Managing distribution in refined products pipelines using discrete-event simulation

Abstract

The management of oil-product pipelines represents a critical task in the daily operation of petroleum supply chains. Efficient computational tools are needed to schedule pipeline operations in a reliable and cost-effective manner. This work presents a novel discrete event simulation system for the detailed scheduling of a multiproduct pipeline consisting of a sequence of pipes that connects a single input station to several receiving terminals. The pipeline is modeled as a non-traditional multi-server queuing system involving a number of servers at every pipe end that perform their tasks in a synchronized manner. By using alternative priority rules, the model decides which server should dispatch the entity waiting for service to the associated depot. Also, the model deals with the timely fulfillment of terminal demands and the system response to unexpected events. In combination with optimization tools, the proposed simulation technique permits to easily manage real-world pipelines operations with low computational effort.