A video wall 67 meters (73.3 yards) wide and 3 meters (3.
3 yards) tall is the heart of an amazing,
state-of-the-art system that tracks all of Saudi Aramco’s oil and gas production
from wellhead to tanker. It allows the company to respond instantly to changes
anywhere in the world that affect its business.
DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia — When the global financial
crisis erupted several years ago, Saudi Aramco’s Oil Supply
Planning and Scheduling (OSPAS) Department, immediately
shifted into high gear. With money suddenly tight world-
wide, OSPAS managers knew that new orders for oil could
likely slump, at least temporarily, and that regular custom-
ers might seek emergency delays in delivery of already-
scheduled shipments.
Both happened.
For OSPAS, being sensitive to world events is critical,
because the organization tracks and adjusts as necessary
— in real time, 24/7 — the movement of every molecule of
crude oil and product that Saudi Aramco produces, from
wellhead to customer worldwide. For example, when hur-
ricanes Katrina and Rita blasted the United States’ Gulf
(of Mexico) Coast in 2005, knocking out oil rigs and
refineries in the area, OSPAS had a problem to solve.
Although hurricane-battered refineries suddenly didn’t
need their deliveries of Saudi crude, OSPAS was nonethe-
less able to reconfigure inventory and supply its customers
28 Dimensions
elsewhere with everything they
needed — without a cutback in
OSPAS manager Suleman
production. One trick: meet A. Al-Bargan oversees the
some advance orders early. state-of-the-art system.
This is what OSPAS does
every day. It is the operations heart of Saudi Aramco.
“OSPAS is the only organization in Saudi Aramco that
has a global view,” said Suleman A. Al-Bargan, manager,
OSPAS. “Our mission is to manage and optimize hydrocar-
bon system capacities and inventories to deliver quality
products to the customer at the right time and place with
maximum net revenue to Saudi Aramco.”
For most people in the world, the acronym OSPAS is
devoid of meaning; few people even inside the company
understand just how vital the organization is to the success
of Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia and our many customers
around the world.
“The key to understanding OSPAS, is that the organiza-
tion touches almost every aspect of Saudi Aramco’s opera-
tions,” Al-Bargan said. “Its participation in virtually every

project creates a solid foundation for the company’s contin-
ued success. This is a case where the right hand definitely
knows what the left hand is doing.”
OSPAS is composed of five divisions: Oil, Gas and Nat-
ural Gas Liquids, Terminal Planning, Refined Products, and
Supply Planning and Optimization.
The department plans, schedules, coordinates and moni-
tors movements (quantity and quality) of millions of bar-
rels of crude oil daily from all Saudi Aramco wellheads to
company terminals through more than 18,000 km of pipe-
lines network.
In addition, the organization also tracks refined-product
movements from four domestic and two joint venture refin-
eries and one equity venture, 20 bulk plants, 19 air refuel-
ing sites, five Saudi Strategic Storage Program complexes,
and 2,000 km of refined-products pipeline. It also tracks
gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) from seven gas plants,
three fractionation centers and 18,826 km of pipeline.
Saudi Aramco also operates 44 export berths at five
marine ports, loading millions of barrels of oil, products
and natural gas liquids each day onto enormous ocean-
going tankers that can exceed 500,000 deadweight tons.
OSPAS’s comprehensive system allows Saudi Aramco to
know exactly where, in effect, every drop of its hydrocar-
bons is located at any instant in time.
Though not technically a part of OSPAS, electrical
power generation and distribution needs of Saudi Aramco
are also carefully managed on its Operations Coordination
Center (OCC) Big Board.
But despite its multifaceted mandate, the one virtue
OSPAS obsesses about is teamwork. Communications is the
OSPAS keeps Saudi Aramco
running smoothly, even in a crisis
byword; no one is ever left in The biggest video wall in
the dark about any issue. the hydrocarbon industry
serves as a window into
“Open communications Saudi Aramco opera-
across all divisions is an abso- tions in oil, gas, refining,
lute requirement,” Al-Bargan terminal operations and
electric power.
said. “From our morning 7:05
a.m. meeting to the dozens of
conference calls and quick meetings throughout the day, we
are in easy communications with all Saudi Aramco opera-
tions people around the Kingdom and around the world.”
