**2. Energy supply chain networks**

Energy efficiency of the energy supply chain network is aligned with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 which is aimed at delivering more sustainable, socially inclusive, and prosperous economic development. The energy supply chain in KSA mainly constitutes of Hydrocarbon Supply Chain (HCSC) i.e., crude oil and natural gas supply chains, along with utility plants. HCSC chain is wholly owned by the stateowned oil giant Saudi Aramco while utility plants which are mainly for power generation plants are owned by Saudi Electric Company (SEC). Although SEC owned power generation plants and distribution of electricity, Saudi Aramco also has power generation capacity through cogeneration and generates power which is excess of its total consumption and supplied to SEC for distribution. **Figure 8**, provides an overview of the energy supply chain network in KSA which constitutes of different stages/components and could be defined in many ways but usually constitute of the following main components:


### **Figure 8.**

*Energy supply chain losses diagram.*

produced water) components. It includes Gas and Oil Separation Plants (GOSPs), crude stabilization facilities, and gas compression plants along with utilities to supply energy to these plants.


*Energy Efficiency: The Overlooked Energy Resource DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.101835*

Although, there are not very sharp and distinct boundaries among all components of the energy supply chain but it is needed to unify efforts to improve energy efficiency. The KSA's energy supply chain, which is mainly HCSC consisted of two parallel supply chains of crude oil and natural gas, which are divided into three echelons: production areas (starting at the well head), processing plants, and distribution terminals. An overlap exists between the two networks because crude oil is strictly a two-phase fluid that contains both oil and dissolved associated gas. **Figure 9** [9] depicts a schematic representation of the HCSC network, it clearly indicates that Echelon 1 is mainly a reservoir facility management component, Echelon 2 covers upstream, downstream, distribution as well as utilities facilities while Echelon 3 belongs to end-users.

The reservoir facility management is very different from the above surface facilities. It includes sub-surfaces, highly dependent on the reservoir characteristic, and emphasis on reliability and not conversed in the chapter. Most of the equipment and systems, such as steam, compressors, furnaces and boilers, rotary equipment (air compressors, pump, and fan motors), combined heat and power, cogeneration is common for Echelon 2. The discussed solutions might be applicable to different components of the energy chain but considering the frequent applicability, they could be leveraged across an Echelon or beyond.

#### **2.1 General strategies for energy efficiency improvement**

There are several well-established and proven strategies for improving energy efficiency in industrial processes. Some of them pertain to equipment, and others to systems. For example, a heat exchanger is an item of equipment, but a Heat Exchanger Network (HEN) that preheats the feed to a distillation column is a system. Both categories must be addressed, keeping in mind that improving system efficiencies has multiple potentials for savings than component/equipment efficiency upgrades.

This chapter will list some of the more important techniques generally applicable to all processes, without attempting to describe any of them in detail. It highlights some of the findings of the energy assessments conducted by Saudi Aramco and based on the case studies;

**Figure 9.** *Details of upstream hydrocarbon supply chain network [9].*


Rather, we will give examples of the application of these methods for specific projects under-taken or under consideration at Aramco facilities.

The following subsections will explain each energy supply chain network component. The energy consumption and production in upstream, downstream, utilities including power plants and end-users—is very complex and linked.
