Allocating crude oil supply to port and refinery tanks: a simulation-based decision support system

摘要

This work focuses on the problem of allocating the crude oil loads of tanker ships to port and refinery tanks (PRT). Two discrete scheduling aspects mainly influence this process: the tankers' arrivals and the sequence of crude lots processed in the refinery. A simulation-based approach that can be applied as a simulator of the physics of the crude oil flow in the refinery system, as a learning support for personnel training, and as a decision support system (DSS) is proposed. The results of the application of the implemented system on a real small–medium-sized refinery system are presented.