In keeping with recent years’ performance, the Bapco Refinery achieved excellent asset reliability by going 284 days without a shutdown of any key process unit for longer than 24 hours.

The Refinery saw several record-breaking performances, thanks to Operational Availability of 97.1%, which is Q1 performance based on the Solomon Associate 2020 benchmarking study for Middle East, Europe, and Africa refineries. This achievement places Bapco at a world-class performance level and is a reflection of the whole Company’s team effort, covering oil processing, technical services, information technology, engineering, reliability and maintenance, power and utilities, risk management, oil storage and export, and many other supporting groups.

Crude Run

The crude run in 2022 was lower than budget (251.3 MBPD versus 255.2 MBPD), mainly due to optimisation related to market conditions, which were unfavourable in August and September. The annual crude run is improving as the global market recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

This commendable operational performance is a culmination of the strong management systems that the Company has in place and the dedication and professionalism of the Bapco team in the effective implementation of processes and procedures.

Refinery Yields

During the year, the Bapco Refinery likewise performed admirably. Maximum distillate yields continued to be achieved within the limitations of a volatile and dynamic external market.

Refinery Performance in Perspective

Financial losses due to incidents that affect production are referred to as “Lost Profit Opportunities” (LPO). Bapco incurred $0.165 LPO per barrel of crude in 2022—this is close to world-class performance. Low LPOs are a direct reflection of the dedication of employees and their understanding of the reliability factors affecting the financial performance of the company.

Margin Improvement Initiative

Refining and Marketing Divisions collaborated, for the third year in a row, to identify and implement opportunities that boosted the refining margin above ordinary business optimization without jeopardizing operational safety or supply reliability. The two initiatives that made greatest contributions are:

• Routing additional kerosene to the diesel pool in the Crude Distillation Units (CDUs) and No. 1 Hydrocracking Unit (1HCU), to capture the opportunity of the high price differential between diesel and kerosene.
• Using imported cutters as feed to the Fluid Catalyst Cracking Unit (FCCU) and as Fuel Oil blend stock.

Operational Challenges and Successful Adjustments

No. 1 Hydrocracking Unit (1HCU) catalyst changeout was originally scheduled for February 2022. However, due to scheduling constraints that required the shutdown to be postponed, the changeout was delayed by 6 months. In February 2022, the catalyst was close to end-of-run (EOR) conditions and faced other process limitations.

Several adjustments to the feed quality, operating conditions, and reactor temperature control strategy were made, allowing an extension of the catalyst cycle. 1HCU throughput was sustained at maximum capacity, and the Lube Base Oil Unit (LBOU) product properties were met up to the commencement of the Hub 1 Turnaround and Inspection (T&I) shutdown in August 2022. This success reflected the knowledge, experience, and expertise of the Bapco technical team.

Process Safety

There was only one Tier 1 process safety event in 2022, and awareness has been raised to maintain and improve this performance through multiple safety campaigns held throughout the year.

Environmental Performance Index

The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) improved steadily during the year due to a low number of oil spills, good performance of the Induced Air Flotation Unit (IAF), and low Sulphur Oxide (SOx) emissions. The current performance of 8.3 exceeds the target of 7.80 and the actual performance of 7.60 in 2021. This is a testament to Bapco’s efforts towards reducing the environmental impact and meeting its commitments to stakeholders and the community.

Engineering

Bapco’s Engineering Division supported many improvement initiatives proposed by various divisions to support safe and reliable operations in 2022. A total of 76 projects were handled within Bapco’s facilities.

In line with the sustainability mission of the organisation, the focus on training and developing future engineering leaders was essential. A total of 5,566 hours were invested in Bapco’s engineers in classroom training sessions, seminars, and conferences, as well as knowledge sharing sessions within Base Business and the BMP, all of which contribute to preparing young Bahraini graduates for new challenges in the oil and gas sector over the next two decades.

Maintenance and Reliability

In 2022, for the second year in a row, the highest value was achieved for the Mechanical Availability. Following the 97.1% in 2021, in 2022 the value of 97.4% was achieved, positioning Bapco in the first quartile of the Solomon Associate Fuel Study. This moved Bapco Refinery to the top of the Chevron Refineries.

The new metrics that constitute the AVAILABILITY FACTOR, introduced in 2021, demonstrated a significant increase in the reliability and availability of all the equipment and assets. Therefore, for the second consecutive year, this improvement was associated with a significant cost saving, above $14 MM.

Reliability and Maintenance Division initiated its adoption of the modern software ASSET PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT by GE, a game changer in terms of management of data and simplification of work processes. The new software will be live in Q3 2023. The path to achieve the certification ISO55001 (Asset Management) was also initiated. The certification will be achieved in Q4 2023.

The Division strongly integrated with IPMT BMP Maintenance team, contributing significantly to the construction, pre-commissioning and commissioning.

The Largest Turnaround and Inspection (T&I)

From 19 August to 23 October 2022, Bapco successfully executed Hub 1 Turnaround and Inspection (T&I), the largest turnaround event in the Company’s history, both in terms of complexity and cost. The duration of the Hub 1 T&I was 66 days and involved the largest T&I work scope the company has ever seen. The unprecedented facilities and arrangements for summer work, thorough preparations and excellent teamwork, enabled the smooth execution of maintenance work and completion of the unit’s startup. The Hub 1 T&I provided a golden opportunity for the participation of young Bahrainis to gain practical experience in the different maintenance activities carried out during the T&I. In addition, at peak manpower of 3,600 people, over 290 Bapco employees actively participated in the activities.

Approximately 50% of Bapco employees engaged in the Hub 1 T&I were below 35 years of age, including 27 young female engineers, giving the Hub 1 T&I the distinction of being the T&I with the highest female participation ever.

During the T&I an unprecedented number of 81 HSE supervisors were present 24/7. 28 Air-conditioned shelters were provided, with 20 drinking water coolers and 50,000 refreshments. Over 2 MM of working hours were delivered, managing 480+ large equipment items and 2,300+ small equipment items.

The successful completion of Hub 1 T&I is further evidence of the high potential of young Bahraini engineers at Bapco and a sign of the bright future ahead for the new generation. During the execution of the HUB 1 T&I, the preparations began for the upcoming HUB2 T&I (planned early January 2023), with the execution of 700,000 working hours of preT&I activities.