BUSINESS: 327 PRACTICES
Founded in 1998, HELLENiQ ENERGY (https://www.helleniqenergy.gr/en) is one of the leading energy groups in South East Europe, with presence in 6 countries and activities spanning across the energy value chain, namely: oil refining and fuel marketing, exploration and production, renewable energy sources, petrochemicals, power and gas.
The aim of the action is the implementation of an integrated Energy Management system, in HELLENiQ ENERGY Group’s Aspropyrgos, Elefsina and Thessaloniki Refineries as well as in its Domestic Fuels Marketing Activities (Hellenic Fuels and Lubricants (EKO ABEE) and its subsidiary Calypso KEA SA), which simultaneously ensures compliance with the energy-related legal requirements.
The ISO 50001 standard for Energy Management is an important management tool and its application aims to establish the required processes that will lead to optimal energy performance. It is based on the methodology of Deming's principle "Plan - Execute - Check - Improve" and requires, in addition to the systemic specifications (documentation control, personnel training, monitoring of corrective and preventive actions, inspection and review), mainly the following:
To all interested parties - shareholders of the HELLENiQ ENERGY Group, such as customers-consumers, suppliers, investors, local and wider society but especially to the employees employed in the Group's facilities.
The first year of operation of the energy management system according to ISO 50001:2018 is the year 2022. The position of the group is that the system will continue to operate in the future while it is planned to be extended to the other facilities/companies of the Group.
On the occasion of the accelerated energy transition, the Group is rapidly transforming, based on its new strategic business plan for sustainable growth, called “Vision 2025”. One of the five key pillars of Vision 2025 is redefining the ESG strategy and the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. As part of implementing actions for the energy transition of the Group, which is fully aligned with the goal of mitigating the effect of climate change, energy management is at the core of the group's strategy.
Based on the effective implementation and operation of the Energy Management System, a separate organizational chart was initially created with specific roles and responsibilities.
In each refinery, the Energy Management Team consists of executives from all the Departments of the refinery that directly or indirectly affect energy consumption. Its members are divided into regular (executives from Operation, Environment, Maintenance / Electrical and Mechanical departments) who meet periodically with the aim of evaluating the energy performance of the refinery and implementing actions or corrective actions and non-regular (executives from Instrumentation, Engineering, Construction etc. departments) which are called to the meetings -if required- based on the respective agenda. An Energy Manager is responsible for the implementation of the Energy Management System in each refinery.
For Domestic Fuels Marketing (EKO), in each Business Unit (Facilities & Operation, Aviation, and Central Administration/Offices) the Energy Management Team consists of executives from all the Departments that directly or indirectly affect energy consumption. The separate Energy Management Team of Calypso KEA brings together relevant expertise to guide development, implementation and maintenance of the Energy Management System. An Energy Manager is responsible for the implementation of the Energy Management System in Domestic Fuels Marketing.
The work of the above is approved by the Management, which with a view to continuous improvement, ensures the required resources in the context of the implementation of general policies, legal and other commitments of the organization.
Energy Baselines are a vital requirement of the ISO50001 Energy Management Standard. They comprise a tool that allows an organization to compare consumption and performance before and after an operational change is made. Baselines use a reference time period that relate the total energy consumption of a unit to specific operational and other parameters. If a baseline is not accurate, the effectiveness of an energy management system cannot be monitored, and therefore, corrective actions cannot be taken and/or improvement actions cannot be identified.
For a refinery, which is characterized by high complexity of processes and operations, the definition of appropriate energy baselines is considered as one of the biggest technical challenges. For this Management System, after specialized statistical processing and the study of a large number of operational parameters, approximately 50 different energy baselines were created for all three refineries covering the total energy consumption, both thermal and electrical.
Accordingly, for Domestic Fuels Marketing (EKO), 21 energy baselines have been developed: 10 for the fuel facilities, 2 for the lubricants production plant, 1 for the Head Quarters Building, 8 for the Aircraft Refueling Facilities. For Calypso Fuel Stations, 165 energy baselines have been developed.
Subsequently and with the aim of utilizing all the procedures from the certified existing Environmental and Quality management systems for the effective documentation of the system, the following were implemented: a) The existing procedures were appropriately modified in order to also cover energy management issues b) Regarding the refineries only three new procedures were created exclusively related to the ISO 50001 standard.
Finally, for the better functioning of the management system, training was provided to executives, engineers and operators who, due to the nature of their work, may affect energy consumption.
For Hellenic Petroleum DEPPP, as the certification of the Energy Management System took place in December 2021 for the refineries, the system is in its second year of operation and measurable results are being evaluated. The results of the implementation and operation of the Energy Management System to date are:
For Domestic Fuels Marketing, the system being in its first year of operation, measurable results are being evaluated. The results of the implementation and operation of the Energy Management System to date are:
Refineries of Aspropyrgos, Elefsina and Thessaloniki and EKO/Calypso facilities in Greece.
Collaboration with the BONAIR company, which was the project implementation consultant.
The Group's strategy to address climate change through energy management requires the involvement and active participation of a large part of the Group's employees, from the management of the Group and the facilities, which determines the overall strategy and objectives, the engineers who apply good practices and are responsible for the operation of the energy management system as well as the operators – foremen of the units who are responsible for their smooth operation.
The main benefits from the installation and implementation of the Energy Management System are the following:
In addition to the above, the certification based on a particularly demanding standard such as ISO 50001, contributes to the recognition of the company as one of the few companies of a similar size and complexity at an international level that demonstrates compliance with voluntary international standards related to energy management.
