High-tech solutions for Rompetrol Rafinare’s transports

Rompetrol Rafinare, a member of the KMG International Group, together with its main partner for domestic rail transport, Romanian Rail Group, successfully implemented a real-time monitoring and control system for oil products traffic – Shunting Expert.

Shunting Expert is to be used on the two platforms operated by Rompetrol Rafinare – the Petromidia Refinery and Vega Refinery from Ploiesti. Through the app, operators will have unlimited access to about 13,000 wagons monthly (10,000 to Petromidia, 3,000 to Vega).

The impressive volume of petroleum products, transported through a significant number of railway manoeuvres, requires strict control over all parameters, and the software is capable of recording and relaying in real time the position of the wagons on the lines. The application can also be seen as a basic tool that facilitates and mediates decisions made by the direct coordinator of manoeuvring operations.

“We are always looking for digital solutions to streamline the work of the two refineries. A precision instrument such as Shunting Expert helps us have a very clear picture of the products we send across the country. We are making a significant forward step in the digitization of Rompetrol Rafinare’s business and we are glad that we are constantly finding solutions that will support us to achieve rising operational results every year,” says Yedil Utekov, General Manager of Rompetrol Rafinare.

The state-of-the-art system makes it possible for people with a different professional background to access the manoeuvre coordinator. Specifically, it allows them to see with great precision the route, load and status of each moving car.

With the help of the Shunting Expert, digitization is 100% integrated and the benefits are countless: the total control of the wagon condition, the total track control of the railway lines (implicitly also controlling the occupancy of the lines), the considerable decrease in human effort and errors that can be caused by humans, accuracy of reports, traceability of wagons, locomotives and specialized personnel or interconnection with other applications.

None-the-less, Rompetrol Rafinare has unlimited access to wagon history, road reports, but also a complete and correct image of the trains shipped to Capu Midia or the Ploiesti Nord halt.

The Shunting Expert application is a premiere at national level and in the Southeast of Europe, and Rompetrol Rafinare is the first company to use the state-of-the-art system to track traffic on both Petromidia and at the Vega Refinery in Ploiesti.

The implementation of this software is not the only digital collaboration between Rompetrol Rafinare and Romanian Railway Group. Recently, the two sides have successfully integrated the Electronic Book of Letters. Until now, all documents proving a freight traffic were completed by hand or in printed form. Currently, important data is placed on a digital platform, where it can be endorsed and tracked by all parties involved.

“If Shunting Expert creates a digital bridge in the operational plan, the Electronic Book of Letters will redefine the relationship in the commercial plan. Upon completion of this process, we can say that GFR will have the highest level of digital cooperation with Rompetrol on the rail freight market in this area of Europe. In an industry that needs sustained growth, such as rail freight transport, it is necessary to integrate technology into daily work to remain competitive and to achieve performance,” says Amedeo Neculcea, Deputy General Manager of Grup Feroviar Roman.

For the KMGI Group, implementing a digital solution on the trading segment provides a clearer picture of the management of petroleum products. Rompetrol owns six fuel depots (Arad, Craiova, Mogosoaia, Simleul Silvaniei, Vatra Dornei and Zarnesti), which successfully cover the market demand in Romania.

During its 40 years of operation, the Petromidia refinery has, on the backdrop of major investments, continuously developing its production activities. For example, from a quantity of raw material processed in 1979 (commissioning time) of 1.26 million tonnes to 3.82 million tonnes in 2007 (the time of acquisition by KazMunayGas), 5.66 million in 2017 and 5.92 million tonnes last year.

Established in 1905, the Vega Refinery in Ploiesti recorded 8 historical records in 2018, including the processed raw material, but also the obtained products (bitumen, solvent, hexane). Vega works in perfect synergy with the Petromidia – Navodari refinery, which supplies the raw materials/semi-finished products to the refinery in Ploiesti.