Aramco and Yokogawa commission autonomous-control, AI agents

Yokogawa Electric Corp. reported Oct. 29 that it’s deployed multiple, autonomous-control AI agents to increase efficiency at Aramco’s Fadhili gas plant in Saudi Arabia. This solution uses multiple, coordinated AI agents based on the Factorial Kernel Dynamic Policy Programming (FKDPP) reinforcement learning-based AI algorithm to directly and autonomously control and optimize acid gas removal (AGR) operations at the facility.

Yokogawa defines autonomous control AI as AI that deduces the optimum method for control independently, and has a high level of robustness, enabling it to autonomously handle to a certain extent situations it hasn’t previously encountered. FKDPP is a reinforcement-learning, AI algorithm jointly developed by Yokogawa and the Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST).

The AI agents were introduced in three phases at Fadhili, progressively optimizing various sections until autonomous control of the core process in the acid gas removal (AGR) unit was achieved. To ensure safety, Yokogawa first simulated the plant to train the agents, and then evaluated their reliability and validity. Subsequently, they were integrated with Yokogawa's Centum VP integrated production control system to use the safety functions of the existing plant.

Yokogawa and Aramco add their project is undergoing a detailed evaluation, but initial results from Fadhili found 10-15% less amine and steam use, around 5% less power use, improved process stability, and decreased manual intervention by operators, despite ambient condition changes.

“Aramco has embarked on an ambitious plan to unlock value by deploying industrial AI applications across our operations. It reflects how the company is harnessing advanced technology, including AI, to elevate its performance and reinforce its position as a technology leader in the energy sector,” says Khalid Al Qahtani, engineering services SVP at Aramco. “We look forward to building on this important milestone as we explore further adoption of cutting-edge solutions that will contribute to a new era of industrial innovation.”

Kunimasa Shigeno, director, president, CEO, and representative executive officer at Yokogawa, adds, “We’re honored that Yokogawa was entrusted by Aramco to implement such ground-breaking technology in one of its major facilities. We’re very pleased it’s already exceeded expectations. Yokogawa is advocating the transition from industrial automation to industrial autonomy (IA2IA), and this deployment proves we’re ready to lead the way towards safe and secure autonomous operations for plants in the energy sector.”