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RATIONAL
ENERGY USE
-
PETROLEO BRASILEIRO |
THE
COMPANY
Petróleo
Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras), which was created in 1953,
is a mixed-capital venture tied to the Ministry of Mines
and Energy. The company is devoted to the exploration,
production, refinement, transport, and commercialization
of petroleum, natural gas, and its derivatives in Brazil
and abroad. Petrobras’ industrial activities also involve
nitrate fertilizers and oil production.
Petrobras
operates eleven refineries that can process 1.86 million
barrels of petroleum daily and two nitrate fertilizer
plants that produce 2,000 tons of ammonia daily. Another
unit, for slaty oil, has a daily capacity of about 4,000
barrels. In 1998 Petrobras’ daily production was approximately
1 million barrels of petroleum and 30 million cubic meters
of gas. In that same year company sales were U.S.$21.4
billion. Its shipping fleet consists of 66 company-owned
vessels and 42 rented ships.
PETROBRAS
AND THE ENVIRONMENT
The
actions of Petrobras in favor of the environment date
back to 1974, when it established its Energy Conservation
Program in response to the oil crisis of 1973. The company
was a pioneer in Brazil in the implementation of projects
of this type. From then on Petrobras has developed energy
conservation activities by using a rigorous management
system, changing operational procedures, modifying existing
facilities, and introducing new technologies of minor
energy intensity.
The
Energy Conservation Program can be divided into two phases.
In the first phase, from 1974 to 1990, energy savings
were sought mainly in the refineries and the fertilizer
factories. In the second phase, which began in 1990, Internal
Energy Conservation Commissions (CICE) were created. These
modified the organization of the program and extended
it to all the company’s activities, including its administrative
offices.
In
1991 the National Program of Rationalization in the Use
of the Derivatives of Oil and Natural Gas (CONPET) was
instituted by presidential decree. The CONPET made Petrobras
its Executive Secretary, for which reason the company
then created the Support Coordinator of CONPET (C-CONPET),
which also manages the Energy Conservation Program.
At
present this program has forty CICEs. Each one is entrusted
with the design of an annual program for the reduction
of energy consumption, the elaboration and delivery of
an investment program for in-house energy conservation,
the development of awareness campaigns, and the collection
of data related to energy consumption. The CICEs are also
mandated to record evaluations of the results obtained.
This information is later included in a consolidated annual
company report on energy conservation.
The
Petrobras Program is based on criteria, factors of unit
conversion and standardized procedures, and on multidisciplinary
work groups. At the outset the program comprised three
stages:
-
Implantation of operational and maintenance measures
-
Modification
of equipment and systems
-
Introduction
of new technologies
Implantation
of Operational and Maintenance Measures
Today,
process-based industries are preoccupied with understanding
market behavior and achieving operational continuity.
For these reasons, the implantation of operational and
maintenance measures proves difficult. As a result, awareness
building at Petrobras was necessary at all levels, to
make energy conservation part of performance criteria.
The
principal operational measures that produced energy savings,
with little or no investment, included:
-
Operation of boilers and ovens with the least amount
of excess air
-
Rigorous
control of the temperature of combustion gases in chimneys,
at minimum levels compatible with fuel and equipment
type
-
Rigorous
control of the balance of the vapor system, in order
to avoid its discharge into the atmosphere and its condensation
due to low pressure
-
Operation
of the electric power generation system in concurrence
with the concessionaire’s electric system, to minimize
vapor condensation in the extraction and condensation
turbines
-
Systematic work to avoid and eliminate vapor escape
-
Maximization of the use of the vapor condenser
-
Implementation
of a cleaning program for the heat interchangers, using
an energy-saving approach
-
Rigorous maintenance of thermal isolation of pipes and
equipment
-
Maximum
use of residual gases generated in the process and elimination
of discharges to the atmosphere
-
Control
of the vapor used in the process, in accordance with
the quality of products
-
Rigorous
control of energy used during peak hours
-
Stoppage
of operations, such as the pumping of products, during
peak hours
-
Interruption
of petroleum production in certain wells during peak
hours
-
Changing
of office-cleaning schedule to the morning shift
-
Shut-off of central air conditioning system before peak
hours
-
Delivery
of training courses and seminars
-
Implementation of awareness campaigns and publicity
of successful cases
Investments
in Energy Conservation
Most
of Petrobras’ refineries were built before the abrupt
change in the price of oil in the seventies; at that time
energy optimization systems did not exist. Thanks to the
change in prices, the company was able to invest in all
its refineries with the goal of optimizing them. Petrobras
made additional investments in its new plants to adapt
them to the new context before they entered into operation.