“The long-term planning is constantly adapted,” said
Abdullah H. Al-Ghamdi, general supervisor of the Supply,
Planning & Optimization Division. “We are proud of the
fact that OSPAS has been able to rapidly and
effectively make the critical decisions to
blunt any harmful impact of disasters.”
“It’s like taking pieces of a giant puz-
zle that’s constantly changing and solv-
ing that puzzle over and over again,”
said Al-Bargan. “Our success is depen-
dent upon OSPAS people being able to put
the pieces together time after time after time.” Al-Ghamdi
The wall
The focus of OSPAS is its OCC video wall, inaugurated
Sept. 12, 2005. The first OCC was built in 1978, and its
computer systems were replaced and upgraded twice since
1982 (a third upgrade is scheduled for 2012). The center
was completely renovated in 1995, and upgrade of dis-
patchers’ consoles will begin in 2010.
Loaded with new display technology, today’s massive
Expo 2010, Shanghai 29
(biggest in the hydrocarbon industry) series of screens on
the OCC wall simply overwhelms visitors and provides a
real-time display of Saudi Aramco’s key operations — oil,
gas and natural gas liquids (NGL), terminal planning oper-
ations and refined products for OSPAS, plus electric power
distribution. As magnificent as the video wall is, it is
merely a tool. The real story of OCC and OSPAS is how
the massive amount of information the screens display is
gathered, verified and used.
This is the story about the people who are responsible
for providing the OCC and OSPAS with information, and
the people who use that information to aggressively run,
protect and optimize Saudi Aramco’s critical operations.
The master SCADA systems
Two Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA)
systems serve as the centerpieces for data gathering. One is
the central dispatch system for all hydrocarbon operations
and the other is for power distribution in
the Kingdom.
“The hydrocarbon SCADA system is
one of biggest in the world,” said
Mohammed A. Makhdoum, adminis-
trator of Hydrocarbon Applications
Department/Real-Time Systems Divi-
sion (RTSD) and the leader of the group
Makhdoum responsible for obtaining the data used by
30 Dimensions
the OCC. “It provides 25,000 points The video wall, shown
of data for the OCC.” above,is able to display
photographic images and
The power distribution SCADA specially designed icons.
system interfaces with the Saudi
Electricity Co. and monitors the power distribution system
within Saudi Aramco 24/7, watching the status of break-
ers, voltage and transformers.
However, even the SCADA system is subject to change.
Menahi D. Al-Gahtani, applications and system specialist,
Real-Time Systems Division, is the project coordinator for
replacing the current OCC SCADA systems.
“IT systems become obsolete quickly, so we are continu-
ously upgrading and improving the system,” Al-Gahtani
said, “but there comes a point when it needs to be
changed.”
The new SCADA systems will be able to handle more
applications and interfaces, and handle all the additional
projects the growing OSPAS organization will need
to monitor.
“The new system should be up and run-
ning by early 2012,” Al-Gahtani said.
Information at your fingertips
Applications are a big part of IT sup-
port. According to Majed S. Al-Ghassab,
Applications Support Unit supervisor,
Real-Time Systems Division, his people Ghassab
 provide all-day everyday support for the hydrocarbon and
power SCADA systems. Also, they relentlessly seek and
implement the latest technologies that help OCC planners
perform their job in a more efficient manner. Another func-
tion of the applications support unit is to develop new
applications that provide users with monitoring and con-
trol capabilities of field devices. “Our applications allow
the shift superintendent in the OCC to control valves
remotely from his computer,” Al-Ghassab said. The objec-
tive is to make the technology work at the optimum rate.
Developers have created a wide range of applications that
provide critical information quickly and effortlessly. One
example is the Tank Monitoring Application.
