Aspen PIMSTM and Aspen PIMS-AO

Make fast, accurate, and profitable decisions about feedstock selection, marketresponses, crude, and product mix

Aspen PIMS is the world’s leading petroleum and petrochemical planning system employing cutting-edge proprietary technology that enables accurate, rapid, and profitable planning decisions. Anintuitive graphical interface with enhanced reporting makes it easy to view, analyze, and reportalternatives while guiding users to the proven optimum solution. Aspen PIMS also facilitates betterdowntime planning and risk and inventory management so profitability is always optimized.

Aspen PIMS Advanced Optimization (PIMS-AO) is a layered application for Aspen PIMS that enablesusers to make more rapid and profitable planning decisions through a globally optimal model. Themodel offers the best balance between available feedstocks, product requirements, and process unitcapacity, while considering changing input parameters and hierarchical objectives.

The Challenge: Creating Profitable Plansin a Volatile Market

Refinery managers and planners are under constant pressure to

develop the most profitable and feasible operating plans while

meeting regulatory requirements and maintaining refinery uptime.

To achieve maximum profitability, planners must be able to quickly

make accurate and optimal planning decisions about feedstock

selection, process runs, and product mix while taking into account

other factors, such as changing market demands and price volatility.

The AspenTech Solution: Dynamic Planningfor Optimum Results

Aspen PIMS is a scalable planning system that helps companies

optimize feedstock selection, product slate optimization, plant

design, and operational execution. Users are able to link a number

of single-plant models to form a complex multi-source, multi-plant, multi-market environment plans.

Additionally, Aspen PIMS allows the use of linear and non-linear planning capabilities to meet multi-plant and multi-period

requirements based on optimizing feedstock selection, product slates, plant design, and operational execution plans. Users

familiar with Aspen PIMS can quickly leverage the additional functionality to take advantage of its increased modeling and

analysis capabilities.

Aspen PIMS helps improve refinery operations by:

• Adding flexibility to feedstock selection

• Extending production runs

• Rapid response to changing market demands

• Maintaining the highest value-addedproduct mix

• Enabling faster problem solving

• Modeling crude distillation columns withgreater accuracy

• Sharing assay data with scheduling applications

• Achieving a global optimum (by eliminating localoptima) for product volumes, costs, and prices

Aspen PIMSTM

Aspen PIMS delivers a competitive advantage with its advanced

optimization features that enable less-skilled planners to

perform at an expert level, providing short response times with

reliable, well-vetted solutions. The unparalleled visibility and

reporting with hot links enables the development of new work

processes that take full advantage of the wealth of information

available.

Ensure the Optimum Solution

Aspen PIMS’ advanced optimization quickly identifies the

optimum solution while providing sufficient detail on

alternative solutions. Aspen PIMS reveals local optima and the

highest value global solution. It determines the best balance

between available feedstocks, product requirements, and

process unit capacity, providing flexibility to meet rapidly

changing market conditions. It also provides a convenient way

to automatically vary selected feedstock purchase costs or

product sales prices and monitor any aspect of the solution as

these variables change. Aspen PIMS lets users set primary,

secondary, and tertiary goals for a solution. For example, a

solution might maximize the economic objective while

maximizing crude unit throughput and minimizing purchase of

risky imported crude.

Non-Linear Model Flexibility

Aspen PIMS offers users great flexibility in the types of

equations that can be used, such as adding non-linear

equations to models or inserting new non-linear terms into

existing equations. Users build model equations only; the

system builds derivatives, eliminating many potential modeling

errors. The new equations or non-linear terms can reference

existing Aspen PIMS variables or define new variables.

The Aspen PIMS user interface uses an advancedoptimization engine to solve multiple cases defined bythe user.

Aspen PIMS includes an XLR Viewer that provides animproved ability to analyze infeasibilities and resolveissues that may cause execution problems.

