PIDX standards-ready solutions for fuel supply management Kuwait Petroleum in the Benelux, also known as Q8, runs service stations under the brand names of Q8, Tango, and IDS. In addition, it also operates three fuel supply terminals. The company, which began its European operations in the mid-1980s, strives to stay on the industry’s cutting-edge trendline.

1. Kuwait Petroleum in the Benelux, also known as Q8, runs service
stations under the brand names of Q8, Tango, and IDS. In addition, it
also operates three fuel supply terminals. The company, which began its
European operations in the mid-1980s, strives to stay on the industry’s
cutting-edge trendline.
Challenges
Increasingly, major supply companies in the Oil & Gas industry have been
selling off their terminal distribution infrastructure and using third-party
operators to distribute products. While this provides savings for certain
overhead expenses, it also poses a supply management problem for these
companies as their thousands of customers are travelling to hundreds of
terminals operated by different companies. Keeping track of supply levels
and managing customer allocations in this scenario is difficult.
The solution has been fuel supply management systems that not only allow
suppliers to view product levels across their entire network, but also enable
them to manage credit limits and allocations for their customers. To work,
however, these systems need to integrate with the terminal automation
system (TAS) that controls loading, and this can be a challenge in a
multi-vendor environment.
PROJECT AT A GLANCE
Project Type
A fuel supply management solution for
a top-10 energy conglomerate.
Location
Bertrange, Luxembourg
Applications
DTN Guardian3™
CUSTOMER BENEFITS
• Improved operational efficiency
• Stronger customer relations
• Instantaneous reporting and notifications
• Increased control over network of terminals
Kuwait Petroleum International (Q8)
PIDX standards-ready solutions for fuel supply management
Fuel Supply Management Solutions
Make the most of your energySM

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February 2014
Schneider Electric USA, Inc.
9110 West Dodge Road, Omaha, NE 68114 Telephone: 1-866-338-7586 Fax: 1-402-255-8125 www.schneider-electric.com
In the United States, suppliers and terminal
operators have adopted standards that allow
fuel supply management systems to plug
directly into a terminal’s automation system.
The standards are in place so that even if a
terminal uses a different vendor for its TAS than
the supplier’s fuel supply management system
vendor, they can still interface.
The same trends are moving into Europe, and
major suppliers, in particular, are beginning to
demand the same kinds of connectivity and
standardisation with their terminal automation
systems. To capitalise on this demand from
the major suppliers, and to stay true to its
commitment to cutting-edge technology, Q8
decided to transition their terminal automation
systems to the newly-developed PIDX standards.
This helps them connect to fuel supply
management systems.
Solution
With fuel supply management systems, suppliers
are able to control all aspects of product supply
management across their entire terminal network.
This includes managing access permissions,
credit limits, and product allocations for their
customers at each individual terminal — and
doing so in a way that is both efficient and
provides instantaneous notification of changes
to suppliers, terminal operators, and customers.
By adopting the PIDX standards, Q8 is ready
to provide suppliers the business advantage of
using a fuel supply management system at its
terminals, for very low initial investments. Q8
is ready for a future where the speed of data
sharing becomes very important.
Customers picking up product from terminals
also receive the benefit of pulling from terminals
that support their supplier’s fuel supply
management system. These customers are able
to access information about their credit limits
and product allocations at the terminals they pull
from at any time from online dashboards, so they
never have to worry about sending a truck to a
location where it can’t load product — a costly
waste of a trip. As a result, Q8 will not only attract
more suppliers to its terminals, but it will also be a
preferred loading point for its customers.
Results
One of the main benefits of implementing
PIDX standards is that it is a relatively low-
intensity adoption.
Q8, a long-time user of Schneider Electric’s DTN
Guardian3, a solution designed to integrate with
fuel supply management systems, contracted
the company to help. It also worked with DCM
EMBA Metering & Control, its knowledgeable
distributor, which it has worked with since 1988.
Together, the two companies could provide it with
a complete terminal solution. Schneider Electric’s
automation system was central to the solution,
with DCM EMBA supplying and installing flow
meters, pumps and valves, loading arms, and
injection systems.
With those pieces in place, the total
implementation process consisted of several
rounds of data communications testing in
controlled environments, but less than half a day
to get the terminal itself up and running.
Since the implementation, Q8 has seen efficiency
improvements for its stakeholders; loading
reports now go out almost instantaneously.
More importantly, Q8 is poised to attract
additional business from major suppliers seeking
partnerships in Europe.
Kuwait Petroleum
International refines and
markets fuel, lubricants,
and other petroleum
derivatives in Europe and
the Far East.
“The use of the automation system makes it very easy for Q8 to
manage the terminal on a daily basis. The operators can focus on the
daily tasks at the terminal and not have to worry on admin work.”
Prominent DCM EMB executive
Fuel Supply Management Solutions Kuwait Petroleum International