In a move that underscores the growing role of artificial intelligence in industrial automation, Honeywell (NASDAQ: HON) has teamed up with TotalEnergies to pilot its AI-assisted Experion Operations Assistant at the energy giant’s Port Arthur Refinery in Texas. The collaboration aims to blend human expertise with machine intelligence to make refinery operations smarter, safer, and more autonomous.
The pilot is more than a test of new tech—it’s a peek into the future of refinery control rooms, where predictive analytics and AI-guided decision-making are poised to redefine the rhythm of industrial production.
From Reactive to Predictive Operations
Built on Honeywell’s Experion distributed control system, the Experion Operations Assistant introduces AI into one of the most demanding work environments on the planet: large-scale energy refining.
Traditionally, refinery operators monitor hundreds of process variables manually, interpreting data in real time to keep systems stable and avoid costly incidents. Honeywell’s AI assistant shifts that paradigm by analyzing live plant data, identifying patterns, and predicting anomalies before they become alarms.
The goal? Move from reactive firefighting to predictive control, giving operators valuable minutes—sometimes even hours—to prevent issues such as equipment failures, safety incidents, or emissions spikes.
According to Jim Masso, President and CEO of Honeywell Process Solutions, the collaboration highlights a growing convergence between automation and AI:
“This pilot with TotalEnergies will mark a meaningful milestone for bridging the gap between autonomous technology and the operators that keep these facilities running safely and efficiently every day.”
Early Wins at the Port Arthur Refinery
The Port Arthur Refinery, a massive Gulf Coast facility that refines crude oil into transportation fuels and petrochemicals, is one of TotalEnergies’ most technologically advanced plants.
The pilot implementation began in the Delayed Coking Unit (DCU)—a critical section where heavy residual oil is thermally cracked into lighter products. In an environment where process deviations can lead to unplanned shutdowns or emissions, precision is everything.
Preliminary results have been promising. The Experion Operations Assistant successfully forecasted five potential operational events, giving operators an average 12-minute lead time before alarms were triggered. That buffer allowed teams to take corrective actions in real time—reducing downtime and cutting flaring emissions, a key sustainability metric for the refining sector.
As Raphael Duflos, VP and General Manager of TotalEnergies’ Port Arthur Platform, explained:
“We believe this solution could contribute to safer operations, reduced downtime, and minimized product losses.”
The pilot underscores a broader trend: AI is no longer confined to tech firms and data centers—it’s moving decisively into heavy industry and process manufacturing.
Companies like Honeywell, Siemens, and ABB are racing to deliver AI-augmented automation platforms, hoping to help industries manage complexity, improve uptime, and address workforce shortages as experienced operators retire.
In many ways, the Experion Operations Assistant is Honeywell’s answer to that challenge—an AI layer designed not to replace human judgment but to amplify it.
TotalEnergies, for its part, is among a growing list of energy majors exploring digital transformation through AI, aligning with its broader strategy to reduce emissions and modernize its operations under the banner of sustainability and operational excellence.
Toward Autonomous Refineries
While the concept of a fully autonomous refinery remains aspirational, pilots like this show the direction of travel. By embedding AI-driven insights directly into process control systems, Honeywell and TotalEnergies are laying groundwork for plants that can adapt, learn, and optimize continuously—without sacrificing human oversight.
If successful, the Port Arthur pilot could serve as a model for scaling AI-assisted operations across TotalEnergies’ global portfolio—and, by extension, across the refining industry at large.
As energy companies face increasing pressure to improve safety, reduce emissions, and manage costs, intelligent automation may prove to be the most powerful refinery tool since the control room itself.
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