ABB Enables Digital Control System Evolution Project at Naphtachimie Plant in France

The project, marking a significant evolution from Advant MOD 300 to AC 800M in France, is part of a plan to modernize the entire digital control system for the Naphtachimie facility, demonstrating ABB's commitment to helping customers extend the life of their automation investments.

Naphtachimie produces ethylene, propylene, hydrogen, methane, ethane and fuel for the French market. Evolving the DCS will extend the life of the digital control system by decades and will help to optimize operations, minimize shutdown times, and enable more efficient project scheduling for the plant, which is located in Lavéra, Southern France, around 40 kilometers from Marseille.

“We have a long-standing relationship with Naphtachimie, going back to 1986,” said Louis-Christophe Delgado, local division manager at ABB Energy Industries in France. “We have an extensive installed base with the company, and we follow an evolution plan that helps customers continue to get value from existing investments, while enabling them to evolve to new technologies.”

“ABB's comprehensive plan for technological evolution aligned with our modernization needs at the Lavéra site,” said Christophe Argenson, purchasing director at Naphtachimie. “We trust ABB to support us in the development of our new DCS."

The evolution on the controller layer from Advant MOD 300 to AC 800M comes with many benefits for the petrochemical facility. ABB's AC 800M enables smooth and precise system upgrades and evolutions, with minimal disruption to plant operations. Furthermore, adopting a stepwise evolution approach allows customers to plan capital expenditures in sync with and during already planned maintenance shutdowns.

Leveraging proprietary ABB tools facilitates an error-free evolution process for enhanced control system efficiency and reliability while retaining the intellectual property of the DCS control applications. The continued use of the already upgraded ABB Ability System 800xA® operator stations for the human machine interface reduces training needs for operators, ensuring a smooth transition and sustained operational performance.

“This project reflects ABB's leadership in control system evolution, emphasizing efficiency, strategic planning and technological excellence,” said Enrico Mantero, Hub Service Manager for Central and Southern Europe at ABB Energy Industries.

In addition to supporting the evolution to AC 800M, ABB will extend the current service agreement and provide a dedicated ABB expert stationed at the site.