Aspen PIMSTM

Function Benefit

Global Optimization• Finds global optimumwhile identifying potential localoptima answers

• Uses open equation formulation

• Supports use of non-linear tools to run what-ifscenarios

Solution Ranging• Provides unique visibility of the entire solution spaceand the range of its validity for feedstocks, unitcapacities, product slates

• Identifies the optimal range of values for eachanalyzed variable

• Describes deviations from the base optimal slate

High Performance Computing• Automatically determines the number of CPUsavailable on the machine and uses all of them to runscenarios in parallel

Goal Programming• Defines secondary and tertiary objectives in additionto the primary objective for a solution

• Sets a maximum percentage deviation or change ingoal

• Eliminates necessity for multiple runs; solves for local optimaand global optimum to increase margin

• Identifies the solution that maximizes overall profitability

• Validates solution and enhances planners’ confidence

• Ensures accuracy and consistency across business processes

• Reduces crude slate—eliminates risky crudes from feedstockslate while reducing the number of crude types

• Improves inventory management, tank management, andcrude scheduling

• Improves downtime planning

• Improves risk management capability

• Increases speed of response with an unprecedented level ofconfidence

• Allows the evaluation of more scenarios in less time

• Reduces case stack run times

• Addresses operational requirements that are difficult toquantify

• Imposes non-economic goals that improve plan acceptanceand execution

• Provides insight into economic cost of operating decisions

• Produces more consistent and stable plans over time

aspenONE Planning & Scheduling for Refining &Marketing

Aspen PIMS is a key component of aspenONE Planning and Scheduling for Refining & Marketing.

aspenONE Planning & Scheduling integrates planning processes (such as feedstock evaluation, product

slate optimization, plant design, and operational optimization) and scheduling processes (such as crude

and feedstock scheduling, unit operations, product blending and product shipping) in either single- or

multi-user environments.

AspenTech’s planning and scheduling solutions share a common model environment, with common

assays, process unit representations, and blending correlations. By leveraging the same basic model of

the plant, planning and scheduling work processes can be integrated, improved, and standardized.

Empower Your Company to Succeed

aspenONE Refining and Marketing Supply Chain solutions provide the tools that enable refiners to

improve supply chain visibility and operational efficiency. AspenTech’s Professional Services team helps

customers maximize benefits by effectively deploying solutions and best practices in demand

management, refinery planning and scheduling, and distribution. Unparalleled industry knowledge

combined with comprehensive solution expertise has allowed AspenTech to deliver thousands of

successful implementations, driving increased margins for our customers. Combined with our world-

class 24/7 technical support service, flexible training options, and local language product availability,

AspenTech provides the resources to enable your company to meet and exceed its business objectives.

To learn more, visitwww.aspentech.com/pro_service.

About AspenTech

AspenTech is a leading supplier of software that optimizes process manufacturing—for energy,

chemicals, pharmaceuticals, engineering and construction, and other industries that manufacture and

produce products from a chemical process. With integrated aspenONE® solutions, process

manufacturers can implement best practices for optimizing their engineering, manufacturing, and supply

chain operations. As a result, AspenTech customers are better able to increase capacity, improve

margins, reduce costs, and become more energy efficient. To see how the world’s leading process

manufacturers rely on AspenTech to achieve their operational excellence goals, visit

www.aspentech.com.

Worldwide Headquarters

Aspen Technology, Inc.200Wheeler RoadBurlington, MA 01803United States

phone: +1–781–221–6400fax: +1–781–221–6410info@aspentech.com

Regional Headquarters

Houston, TX | USAphone: +1–281–584–1000

São Paulo | Brazilphone: +55–11–3443–6261

Reading | United Kingdomphone: +44–(0)–1189–226400

Singapore | Republic of Singaporephone: +65–6395–3900

Manama | Bahrainphone: +973–17–50–3000

For a complete list of offices, please visitwww.aspentech.com/locations

©2011 Aspen Technology, Inc. AspenTech®, aspenONE®, the Aspen leaf logo, OPTIMIZE, and the 7 Best Practices of Engineering Excellenceare trademarks of Aspen Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. 11-403-0611