning, validation, testing and results. In addition, several major challenges faced during the deployment and resolutions shall be discussed.

At its core, Sales Gas Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Tool (SMART) model provides real-time monitoring and detailed analytics of the hydrocarbon network. By continuously tracking key parameters such as flow rates, pressure, and temperature, the model offers valuable insights into the health and performance of the system. One of the critical functions of the SMART model is to calculate and forecast hydrocarbon system survival time. This feature enables operators to predict the remaining operational life of system components, thus facilitating timely maintenance and reducing the risk of unexpected failures.

The Sales Gas Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Tool (SMART) model has been developed to optimize the monitoring and management of sales gas production and distribution. By leveraging advanced data analytics and real-time monitoring, the Sales Gas Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Tool (SMART) model provides comprehensive insights into gas flow, production rates, and system performance as illustrated above.

The implementation of the Sales Gas Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Tool (SMART) model has proven to be highly effective in enhancing operational efficiency and decision-making processes. It has enabled proactive management of sales gas network by accurately identifying several useful features, and optimizing the Master Gas System network. The model's robust analytics capabilities have also facilitated quick identification and resolution of activities across the Master Gas System, enhancing the survival time and ensuring consistent sales gas supply and demand.

Overall, Sales Gas Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Tool (SMART) offers the stability to the upstream operating facilities by predicting the system performance with the Look-ahead model where the necessary measures will be taken in advance to maintain the system at healthy profile. Plus, this model has great opportunities of generating value creation as stated through the optimization of Booster Compressors energy, Providing a Survival-Time Analysis for the customers, Planning the Scraping Activities, and effective attendance to major shutdown of facilities request.

SMART has shown great potential in having the ability to provide a highly accurate real-time digital twin of the large and vast pipeline network, which can be seen from the below graph of field measured pressure locations versus model predicted values. The tool is now able to predict the actual survival time of the sales gas pipeline network giving us the ability to better optimize the operations. The consistency of the digital twin is seen to be great for this scale of deployment, and additional tuning.