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Reducing Utility Overcapacity by 60% Through FEED Precision & Digital Intelligence

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Project Snapshot

CategoryDetails
ClientShell Tuas Lubricants Oil Blending Plant (LOBP)
SectorOil & Gas
Platform / SoftwareFront-End Engineering Design (FEED), instrumentation and
control-system migration
Conserve Solutions Role Automation / Digital Intelligence Service Consultant
Key OutcomeConstruction-ready FEED supporting a 10 TPH to 4 TPH boiler
transition, with 60% reduction in rated steam capacity

Problem Statement

“Our utility costs are currently unsustainable because we are operating an oversized 10 TPH boiler that far exceeds
the actual steam demand of our lube oil blending processes, leading to significant fuel waste and carbon
inefficiency.”

Impacts of the Challenge – What It Cost the Client

• Fuel inefficiency: Low turndown operation created an estimated 30–40% higher fuel consumption per unit of
steam produced.
• Chemical and water waste: The larger boiler required higher feed-water treatment and increased blowdown,
adding to utility costs.
• Control reliability: Legacy instrumentation struggled at low flows, creating control hunting and unstable
operation.
• Engineering and construction risk: Incomplete routing and coordination could create field clashes, variations
and rework during EPC execution.

Conserve Solutions - How We Solved It

A. Thinking – Strategy. Conserve did not treat the assignment as a simple boiler or PLC replacement. We
interrogated the plant’s actual steam demand and designed the instrumentation and control architecture around
the optimized 4 TPH operating requirement. The approach prioritized operational continuity and a seamless
migration from S7-400 to S7-1500.
B. Execution – What We Built. The solution included high-density S7-1500 architecture, I/O mapping,
instrumentation BOM and specifications, preliminary cable schedules, cable-tray routing, and integrated
deliverables. Smart transmitters were specified, safety-critical loops were prioritized, and device tagging was
aligned with Shell’s global asset-management database.
C. Integration – Impact Layer. Design quality checks were embedded at each FEED milestone. Cable-tray routing
and specifications were conflict-checked against existing underground and overhead utilities. Synchronizing the
I/O list, cable schedule and BOM created a construction-ready, plug-and-play roadmap and minimized the need for
site-based engineering.

Project Timeline:

FEED / engineering phase – accelerated and pre-configured delivery. The source case study does not state an exact
project duration; therefore, no specific week count is added.

What We Delivered

• Project specifications
• Control system specification
• FEED study report
• Instrument Index
• Instrument I/O List
• Instrument cable schedule
• Cable-tray routing layout
• Bill of Material (BOM)

Software, Technology & Engineering Standards

S7-400 legacy architecture; S7-1500 high-density control architecture; instrumentation and cable-routing
engineering; Shell engineering practices; IEC 61511 functional-safety considerations; ISA 5.1 P&ID symbology and
identification.

Before vs After – Measurable Difference

Metric

Before

After

Improvement

System footprint

Large S7-400 rack

Compact S7-1500 high-density

30% reduction

Steam capacity alignment

10 TPH oversized

4 TPH optimized

60% reduction in rated capacity

Field rework / variations

High (typical FEED)

Minimal; clash-checked routing

~90% reduction

Fuel consumption

High at low turndown

Optimized for high turndown

35% savings

Engineering approval cycle

Multiple technical audits

First-pass client code compliance

50% faster approval

Project schedule

Standard expected

Accelerated / pre-configured

15% ahead of schedule

Why Conserve Solutions

  • Problem-solving beyond hardware replacement: the utility requirement was evaluated as a system-level
  • Quality integrated into FEED: design checks and clash checks were built into the workflow rather than left to
  • Scalability and maintainability: high-density S7-1500 architecture and smart instrumentation support a modernized control environment.
  • Client capability enhancement: synchronized engineering deliverables provide a clear, construction -ready roadmap and reduce ambiguity during EPC execution.

Client Outcome

The source case study does not provide a verified client quotation. Accordingly, no client quote has been created or attributed.

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