CASE STUDY

Smoothly does it
CSPC enjoys successful start-up of $4.3-billion petrochemicals complex

uilding a large and complex

petrochemicals plant is an enormous
undertaking. But the greatest tests
often come during the commissioning
and start-up process. Passing this vital
milestone without any serious problems
represents a major achievement. CNOOC
and Shell Petrochemicals Company
Limited (referred to as CSPC) has done
just that with its giant petrochemicals
complex in Daya Bay, Guangdong
Province, China.
Developed in response to the rapidly
growing demand for petrochemicals in
China, the $4.3-billion project has
involved one of the largest ever start-ups.
The processing complex covers 2.6 km2
and is expected to yield around 2.3 million
tonnes of products per year. CSPC needed
a smooth start-up to meet product
delivery commitments and to maintain
operational safety. Any delay could have
meant substantial lost revenues.
The project is an integrated chemicals
complex with steam and electricity
generation, and storage, handling and
shipping facilities. As well as an ethylene
cracker, which can process feedstocks
ranging from light naphtha to heavy
condensate, the complex includes units to
manufacture styrene monomer, propylene
oxide, ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol,

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propylene glycol, polyols, polypropylene

and high- and low-density polyethylene.
The huge size of the complex presented
tremendous challenges for the
commissioning team. Jean Louis Bilhou,
manufacturing director, CSPC, explains,
The transition from construction to
commissioning is usually a difficult
period, but the normal trials were
magnified by the scale of the Daya Bay
project. A total of 3000 systems needed
to be tested and handed over while plants
were still under construction and 20 000
workers were on-site.
The project managers realised that
detailed planning was essential for
successful start-up and so commissioned
Shell Global Solutions to help them put
an operations implementation plan (OIP)
in place. An OIP helps project developers
and owners to arrive at a documented
basis from which the facility can be
developed and also helps the organisation
to be ready to receive the facility by the
end of the project.
An OIP is modular. Each module
addresses one or more stages of the
project development, for example,
scouting; front-end engineering and
design; final investment decision;
engineering, procurement and
construction; and commissioning and

start-up. There can be as many OIPs as

there are project phases. In the Daya Bay
project, there were three phases.
The OIP for each phase contains the
same elements, but these become more
detailed as the project progresses. In the
recruitment element for example, the OIP
at the outset of the project identifies the
need for a recruitment and training plan.
In the next phase, information, such as the
numbers of inexperienced and experienced
staff required, is added. The final OIP
specifies details such as the type of people
to be hired, when to hire them, how to
assess their skill levels and the training to
be given.
The principle is the same for each
element of the OIP; the low-level
definition is established in the first-phase
OIP, and a detailed plan is produced by
the end of the project.
An assurance gate review process,
whereby every phase is approved before
the next is begun, facilitates the transition
between the different phases. This review
helps to keep the project aligned and to
ensure that all processes are at the same
stage of development before embarking
on the next phase.

Issue 4, 2006 www.shell.com/globalsolutions

THE CONCEPT OF SYSTEM OWNERSHIP HAS

GREATLY HELPED IN ACHIEVING AN EXCELLENT
LEVEL OF QUALITY DURING COMMISSIONING
The OIP at Daya Bay has been key in
contributing to the success of the start-up.
A massive, highly integrated project such
as this needs to be planned in great detail
from an early stage, says Martin van
Uden, lead coordinating process engineer,
CSPC. The overall schedule was defined
during the feasibility studies, and the key
issues and the critical paths were addressed
and set out in an integrated commissioning
and start-up schedule.
The site-wide process integration of the
individual engineering, procurement and
construction projects has been achieved by
using site-integration management tools to
plan the commissioning and start-up and
to connect all the logical process interfaces.
This process has been instrumental in
helping to detect and solve schedule
disconnects, says van Uden.
The OIP encompasses Shell Global
Solutions Flawless start-up initiative
(FSI). The FSI process is based on early
identification of potential flaws in plant
and equipment during start-up and putting
tools and activities in place to help mitigate
the numbers and effects of those flaws.
The OIP focuses on organisation, and
the FSI focuses on the plant and the

equipment. The OIPFSI process has

been developed from successful practices
and lessons learned from previous startups, and is based around several key
quality areas.
Because most flaws originate in the
development phase, the objective of the
OIPFSI process is to begin planning
for start-up early on. Bilhou says, The
OIPFSI process was introduced during
the project implementation phase in 2002,
and began with a series of workshops for
the project teams and the engineering,
procurement and construction contractors.
An important aspect of the OIPFSI
process was having a separate member
of the CSPC staff to drive the
implementation of agreed activities and
to take responsibility for one of the key
quality areas, for example, integrity,
operability or safety. The concept of
system ownership has greatly helped in
achieving an excellent level of quality
during commissioning, Bilhou concludes.
One of the distinctive features of the
project was the multicultural make-up of
the staff, which included people from all
parts of China and from other countries,
cultures and technology backgrounds from

Issue 4, 2006 www.shell.com/globalsolutions

in- and outside Shell. Building on the

work of the experienced operating teams,
Shell Global Solutions played an
important role in introducing health,
safety and environmental standards and
international best practices for operating
systems and management processes. Care
was taken to accommodate the different
work methods and to develop lines of
communication to identify problems and
work together to solve them.
CSPC successfully started up the plant
on time and on budget in January this
year. Gerard de Nazelle, technology
manager, CSPC, says, This success was
due in part to the quality of the design and
construction and the plants operational
readiness, and in part to the skills and
competence of the operational staff, who
are extremely motivated. There has been
an outstanding atmosphere of cooperation.
We received excellent support in all areas
from Shell Global Solutions that was based
on its experience of previous challenges
and successes in other large projects.
Contact: Peilin Xu
Email: peilin.xu@shell.com

Flawless is a Shell Group trademark.

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