“How impressive is the control center! The world economy may rely on the
efficiency of Saudi Aramco.” — Oliver Appert, President & CEO, French Institute of Petroleum
“We’ve been able to provide a view of all of the compa-
ny’s tanks,” said Al-Ghassab. “We can see which tanks are
available, which are under repair. A planner can click on a
tank icon and see its activity, which product it is storing,
its level and the pumpable quantity on a real-time basis.”
One strength of the application-development team that
translates across all of OSPAS is communication among all
members of the team and RTSD.
“We live with the users, OSPAS’s giant, high-tech Big Wall
tracks 18,000 real-time, hydro-
talk their language and
carbon-movement operations,
value their requirements so updated every 15 seconds, and
we can deliver solutions to 22,400 electric-power-generation
them to do their jobs,” and distribution operations,
updated every two seconds.
Makhdoum said. “In addi-
tion, if we see an application or any enabling technology
we believe will help operations, we obtain it and configure
it for our people’s specific use.”
Applications development also created the Marine Ter-
minal Planning Board System. This provides a view of all
tankers arriving at and departing from Saudi Aramco
marine terminals within a four-day time frame.
“This application pro-
vides information about the
cargo, load, destination,
arrival date and all the
ships’ data,” Al-Ghassab
said. “Operations must be
on top of all aspects of distribution all the time, and this
application provides key information that allows them to
make decisions accurately and quickly.”
The bottom line is that IT has positioned itself to see
exactly what Operations needs. According to Makhdoum,
“We keep on top of technology advances around the
world. In fact, you could say our job is to make Opera-
tions’ jobs easier by providing enabling technology that
Expo 2010, Shanghai 31
Above: Critical meetings can be held in the room
that overlooks the OCC. Pictured from right are
Essam Ali, General Supervisor Abdullah Al-Ghamdi,
OSPAS Manager Suleman Al-Bargan, General
Supervisor Hisham Shah, Saeed Al-Amri, and
Mansour Al-Mansour. All planners can call up vast
number of images on their computer systems and
act accordingly.
avails accurate infor- manner and that
mation that can be profits are
easily accessed.” maximized.
It isn’t just technol- These goals
ogy; it is also people. explain the many-
As Makhdoum under- faceted nature of
scored, “They bring OSPAS. On one
that quality to their hand its people
work. What we do is are thoroughly
find the best people engaged in ensuring
and develop them that Saudi Aramco
to be integrated operations are
with everyone in Video Wall uninterrupted. The
RTSD and OSPAS. Replaced the map-boards with video Central Dispatch Center has about 18,000 huge video-wall
That gives them the walls in 2005. data points updated every 15 seconds. projects an amazing
grounding to be pro- amount of views
The video wall’s size is 67 meters SAP (operations-management software)
active, come up with and information that
long by 3 meters high. information is also updated every
ideas, and turn those help instantly spot
15 seconds, except for the Saudi Strategic
ideas into value-added Consists of 150 stitched, black potential problems.
Storage Program information, which is
reality.” masked 1.7-meter screens. If a problem occurs,
updated every 20 minutes.
Projection uses Digital Light contingency plans
PDS has about 22,400 points updated
Operations: Efficiency Processing (DLP) technology. are immediately
every 2 seconds.
in action launched so that
OSPAS is at the very any potential sup-
heart of Saudi Aramco. This remarkable organization is ded- ply interruption is eliminated or, at least, minimized. On
icated not just to perfection but continual improvement. the other hand, OSPAS also is responsible for continuously
That’s because everything its people do can be ultimately optimizing operational processes, ensuring that all decisions
measured in money — a lot of money. Present and future reflect the goal of increasing the Kingdom’s profits.
are always considered in great detail. The time span covered The organization that focuses on long-term supply and
ranges from every two seconds that data is refreshed to an projects is Supply Planning and Optimization.
