Petrostreamz's Pipe-It is a new methodology for asset optimization and exploitation where petroleum streams are optimized over the whole value chain of, and within each, petroleum sector for:
Pipe-It is a unique software application that allows you to graphically and computationally integrate models and optimize petroleum assets. Pipe-It can launch any software application you are currently running, on any operating system. Pipe-It chains together your applications, in series and parallel. Pipe-It's versatile Streamz technology manages the complex oil and gas streams processed by models making up an integrated asset. Our fundamental philosophy is that current work flows should not be disturbed, with each application custodian continuing to use the same software, including all utilities for pre- and post-processing. The main function of Pipe-It is to provide added value through
Petroleum resources originate as static bodies of oil and gas in underground reservoirs. As these resources are exploited, they flow as petroleum streams into a production system. Streams are mixed and processed, splitting into new streams. Mixing and splitting of streams occurs throughout a labyrinth of wells, surface equipments, pipelines, storage facilities, transportation … with new mixing and products being generated at the final refinery destination. With Pipe-It users can manage their petroleum streams and optimize the production of hydrocarbons.
Pipe-It has the ability to keep a detailed, quantitative upstream-to-downstream accounting of the individual components making up petroleum resources. This bridges the work of reservoir engineers, who talks in terms of volumetric rates, to the processing engineers, who talk in terms of component molar rates, and ultimately to managers who talk in terms of currency, revenue, net present value and profit.
With Pipe-It software, a petroleum resource stream can be described simply as crude oil and gas, or it can be quantified with the hundreds of molecular constituents (methane, propane, …, benzene, carbon dioxide, …). It also allows for every conceivable description between simple and complex – LPG, NGL, GTL products, crude oil refinery distillation cuts, wax, asphaltenes, and mercaptons. Even monetary value in any currency, instead of barrels.
Pipe-It allows a project to be visualized with an intuitive graphical layout design. One visualization can be created to give a clear vision of the project from a top-level management point-of-view, showing how fields are connected and interact at major process facilities and export terminals. Other visualizations detail sub-projects like a subsea well template or a satellite process facility, always maintaining the actual connectivity to other elements in the project. Custom visualizations of the same Project can be made by each individual or team working on a Project.
Pipe-It allows an entire project or elements of a project to be executed (run). This might involve executing external computer programs describing performance of reservoirs, wells, pipelines, process facilities, storage and transportation vessels, and final-destination refining. Pipe-It allows these 3rd-party programs to communicate using Pipe-It’s engine.
Not only does Pipe-It rely on computational programs for resource streams, it allows access to measured data provided by online metering and spot testing stored in databases. Sophisticated data management features of the Streamz engine allows measured and calculated data to be compared on a consistent basis in terms of quantity (mass, volume, etc.) and time period (daily, monthly, annual). Once on a common basis comparative stream data can be used as the basis for optimization.
A unique technology called Linkz allows Pipe-It to "connect" to tokens (numbers and strings) in text files irrespective of formats. These tokens are then available to Pipe-It’s execution and optimization engines and become part of the overall optimization. This ability together with the possibility of executing any program that can be launched from the OS gives Pipe-It an unprecedented capability and flexibility making it an ideal framework for integrated computational integration. No programs are imposed on the end user (they choose which programs are best suited for their area of expertise), but rather Pipe-It accepts all and only facilitates their integration (connected execution) and data-exchange.
Pipe-It’s Optimization Interface allows (through Linkz) any number in any file to be variables, constraints and/or objectives of an optimization. Multiple levels of optimization can be defined and be active in a single top level global optimization. Different solvers and directions of optimization (MAX, MIN) can be specified for each instance of the global or local optimization. A set of robust solvers are provided, which can be extended by means of documented API.
Pipe-It includes a command-line version that can be called by not only other programs (even batch files) but also by itself! This allows Pipe-It to be embedded within any other software that can launch an OS command-line. This also means Pipe-It can recursively call many instances of itself from within a top-level graphical instance. This is the basis of multi-level local and global optimization made possible by Pipe-It.