Also
revised in the projects were aspects such as the criteria
for the calculation of isolation density of piping and
equipment; for the selection of motors, pumps, and compressors;
and for the sizing of pipes. Later, the company determined
the minimum acceptable efficiency for new turbines, pumps,
compressors, fans, and electric motors, among others.
The
primary investments in energy conservation made at existing
facilities or in construction comprised:
-
Installation
of heat-recovery systems in all the refineries’ processing
ovens, through the preheating of air
-
Installation of recuperation boilers in the fluid catalytic
cracking units
-
Installation
of heat-recuperation units, for the hot fluids used
in processing
-
Installation of new heat interchangers in petroleum
preheating vats
-
Installation
of a central thermoelectric unit with high-pressure
vapor (105 kg/cm2 and 510°C), and 42 kg/cm2
compressed vapor turbo-generators
-
Substitution,
in all the refineries, of vacuum column expellers with
vacuum pumps powered by electric motors
-
Substitution
of conventional burners with low-consumption air burners
-
Substitution
of low-efficiency vapor turbines with electric motors
-
Substitution
of condensed vapor turbines with electric motors
-
Implantation of advanced process control systems
-
Use of more efficient illumination systems
-
Installation
of electronic frequency alternators
-
Installation
of demand controls and a capacitor warehouse
-
Installation of electric power co-generation systems
using gas turbines
From
1974 to 1992, Petrobras invested a total of U.S.$300 million
in its Energy Conservation Program. Since 1992, the company
has invested an average of U.S.$4 million per year.
The
implantation of the aforementioned measures has highlighted
dynamic opportunities insofar as projects are under development
in all areas. The only challenge arising at present is
to establish, in an environment of resource shortages,
a range of priorities that focuses on those projects that
generate the greatest savings with the least investment
and the highest rates of return.
RESULTS
As
a result of the investments made and the implantation
of diverse actions to conserve energy, Petrobras
refineries now consume approximately 20% less energy than
they did in 1974.
The
following chart shows the primary results obtained with
the program from 1992 to 1998:
|
Year
|
1992
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
|
Natural
gas (thousands of m3)
|
175,680
|
43,800
|
26,900
|
52,950
|
62,324
|
88,967
|
59,620
|
|
Fuel
oil (m3)
|
74,330
|
39,256
|
109,993
|
81,870
|
55,553
|
39,481
|
91,291
|
|
Diesel
(m3)
|
14,576
|
10,448
|
660
|
360
|
2,147
|
2,055
|
23,445
|
|
LP
GAS (thousands
of
tons)
|
-
|
-
|
7,337
|
477
|
-
|
546
|
-
|
|
CO2
Emissions avoided (thousands of tons)
|
202
|
73
|
119
|
109
|
94
|
100
|
123
|
|
Electricity
demand during peak hours (kW)
|
6,100
|
15,830
|
10,230
|
500
|
4,330
|
0
|
4,675
|
|
Electricity
demand during non-peak hours (kW)
|
3,000
|
5,870
|
4,020
|
650
|
4,200
|
500
|
8,570
|
|
Electricity
consumption
(mkW)
|
23,150
|
31,347
|
31,442
|
1,472
|
18,010
|
27,618
|
27,756
|
|
Savings
(millions of U.S.$)
|
27,000
|
20,000
|
20,400
|
15,500
|
13,690
|
16,600
|
19,230
|
NB:
Values are not cumulative
CONCLUSIONS
Thanks
to the results of its implantation, the Energy Conservation
Program has been extended to all of Petrobras’ activities
and become a guideline for daily work, especially as relates
to environmental protection issues.
Given
the country’s economic and social growth, the demand for
fuel will surely broaden the Brazilian oil sector’s activities.
This situation will also require Brazilian society to
reflect on current efficiency levels in fuel use and integrate
its efforts to reduce pollution and protect the environment.
Local
and regional environmental impact caused by energy use
can be reduced or eliminated through the implantation
of technologies that, in spite of being expensive, are
available—for example, the hydro-treatment units for the
removal of sulfur from diesel. Conversely, energy conservation
programs can contribute significantly to the reduction
of CO2 emissions, and are among the cheapest
and simplest ways to reduce pollution. These are also
the most far-reaching programs, in the social sense, and
they require the least set-up time because the technologies
necessary for their implementation already exist.
CONTACT
João Eudes Touma
Chief
of the Support Coordinator
for
the National Program of Rationalization
in
the Use of the Derivatives of Oil and Natural Gas (C-CONPET)
Petróleo
Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras)
Av.
República do Chile, 65 sala 401-B
20035-900
Centro
Rio
de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
Tel.
(55-21) 534 3660/3650
Fax
(55-21) 534 3663
E-mail:
gd09@petrobras.com.br
URL:
http://
www.petrobras.com.br/conpet
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