Refinery Shipment Planning: Monthly and Daily Execution

Shipment Planning Series
       1. Shipment Planning Fundamentals (complete guide)
       2. Shipment Node Control
       3. Shipment Execution Strategies
       4. Daily vs Monthly Planning
       5. Working Calendars
       6. Shipment Performance Metrics
       7. Why Shipment Planning Should Be Simulated

Solution: Shipment Node Simulation for Petroleum Refining Digital Twins

       Refinery shipment node is a simulation component that executes refinery shipment plans within a digital twin model. It converts planned shipment volumes into physical material transfers while monitoring plan fulfillment under real process constraints. By connecting shipment demand with tank farm inventory and refinery production. Refinery shipment node enables engineers to verify whether monthly, quarterly, annual, or daily shipment plans can be executed in practice rather than only on paper.

       Refineries execute shipment plans over different planning horizons depending on operational requirements. The most common approaches are monthly and daily planning, each providing a different balance between operational flexibility and execution control. Shipment plans may also be prepared for quarterly, annual, or custom planning periods. A long-term plan defines the required shipment volumes for an extended reporting period, while a short-term plan specifies the quantities that must be shipped on individual days. Different planning horizons support different shipment scheduling strategies. Refinery shipment node have to support both approaches and executes the selected planning strategy configured for the dynamic refinery digital twin model. Shipment planning is one of the key processes in refinery production planning because it defines future inventory requirements and production targets.

       A monthly shipment plan specifies only the total product volume that must be shipped during the reporting period. The exact shipment timing is determined during simulation by the selected Shipment Node execution algorithm together with current process constraints. The resulting shipment schedule and plan fulfillment can then be evaluated using shipment performance metrics.

A daily shipment plan defines the shipment volume for each individual day. The refinery Shipment Node reads the planned daily quantity from the database and executes it independently of previous or future days using the mechanisms described in shipment node control. Daily planning is used when shipment quantities must be controlled for each reporting day.

       Daily and monthly planning are the most commonly used planning horizons in refinery operations. The required planning mode is selected during model configuration before the simulation starts. It remains unchanged throughout the simulation, reflecting how shipment planning is organized in real refineries. In practice, shipment execution algorithms and operating rules are typically configured individually for each product or shipment stream. This allows different products to follow different shipment strategies, working schedules, and operational constraints within the same refinery model.

       Refinery shipment node can optionally restrict shipments to predefined working hours. This setting is configured independently for each Refinery shipment node, allowing different shipment streams to operate under different schedules within the same refinery model. Some shipment streams may operate continuously 24 hours a day, while others are limited to configured working hours, with shipments automatically suspended during nights, weekends, and holidays according to the refinery operating calendar.

       Refinery shipment node usually supports two shipment execution algorithms for monthly shipment plans.
       Monthly fast opens the shipment valve fully and transfers product at the maximum rate permitted by the process. The actual shipment rate is determined by equipment capacity, tank farm availability, and other process constraints. The monthly target is reached as quickly as possible.
       Monthly evenly distributes the monthly shipment volume uniformly over the execution period. Refinery shipment node calculates the required daily target, transfers product until that target is reached, then suspends shipments until the next day. A configurable reserve period can be defined to leave several days at the end of the month for recovering from operational delays.
Both algorithms execute the same monthly target but differ only in the shipment distribution strategy.
       If no additional operational restrictions are configured, product is transferred at the maximum rate permitted by the process throughout the planning period. The resulting shipment behavior can be evaluated using shipment performance metrics.

       Daily shipment plans require no internal distribution algorithm because the shipment quantity is already defined for each day. Refinery shipment node loads the planned daily volume, opens the shipment valve, and continues transferring product until the target is reached or the reporting day ends.
       Each day is treated as an independent execution period. Any remaining daily target is not automatically transferred to the following day because daily shipment schedules are often coordinated with external transportation providers or blending operations, where shifting shipment volumes between days is not permitted. Unless limited by external operational constraints, Refinery shipment nodekeeps the shipment valve fully open and transfers product at the maximum available process rate during the active planning period.

