Integration of generative and evaluative models for production scheduling of lube oil plants in a petroleum refinery

A study was made on the existing practices of production planning, scheduling and prevailing constraints in the six plants of a lube oil section in a petroleum refinery. Based on the data collected from these plants, some generative and evaluative models were developed. The generative models developed were flow network optimisation (FNO) model and binary integer linear programming (BILP) model. The evaluative model developed was simulation. The optimal results obtained from the generative model were fed to the evaluative model to derive the measure of performance. This integration of generative and evaluative models offers an opportunity for better understanding of the subsystem and appropriate decision making.