11-year plan that forecasts demand and supply of hydrocar- “Our vital objective is to provide long-term supply plan-
bons, as well as all the factors that may potentially affect ning to ensure continuous supply of hydrocarbon products
Saudi Aramco’s future business. to Saudi Aramco customers, and provide technical support
All aspects of operations are monitored, and any impact to OSPAS operations divisions and Executive Manage-
on supply of products to customers is determined. For ment,” said Al-Ghamdi. “We provide optimization analysis,
example, the entire Testing and Inspection (T&I) of plants, economic reviews and evaluations on projects, operations
pipelines, etc., is carefully noted and arranged so that and system operating strategies.”
there is little or no disruption when a facility is routinely “We also produce all types of optimization plans —
shut down. from monthly to annually to 10-year plans — for
Of course, not all shutdowns are routine. Emer- crude, gas, NGL, gas condensate and refined
gency closings of plants or specific operations must products systems,” he said. “And since we see
be quickly contained and contingency plans put the entire picture of Saudi Aramco operations
into play. Every person — from planners and staff — present and future — we sometimes have
engineers in the OCC to all the divisions — quickly to adjust a specific plant operation to keep in
determines how to mitigate any difficulty. That is step with our global optimization,” said Eisa
why they are well trained with a clear objective: M. Al-Suwaigh, Refined Products Supply Plan-
Always ensure supply gets to the customer in the safest Al-Suwaigh ning Group Leader.

Expo 2010, Shanghai 33

 “That sometimes means a plant locally loses money by
running against its own optimal operation, but globally the
Kingdom is realizing additional revenue,” he said. “The
OSPAS intricate global optimization model
enables us to see how losing a few million
dollars within a plant may help us earn
hundreds of millions of dollars globally.
It’s a matter of perspective, and OSPAS
operations are full of such examples.”
Eisa S. Al-Madani, Projects and
Technical support Group Leader, said,
Al-Madani “We also review capital projects and incor-
porate major comments that contain opera-
“Congratulations for your safe and reliable operational control room.
We, from Petrobras, appreciate very much your experience and efficiency.”
— José Sérgio Gabrielli de Azevedo, President and CEO, Petrobras
tional sense to achieve company objectives. In addition, we
are the only entity that looks after the long-term testing and
inspection plans for all Saudi Aramco facilities. We always
assure that shutdown activities
The video wall, below, can
are planned in due time with
display real-time images
from cameras, satellites no impact on meeting custom- interferes with the smooth operation, all operating organi-
or the Internet utilizing ers’ commitment.”
state-of-the-art technology.
The Big Board
When you walk into the OCC, the enormous video wall
(67 meters wide and three meters high — about 219.2 feet
by 9.8 feet) grabs your attention. This is the nerve center of
Saudi Aramco. All 18,000 real-time, hydrocarbon-move-
ment operations, updated every 15 seconds, and 12,000
electric-power generation and distribution operations,
updated every two seconds, are reflected on its 150 1.7-
meter (5.6 ft.) screens.
In this room, planners, shift superintendents and engi-
neers monitor all data, looking for possible problems,
checking to see which product or tanker needs to be redi-
rected, and they are in contact by phone, radio and net-
work to field personnel. It
is a free flow of informa-
tion coordinated and man-
aged by highly motivated
people with a great deal of
experience. In fact, most
OSPAS employees have
15 or more years of field
experience and know Saudi Aramco operations from top
to bottom.
The video wall also reflects the reality of OSPAS: Every-
thing is interconnected. One operation smoothly flows into
another — on the wall and in real life. And if something
zations are flexible enough to rapidly adapt.
 “Tankers are responsible for moving
crude oil and products,” said Khalid M.
Al-Dukeer, general supervisor, Terminal
Planning Division. “We have to interact
with oil and refined products because
we are working in a fine balance.
Al-Dukeer Weather, breakdowns or various disrup-
tions may cause one or more tankers to be
late in getting to one of our terminals. This has ramifica-
tions for production, storage and customers. If product
can’t be transported, we may have to cut production as the
last resort after maximizing storage. Our decisions must be
fast and accurate or we will lose money.”
Movement of oil, gas, natural gas liquids (NGL), termi-
nal (shipping) and refined products all have a place on the
video wall.