       Any element of the refinery supply chain can become the bottleneck. The Shipment Node executes the shipment plan but does not eliminate process constraints. A shipment can only be completed if the refinery is physically capable of producing, storing, and delivering the required product. Simulation results provide detailed shipment execution statistics for analyzing bottlenecks and plan fulfillment.
       The primary limitation is the material balance. The refinery cannot ship more product than is available from feedstock, production, and existing inventories. Additional constraints may include limited feedstock quality, insufficient process unit capacity, inadequate tank farm inventory, storage or pumping limitations, and loading infrastructure constraints such as pipelines, loading racks, or railcar availability.

       Learn the complete refinery shipment planning workflow in Refinery Shipment Planning.

       Petroleum Refining Library provides a dedicated ShipmentNode component for refinery shipment planning and execution. ShipmentNode supports daily, monthly (shipmentScheduleType (label: Shipment algorithm)), and custom planning periods, multiple shipment execution algorithms, configurable working-hour restrictions (restrictShipmentToWorkHours (label: Shipment only in working hours)), and optional plan overfulfillment (allowOverPlanning (label: Allow overplanning)) for selected shipment streams.
       The component automatically loads shipment plans from the database, executes them according to the configured strategy, records execution statistics, and provides the shipment demand required by tank farms to determine tank farm inventory targets. This enables engineers to validate shipment plans, identify operational bottlenecks, and verify that refinery production, storage, and logistics can satisfy future shipment requirements. Each ShipmentNode manages a single product stream and operates independently of other ShipmentNodes within the model.

       Refinery shipment nodesupports multiple shipment planning horizons while providing a consistent mechanism for plan execution and performance measurement. Whether the refinery uses daily, monthly, quarterly, or annual plans, Refinery shipment nodeconverts production targets into executable shipment operations.
Refinery shipment nodebridges refinery production planning and physical shipment execution. Combined with dynamic simulation, it allows engineers to verify whether planned shipments can be achieved under real refinery operating constraints.

Continue reading the complete Refinery Shipment Planning Guide guide to learn how shipment plans are created, executed and validated in refinery Digital Twin models.

1. What planning horizons does Refinery shipment node support?
Refinery shipment node supports daily, monthly, quarterly, annual, and custom planning periods. Monthly and daily planning are the most commonly used in refinery operations.

2. What is the difference between monthly and daily shipment planning?
A monthly plan specifies only the total shipment volume for the reporting period, while a daily plan defines the shipment quantity for each individual day.

3. Can Refinery shipment node distribute monthly shipments automatically?
Yes. Monthly plans can be executed using different algorithms, including maximum-rate shipment and uniform shipment distribution throughout the month.

4. Can Refinery shipment node restrict shipments to working hours?
Yes. Shipments can be limited to predefined working hours configured in the model.

5. Can Refinery shipment node overfulfill a shipment plan?
Yes. Optional plan overfulfillment can be enabled during model configuration for shipment streams where additional product transfer is acceptable.

6. Can Refinery shipment node change the planning mode during a simulation?
No. The planning mode is selected during model configuration and remains fixed throughout the simulation.

7. Does Refinery shipment node optimize refinery production?
No. Refinery shipment node executes shipment plans and records their fulfillment. Production optimization is performed by planning or optimization systems, while the digital twin verifies whether the plan is operationally feasible.

8. How does Refinery shipment node interact with tank farms?
Tank farms use Refinery shipment node to determine the inventory required to satisfy future shipment demand, allowing the simulation to calculate the production needed to meet the plan.

9. Can multiple Refinery shipment node operate in the same model?
Yes. Each Refinery shipment node operates independently and is typically assigned to a single product or shipment stream.

10. What industries can use Refinery shipment node?
Although primarily designed for petroleum refining, Refinery shipment node can be used in any process industry that requires execution and monitoring of planned material transfers.