Reception, mixture, and transfer in a crude oil terminal

• A MILP model is proposed for the reception, mixture and transfer of crude oil.
• Linear constraints force concentration in tank and outlet volume to be equal.
• The rolling horizon strategy is applied to determine the optimal schedule.
• The model is analyzed and solved for specific cases in an affordable time.
• The methodology can be applied by operations planners in their daily activities.

The aim of this work is the modeling and validation of a process of reception, mixture and delivery of crude oil in a terminal. Each tank at the terminal receives different oil qualities from different cargos. Constraints are imposed to ensure material balance and operating rules. Inventory levels in the tanks are discretized. Crude oil should be transferred to the refinery according to a schedule of volumes and qualities. Linear constraints with an adjustment term for composition discrepancies are formulated to force the concentration in a tank to be equal to the concentration of the outlet volume. The problem consists in finding an optimized schedule that meets the constraints. A MILP model is proposed and solved for specific cases. In order to achieve good results in an affordable time, the rolling horizon strategy (RHS) is applied to determine the optimal schedule of crude oil operations over a time horizon.