Lummus Digital

LUMMUS DIGITAL

Proof Points.

Outcomes our customers have defended in the P&L. Production deployments. Day-one results. Sustained intelligence — across refining, petrochemicals and process industries.
CASE / 01

HPCL

Visakh Refinery

EFINING · INDIA · LC-MAX DIGITAL SUITE

Turning residue into margin.

A leading Indian refinery commissioned one of the world’s first 3.55 MMTPA LC-MAX® residue upgrading units — converting up to 93% of vacuum residue to high-value distillates at one of the industry’s highest complexity levels (NCI 11.6).
To manage the risks of a first-of-its-kind startup, the refinery deployed India’s first LC-MAX® Digital Suite — enabling end-to-end operational intelligence from day one. Real-time data integrated with licensor process models established a trusted digital foundation for safe commissioning, faster stabilisation, and sustained operational performance.

$2.5/bbl

LC-MAX® GRM uplift

Equivalent to ~$275M annual value at 110 KBPD capacity.

+10%

Distillate yield gain

Versus baseline. Optimisation decisions now simulated before execution.

$1–2M/yr

Phase 2 digital upside

Incremental margin leverage from continued hybrid-model optimisation.

The challenge

  • High startup & safety risk during pre-startup and feed cut-in
  • Fragmented visibility across critical LC-MAX® process systems
  • Inconsistent catalyst, inventory and mass-balance tracking
  • Limited visibility into early feed characterisation and yield estimates
  • Manual, time-intensive readiness and performance calculations
  • Cross-functional misalignment during a critical startup phase
The solution

The LC-MAX® Digital Suite, deployed in two phases. Phase 1: a production-ready digital foundation live before feed cut-in — integrating real-time plant data with proprietary licensor process models, delivering a unified operational view and automating critical engineering calculations.


Phase 2 builds on this foundation with advanced hybrid models combining first-principles knowledge with data-driven learning, driving ongoing optimisation in yields, energy performance, and operational efficiency.

The impact
  • System production-ready before feed cut-in
  • 2,000+ automated calculations every 2 hours
  • Real-time monitoring of catalyst health, reactors, hydrogen systems
  • Trade-offs (yield vs. energy) quantified before each decision
  • Single, trusted operational view from pre-startup through stabilised operation

The challenge

“India’s first LC-MAX® Digital Suite developed by Lummus Digital goes live at HPCL’s Visakh Refinery.”
CASE / 02

400

KBPD · Full conversion
REFINING · HYDROCRACKER PERFORMANCE MONITORING

Reinventing hydrocracker performance.

A 400,000 bpd full-conversion refinery set out to strengthen hydrocracker reliability, preserve catalyst health, and improve energy efficiency — under tight operating windows, at high severity, and with limited real-time visibility into unit health.

By deploying Lummus Digital’s integrated performance monitoring and advisory platform, the operator delivered measurable gains across unit stability, energy recovery and catalyst lifecycle — establishing a scalable digital foundation for continuous, sustained performance improvement.

$4M+/yr

Annual value identified

From energy recovery, stability gains and reduced downtime risk.

2–3mo

Catalyst cycle extension

Through earlier detection of thermal excursions and WABT drift — deferring $15–25M in reload costs.

2–3%

Energy efficiency improvement

Across critical heat exchange and fired-heater equipment.

The challenge

  • Limited real-time visibility into hydrocracker and reactor health
  • Delayed detection of catalyst degradation and thermal issues
  • 2–5% throughput gap vs. design from hidden constraints
  • Excess energy consumption — $3–5M/year in recoverable value
  • Each day of unplanned downtime = $1–2M in lost margin
The solution

An integrated digital performance-monitoring and advisory platform purpose-built for hydrocracker operations. Real-time data from control, historian and engineering systems consolidated into a single operational view — supported by advanced engineering models and normalised KPIs.



150+ structured KPIs unified from disparate systems. Threshold-based and predictive alerts. Centralised dashboards for operators, engineers, and management on a single shared view.

The impact

  • 40–60% faster issue detection — hours, not days
  • Improved reactor stability through early WABT detection
  • 60–70% reduction in manual reporting effort
  • Better asset utilisation through constraint visibility
  • Scalable foundation for AI APC and predictive maintenance
By integrating data, insights and deep process expertise, the refinery established a scalable foundation for more reliable, efficient and intelligent hydrocracker operations.

MORE PROOF POINTS

Engagements across the value chain.

Production deployments at major operators across India, the Middle East, and the Americas — each engagement with measurable outcomes defended in the P&L.

CASE / 03

Remote monitoring lifts ethylene plant performance

A large Indian petrochemical group engaged Lummus Digital on real-time health and performance of its ethylene plants — establishing remote monitoring as the operating discipline.
Petrochemicals · India

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CASE / 04

ML-driven production planning for a polymers manufacturer

A weekly production plan built on machine-learning recommendations of the optimal product mix — designed to maximise revenue across changing demand profiles.
Polymers · Multi-asset

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CASE / 05

Asset performance prediction lifts offgas compressor uptime

A large petrochemical group turned to Lummus Digital to address recurring off gas compressor issues — and to lift uptime through real-time prediction.

Petrochemicals · India

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CASE / 06

ML-driven production planning for a polymers manufacturer

A weekly production plan built on machine-learning recommendations of the optimal product mix — designed to maximise revenue across changing demand profiles.
Polymers · Multi-asset

Discuss →

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