“We met an incredibly aggressive deadline for our ethylene plant thanks to Honeywell who acted as our main automation contractor providing a start-to-finish solution for a complex project. On day one we recognized the value that Honeywell’s proven solutions provided including cost savings, change management and team support through this startup.”
Meghal Joshi, Manager Process Control, Tasnee
Tasnee, a Saudi-owned company, owns various operations including chemical, plastics, engineering and industrial plants. As part of an aggressive project, the company looked to start up its erthylene plant and needed a partner to provide project management and proven technology solutions to meet the demanding needs of its tight schedule.
Tasnee and EPC Samsung Engineering turned to Honeywell to provide a one-stop solution from basic control level to high level applications such as advanced alarm management, safety management and plant information mangement.
Project teams worked together to meet a 36-month timeline from contract to actual production at the ethylene plant. Other benefits Tasnee received by partnering with Honeywell included:
National Industrialization Company (Tasnee) was established in June 1985 as the first Saudi joint stock company wholly owned by the private sector. Since then, Tasnee has expanded its portfolio to include more than 25 subsidiaries and investments. Through its subsidiaries, Tasnee operations include chemicals, plastics, engineering, industrial and others.
In 2001, Tasnee established its first petrochemical complex, Saudi Polyolefins Company, as a joint venture with Basell, the world's largest producer of polypropylene and Europe's largest producer of polyethylene. Saudi Polyolefins Company was established in Al Jubail Industrial City and started production in 2004 with a capacity to produce 450,000 t/y of propylene and 450,000 t/y of polypropylene. Honeywell provided the first process control systems for the polypropylene plant.
Tasnee established its second complex in 2006 as a joint venture with Sahara Petrochemical Company for theproduction of propylene, ethylene and polyethylene. Tasnee and Sahara Olefins Company will produce through Saudi Ethylene and Polyethylene Company with capacity of 1million t/y of ethylene, 285,000 t/y of propylene, 800,000 t/y of high and low density polyethylene.
In 2006, Tasnee and Tasnee Petrochemicals merged and decided to increase capital to SAR 2.3 billion (USD $620 million). Tasnee then merged two of its subsidiaries, the Arabian Axles Foundries and Spare Parts Company and the National Metal Manufacturing and Casting Company, to strengthen its industrial position and achieve better shareholder returns.
As Tasnee looked to start up its ethylene plant, the company was faced with an extremely tight project deadline. The company needed to integrate a control system into a remote instrument enclosure, oversee quality management and increase system performance and reliability.
“We knew that we had a very big challenge on our hands and needed a partner that could rise to the occasion and provide not only an integrated solution but also to give us the confidence that they could meet our target deadlines,” said Meghal Joshi, Manager, Process Control, Tasnee.
Tasnee and Samsung Engineering selected Honeywell as its process control systems supplier and used its main automation contractor approach to solve the challenge for the ethylene plant.
As a technology process automation leader, Honeywell could provide an integrated automation vision to ensure operational and business readiness. As part of the solution, Honeywell provided its Experion® Process Knowledge System (PKS) and Safety Manager, as well as two Remote Instrument Enclosures, advanced alarm management software, eServer, Uniformance® PHD, Field Device Manager and more.
“Honeywell provided the global support capability we needed and its previous experience was critical in developing our project scope and deadline targets,” said Joshi. “They provided access to specific discipline experts and development groups to help make this project a huge success in terms of timeline, budget and overall cost savings – all from a single provider.”
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