Axens and Orbeo completed a joint study of the SIR Refinery in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, to improve its energy efficiency. The study focused on identification of greenhouse gas emission reduction possibilities. Some projects have been identified as potentially eligible for Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol.
The SIR refinery has a capacity of 3.8 million tons per year and participates to the Solomon Associates survey.
Energy costs of the refinery represent more than 55% of its total operating costs. The 14-week project was carried out in three phases:
· The first phase was dedicated to site data collection and technical interviews with refinery personnel responsible for operation and maintenance. More than 80 possible energy reduction projects were identified.
· During the second phase, the most interesting projects regarding the energy consumption reduction were studied in detail and 36 projects were selected by SIR.
· In the third phase, the investment cost and related profitability of the selected projects were determined.
The conclusions of the project were:
· The total potential savings represent 36% reduction of Energy Intensity Index (EII™) points of which half was related to improved maintenance of thermal equipment and adoption of best practices. The half remaining points require investments ranging between 1 and 8 million Euros.
· 14 projects were compliant with CDM criteria. The “Project Idea Notes (PIN) were developed as established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The 14 projects identified during the study and proposed to SIR, could represent 270,000 tons per year of avoided CO2 emissions.
The success of this project was based on SIR management commitment combined with Axens’ innovative energy consulting methodology and Orbeo expertise in CDM project identification.