“For oil, monitoring the ever-changing
demand for product and creating the
perfect mix of products for export and
in-Kingdom consumption is vital,” said
Mohammad Z. Al-Shammari, general
supervisor, Oil Division. “We plan out
everything, taking input from petroleum
Al-Shammari engineering to understand oil availability.”
Again, the objective is to ensure the right
mix of product for Saudi Aramco’s customers.
The Oil Division is responsible for monitoring the vast
complex of pipelines in the Kingdom.
“We are the first line of defense,” said Al-Shammari.
“We need to see the overall picture of interconnecting the
pipeline among operations.”
The absolute scale of operations overseen by OSPAS is
gargantuan. In addition to being the major sup-
plier of oil to the world, Saudi Aramco
owns the fourth largest gas reserves, but
that isn’t the whole story.
“Our Master Gas System is the larg-
est integrated system in the world,”
said Khalid I. Al-Khudair, general
supervisor, Gas and NGL Division. “We
are unique. There is nothing like this any-
Al-Khudair
place. Our system is huge, and we are lever-
aging these resources for the Kingdom’s
benefit. Our gas and NGL operations are
massive to an extent that our NGL pro-
duction exceeds the oil output of some
OPEC countries.”
As vast as OSPAS operations are,
everyone continues to be focused on the
bottom line. Hisham A. Shah, general Shah
supervisor, Refined Products Division, under-
stands the importance of his
task: “My customers are The video wall is designed to
show the real-time interrela-
those who drive cars, run
tionship of oil, gas, refining,
utility plants and provide terminal and electric power
power to their nations.” operations.
Expo 2010, Shanghai 35
 The Refined Products Division, as is the case with all
OSPAS operations, has to be flexible. “We need to meet our
customers demand, but we also must meet the Kingdom’s
needs and maximize profitability,” Shah said. “Plus, when
an unexpected event occurs, Refined Products must be able
to shift on the fly and create a new mix of products that
takes advantage of any situation.”
Not part of OSPAS, but critical to operations is the
Power Operation and Control Unit (PO&CU). It monitors
and controls the Saudi Aramco power network. “We are
stationed at the OCC to effectively coordinate with the com-
pany’s oil and gas operations to ensure
electrical power is provided safely, reli-
ably and in a cost-effective manner,”
said Abdulmuhsen I. Al-Shuhail,
Supervisor, Power Operation &
Control Unit. “We also are the sin-
gle point of contact for Saudi Elec-
tricity Company (SEC) in dealing
with interrelated power operations.” Al-Shuhail
A team approach
One aspect of operations that every single person empha-
sized was teamwork. “All divisions and IT work together,”
Al-Bargan said. In fact, teamwork and communications is
“Congratulations on this extraordinary room at OSPAS, which demonstrates
Aramco’s technological leadership and mastery, its unique place in world
oil and the outstanding capabilities and dedication of its people. This is a
historic occasion.” —Mr. Daniel Yergin, Chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA)
so important that at 7:05 every morning there is a confer-
ence call meeting in which key personnel in OSPAS, opera-
tions organizations and IT are represented. Just like the old
American police dramas on television, everyone gathers
together to discuss potential difficulties that may be
encountered during the day.
“This meeting brings everyone together,” said Abdullah
Bedah, Planning & Programs Group Leader. “All divisions
are represented, and anything that may impact operations
is brought to light. We all have our objectives, and we act
accordingly.”
Of course, during any major crisis, OSPAS goes on an
even more impressive footing, activating additional person-
nel (in addition to those who would be there anyway, since
OSPAS is a 24/7 operation), having some staff stay on duty
all night and other adjustments. And the president and
CEO and senior management can monitor crisis develop-
ments from a specially designed conference room with a
window that overlooks the OCC and the video wall.
36 Dimensions
The future
OSPAS will continue to search for improvements and opti-
mize performance. “We are the Think Tank of Saudi
Aramco daily hydrocarbon management,” Al-Bargan said.
