With the aim of upgrading the Polypropylene 2 control room to the latest European Standards and also improving operator well-being and performance by reducing fatigue and enhancing alertness, Orlen Unipetrol decided to install ABB’s EOW-c control console solution. Since the existing control room, which was originally built in 2002, had space restrictions the EOW-c solution was selected due to its compact footprint, excellent ergonomics and easy plant visualization. This means the consoles could be easily installed without making changes to the existing control room dimensions.
The EOW will be used for managing the main ABB Ability™ System 800xA® Distributed Control System (DCS) controlling the plant. In addition, it will also be installed in conjunction with a third-party DCS that operates on the line.
EOW becomes the company standard
ABB has an excellent relationship with Orlen Unipetrol and has been supporting the company with service activities for more than 30 years. In recent years ABB has supplied control room renovations to various sections of the Litvinov-Zaluzi plant, with the Ethylene Unit control room being modernized with six ABB EOW-x consoles in two phases during 2017 and 2019.
Based on the positive experience from 2017 when the first EOW was installed, Orlen Unipetrol decided to make EOW their company “standard” and preferred solution for control room systems. Therefore additional EOW consoles were installed in 2019 and then in 2024 the latest order was made to renovate the Polypropylene 2 control room with the new EOW-c equipment.
Long cooperation between ABB and Orlen Unipetrol
Michal Krejci, the Head of Automation Control Systems & Digitalization at Orlen Unipetrol explains the reasons for choosing the EOW. “We wanted to upgrade the control room to the latest technology and, based on our long relation with ABB and the good track record we have with the earlier EOW installations, it made sense to select this solution again. It is just right for our needs and will bring many advantages to the operators in terms of comfort, alertness and ease of operation.”
“We are proud of working with Orlen Unipetrol on this project. Our EOW offers great efficiency and ergonomics solutions for operators. In addition the C version, being so compact, creates a very good operator environment at a very small footprint,” said Martin Kolarik, Service team leader Czech Republic at ABB Energy Industries.
The EOW contract was signed in August 2024 and the first milestone was hardware delivery in January 2025. Installation and full commissioning was completed at the end of February 2025.
