SIPCHEM Uses Asset Performance Management Integrity to Optimize Inspection Efficiency & Reduce Inspection Tasks

Established in 1999, SIPCHEM is one of the leading and most consistently growing petrochemical companies in the world. With assets worth $6.3 billion, SIPCHEM produces and delivers over 15 chemical products to more than 500 global customers in over 100 countries — all of which are used to improve lives through end products ranging from healthcare goods to modern technology, including smartphones. One of the major milestones in the SIPCHEM journey (illustration below) has been the merger of Saudi International Petrochemical Company and Sahara Petrochemical Company in 2018 to form a stronger national entity.

SIPCHEM’s business strategy is fully aligned with Saudi Vision 2030 which is focused on social, economic, and cultural diversification in the region. Additionally, Saudi Vision 2030 supports a net zero future by 2060, in part through deploying innovative solutions such as the Circular Carbon Economy (CCE) and increasing renewables for energy. SIPCHEM is also recognized as one of the top 100 companies in Saudi Arabia under the $1.3 trillion Shareek program that was designed to increase private sector investments and GDP contribution as per the Vision 2030 goals.

Aligned with SIPCHEM’s leadership vision of digital excellence and smart plants, Asset Performance Management (APM) software provides data-driven strategies for risk mitigation, failure prediction, and inspection optimization. Some of the key project highlights include:

A Need for Enhanced Risk Management and Inspection Strategies

Prior to deploying the APM Integrity application on-premises, SIPCHEM encountered the following challenges:

Unlocking Data-Driven Decision-Making through GE Vernova’s APM Integrity Software

Throughout 2020–2021, SIPCHEM upgraded to APM V4.3 with a key focus on the APM Integrity application that includes: (i) Quantitative Risk-Based Inspection (RBI), (ii) Inspection Management, (iii) Thickness Monitoring, and (iv) CMMS-APM integration.

To achieve operational excellence, SIPCHEM followed the below:x

RBI 581 Methodology to Optimize Inspections

Utilizing RBI quantitative methodology (RBI 581) provides more accuracy for risk identification and mitigation. Additionally, it sets the foundation for subsequent inspection interventions in a way that maintains an efficient balance between risks and rewards. While the inspection for some components will be frequent and more detailed (to precisely define the state of deterioration), other inspections could have their intervals extended, and less rigorous scopes as per the calculated risk from RBI.

SIPCHEM implemented RBI 581 capabilities to justify, through risk assessment, that more rigorous inspections with less frequency successfully mitigates Safety, Health, and Environment (SHE) risks. SIPCHEM has completed this assessment in four plants so far, including approximately 2,000 pieces of equipment and piping circuits. Benefits of this process included:

Single Integrated View for Operational Visibility

SIPCHEM unified the asset register by merging two separate asset portfolios into one master asset register. Additionally, with GE Vernova’s APM Integrity application, SIPCHEM had an integrated data management system for mechanical integrity — a combination of historical inspection reports and risk-based inspection data.

RBI Data Migration to Quicken Time-to-Value

SIPCHEM migrated its legacy RBI data using APM’s data ingestion and mass-loading capabilities. This accelerated time-to-value, facilitated quicker decision-making influenced by RBI 581 analyses outcomes, and improved confidence levels for inspection intervention. Furthermore, the data migration also made the inspection history available. This provided a seamless integration with the RBI analysis to consider the credit of the past inspections and establish a factual-based damage state of the assets. Risk analysis thus became more realistic and relevant.

The Next Frontier: Integrity Operating Windows (IOWs)

For certain equipment, it’s difficult to assess risk and the probability of detecting potential damages is not only dependent on asset inspection. SIPCHEM tackled this challenge by putting a comprehensive plan to integrate process historians into APM to have more visibility into those risks via process or operating conditions and their effect on potential damage mechanisms. These are commonly referred to as Integrity Operating Windows (IOWs).

SIPCHEM’s IOW program aims for inspection planning efforts to be more dynamic and to account for changing process conditions and current equipment conditions. This formed the need for a proactive online monitoring system that included high levels of communication, based on real-time information that comes from process historians.

Efficiency Gains Across the Inspection Process

Utilizing the RBI 581 results, SIPCHEM has achieved an effective and cost-efficient risk management plan via inspection. Listed in the below table are the RBI studies and records that have been completed in four plants — a great illustration of the effort and achievement of the SIPCHEM team to get their desired value from the APM Integrity application.

Additionally, the business value and outcomes that have been achieved by utilizing APM RBI 581 for the 10-year plan period include:

Finally, the inspection team utilized the APM Inspection Management module to record the inspection history — increasing confidence in the Risk Based Inspection analyses. Comparing pre-/post-implementation metrics, the number of historical inspection reports before 2020 was 2,459 compared to 5,415 after — a 220% increase.

Upgrading to APM V5

To sustain results and further enhance SIPCHEM’s Mechanical Integrity program, GE Vernova’s APM provides a composable business architecture to adapt to the growing needs of the organization. With continuous improvement and modernization as key focal points, SIPCHEM is currently upgrading to APM V5 to benefit from the latest features and ensure successful integration with updated S4 Hana.

_{*Note: Results are specific to SIPCHEM and may vary for different customers based on number of sites and assets.}