Saudi Aramco Operator Energy Efficiency Practitioner Course

The First Operator Energy Efficiency Practitioner Certification and Training Course was recently held at the Shedgum Gas Plant in Saudi Arabia for the first 25 candidates on November 8-12, 2015.  The OEEP Course is an AEE Customized Training offering for operators of the Aramco Natural Gas Plants.  The Shedgum plant is one of Aramco’s largest facilities and processes approximately 2.5 BCF per day of Natural Gas into both “Sales Gas” as well as the complete family of Natural Gas Liquids (NGL’s). It is outfitted with a wide variety of energy consuming equipment and systems including steam boilers, process heaters and thermal oxidizers, CHP gas combustion turbines, process refrigeration systems and water treatment operations.

This customized course included the typical classroom sessions and, in what is unique to the AEE Customized Courses, field interaction exercises with the Students.  After two days of classroom training, the field work was begun.  In these field sessions, students were first broken into teams of five and tasked with the challenge of finding energy waste using auditing instruments provided by the AEE instructors.  In this part of the field work the instructors interactively worked with the teams to help identify and quantify the energy opportunities discovered.

Uniquely, the opportunity to receive “hands-on training” in the use of various energy audit instruments as offered in these customized courses, was welcomed by the students as a valuable learning experience.

Returning to the classrooms, the various teams were required to share their discoveries and then the instructors led the teams thru the necessary calculations to determine the scope of the energy opportunities discovered and the economic benefit that may be obtained. 

What rapidly becomes apparent is how fully engaged the students become in the learning process as they work together with their teams and with the Instructors to perform the calculations and compete with the other teams.  Student comments unanimously welcome the combination of supervised field training with interactive classroom work which really makes it understandable.   
The results of the various teams were then tabulated and summarized for the management team at Shedgum.  The results were absolutely incredible. The total of the findings from the first day of field discovery represented a savings opportunity of over $304,000 annually which included the savings of 6,260,000 of processed and demineralized water.  The students then presented a “check” in the amount of $304,000 to Plant Management as shown in the photo below.

Additional training and field work followed which identified further savings beyond the initial discovery and which is not included in the $304,000 “check”.  Management was pleased with the results and emphasized how important is was for the students to return to their home plants and continue the good work.

Aramco recognizes the need for Energy Conservation and Management at all levels and perceives this training as providing the opportunity to leverage this experience as the students return to their home plants and share what they learned.