- Energy & Resources, PMO & Project Controls
Repsol Polímeros is the largest Portuguese petrochemical company and one of Portugal's biggest exporters as well. Their industrial complex, located in Sines, is also one of Repsol's main sites globally. Here, we explore how MIGSO-PCUBED (MP) Portugal is delivering value to this major global player in the Energy & Resources industry.
The Six-Year Turnaround Challenge
Approximately every six years, the Sines petrochemical complex plans a general turnaround for several key activities, including periodic, preventive and corrective maintenance, and installation of new equipment as part of improvement projects. Additionally, the turnaround encompasses commissioning activities, certifications, as well as obtaining necessary licenses to comply with the most recent regulatory requirements and ensure the safe operation of the site.
The general turnaround project includes a high volume of tasks to be carried out (more than 40,000+ activities) on a wide range of technical disciplines. Furthermore, the project involves a significant number of internal and external stakeholders, including execution teams, coordination teams on-site, service providers, and certifying organizations, which require careful coordination. The organization presented an opportunity for growth in digital literacy and project management practices, which added an extra layer of complexity — but also opened the door for meaningful capability-building and long-term improvement.
On this occasion, the scheduled general turnaround coincides with the ALBA expansion project, which involves integrating newly built-in plants with the existing infrastructure. This overlap adds complexity to the operation, as both the general turnaround activities and the expansion work must be carefully coordinated to ensure safety, efficiency, and minimal disruption to ongoing processes.
The designated ALBA project represents one of the Repsol group's significant steps in its decarbonization and energy transition strategy and consists of expanding the existing Petrochemical Complex in Sines by building two new greenfield plants dedicated to the production of 100% recyclable polymeric materials with high-added value.
These new Polypropylene (PP) and Low Linear Polyethylene (LLDPE) production units will have a production capacity of 600,000 tons per year, thus contributing to significant increases in the Portuguese site capacity and Repsol polyolefins business growth.
Considering both projects, the global main objectives are to centralize planning activities and documentation, standardize and systematize information flows to ensure efficient communication and management, and implement performance indicators to effectively monitor work execution.
Mastering the Maze: Crafting Smart Solutions for Seamless Execution
To deliver value right from the start, on the general turnaround project, our expert consultants developed an integrated planning tool in MS Project – practically a master schedule that facilitates resource optimization/leveling, identification of critical paths, and planning conflicts verification.
Additionally, a digital dashboard in Power BI was implemented to track and report daily progress of the project work. This highly customized decision-support tool became crucial to assist in effective decision-making throughout the project.
These two pillars form the core of our tailored plan solution for the client:
It is important to note that our expert and passionate team of consultants supported our client on-site at every step, providing technical support for all planning, execution, monitoring and control phases. Our team assisted the client in decision-making and helped to identify potential deviations ahead of time, ensuring smoother project progress.
Working fully on-site brought significant added value to the project: facilitated more effective communication, helped build trust, and fostered strong working relationships. It also allowed for better integration into the Client team, promoting a deeper understanding of the project's context, enabling the team to gather real-time data and insights, minimizing the risk of information loss or bias, and improving response times to requests, contributing to a more adaptive project environment.
On the ALBA project, our consultants focused on identifying opportunities for improvement in project management processes in areas such as planning, governance and KPIs.
- From the planning perspective, our team conducted in-depth schedule analysis to identify efficiency opportunities and implemented a new, more efficient updating methodology, enhancing team engagement and accountability.
- On the Governance side, we redesigned the governance model and introduced structured meetings at different levels to improve communication and information flow.
- Regarding the KPIs, we defined performance indicators and developed a dashboard covering economic, progress, and safety metrics to support project tracking and decision-making. Other dashboards were developed to provide appropriate control over the outstanding punch items resolution in the handover process between construction and commissioning, as well as efficiency control of the work permit issuance process.
It should be emphasized that both projects benefited from shared knowledge and tools, enabling synergies that enhanced efficiency and facilitated the transfer of best practices across teams.
Unlocking Value: Transforming Planning into Performance
Thanks to our successful partnership, on both projects, Repsol Polímeros gained an integrated overview of the project work, leading to a significant improvement in the overall quality of planning. MP optimized the control capabilities during the execution phase, as well as reduced the risk of delays due to planning conflicts. Additionally, we minimized the risk of financial losses due to inefficient planning.
Having more centralized information and deploying a collaborative platform for various stakeholders enabled a more efficient control over critical project information, especially in the project execution phase, as well as the automation of data validation and reporting processes. As a result, we witnessed a reduction in errors, delays, and resource requirements throughout the entire project.
Looking Ahead: Building on Success for a Sustainable Future
MP’s support and expert solutions lead consistently to highly positive results in schedule updating and monitoring processes, as well as in project performance analysis.
The economic and geographical challenges of the project may lead to strategic changes in the future. As MP expands its footprint in the local Portuguese market, we look forward to continue providing tailored solutions adapted to the evolving reality of each project and considering the specificities of each client.
“MIGSO-PCUBED has been a key stakeholder for Repsol Polímeros in the last two years, being part of our OneTeam, to enhance performance and efficiency in the decision-making process through rigorous planning execution, optimization, validation and management processes KPI follow-up”
– André Vilelas, Alba Project Site Manager for Commissioning and Plants Startup at Repsol Polímeros
Thank you Vinicio Ribeiro, Francisco Reis and Luis Moura for contributing to this article.
Interested in working with us?
As a customer-first consulting firm, we take pride in our client relationships. That’s why our focus is to be your Project Management partner, working with you to find the best solution for your needs.
When you contact us, we ensure every message is read, thoughtfully considered, and passed to the right person. Our Business Managers are ready when you are!