As operations grow ever more complex with additional
huge projects, joint ventures and third party operations,
OSPAS will continue seeking new technologies to over-
come future operational challenges.
Al-Bargan said that Sales and Marketing departments
may place representatives in the OCC to
capture market opportunities on the
minute.
Also, in the optimization arena,
Nasser H. Al-Hammad, Oil, Gas and
NGL Supply Planning Group Leader
of Supply Planning and Optimization
highlighted that his group has co-devel-
oped a new technology that shortens the Al-Hammad
oil-and-gas planning process from one
month to one week. This technology netted Saudi Aramco
the Technology Achievement Award at a recent interna-
tional conference on supply-chain management in Seattle,
Washington, in the United States.
The award recognized Saudi Aramco for the implemen-
tation of the Integrated Oil and Gas Model, which is the
first model of its kind for
hydrocarbon production
planning and optimiza-
tion in the upstream
industry. The model
combines a linear pro-
gram optimization tool
with 80 rigorous plant
simulation models of
gas-oil separation plants,
crude stabilizers, gas plants and natural gas liquids (NGL)
fractionation facilities. That enables all hydrocarbon mol-
ecules to be tracked from their wellhead production source
to their final delivery to customers. The model optimizes
each production case by maximizing the net revenue.
“One thing is certain,” Al-Bargan concluded, “OSPAS
will continue to lead the way to bring the latest technology
and highest level of expertise to ensure Saudi Aramco con-
tinues to be the reliable supplier of energy to the world.”
IT – A critical component
“We can’t make mistakes,” said Makhdoum. “You’ve
heard of learning by your mistakes — well, that golden
rule doesn’t apply here. We make a mistake, the company
could lose millions of dollars and people could be
injured.”
The Information Technology (IT) component of OSPAS
is vital, because it enables OSPAS to perform OCC core
functions.
 In addition, OSPAS recruits its members from all over
the company — including Sales and Marketing, Engineer-
ing, Exploration and Refining, among many others — in
order to provide a complete view of Saudi Aramco’s opera-
tions. In short, OSPAS’s people represent a cross-section of
the company, and this bolsters the excellent coordination
among Saudi Aramco’s component parts.
That is important because OSPAS majors on two inter-
related jobs — long-term planning and contingency
planning.
“We are constantly planning for the future,” Al-Ghamdi
said. “We try to anticipate everything that may affect the
entire span of Saudi Aramco operations up to a decade and
more in the future.”
Long-term planning puts concepts on paper. But the real
world has a way of producing surprises at regular intervals.
OSPAS relies on vast amounts of information and needs
to be fed from as wide a range of sources as possible.
Information gathering is a vital part of OSPAS’s success.
“Data is gathered from all operation sites — plants,
refineries, GOSPs, terminals, pipelines,” said Al-Ghassab.
Much of the data is gathered by Remote Terminal
Units, or RTUs. These units monitor operations located
far from plants or manned operation centers. The RTUs
and SCADA systems are highly sensitive, and able to
detect developing problems and alert operators at the
OCC with alarms.
“The ability to provide us Screens from individual
with critical information rap- systems can be displayed
on the video wall to get a
idly helps us prevent stoppages larger perspective.
or failures,” Makhdoum said.
“In fact, we have a field electronics system that not only
gathers data but enables us to actually control remote
operations without anyone being present. The shift super-
intendents, who watch over the entire OCC, can instantly
take action to prevent major problems.”
One of the hallmarks of OSPAS is change. “Nothing
stands still,” Ghassab said. “We are continually upgrading
and optimizing.”
One example is the use of the Plant Information Sys-
tems (PI) components. PIs gather all types of information
from within the plant environment.
“Right now, we get 27 percent of our data from PIs,”
said Makhdoum.
The PIs’ advantage is that they are in the plant anyway
and can gather the data automatically. This eliminates the
need for RTUs and frees up the RTU-dedicated circuit.
However, the RTUs play an important role out in the
desert with the pipelines.
Expo 2010, Shanghai 37