Does SAP IS Oil consider pipeline as a Storage Location?

[Former Member]

Hi,

Our company is new to Oil Business Process. Our company use standard SAP MM to manage Inventory.

Fuel is stored in the Tank and maintained in Storage Location.

Now user wants to include and monitor the Fuel inside of Pipeline.

My suggestion is to considered pipeline as Storage Location (Inlet ; Outlet).

Now, I am exploring the option in SAP IS Oil.

Does SAP IS Oil considered pipeline as a Storage Location?

If it does, How does the Intertank Transfer (Sloc to Sloc) is done. Is it one step or two step procedure?

Sam

[Former Member]

Hello Sam,

Yes, it is a good idea to have a storage location for the pipeline. Lets say you have a plant or a terminal with long internal pipelines interconnected with tanks, it becomes necessary to consider the inventory of these stocks in your books as well, as in oil industry we can not afford to ignore any physical stock.

Coming to how the transaction will be done, here is a tried and tested suggestion: Consider only one storage location for all the pipelines in your plant "PIPE" (avoid creating multiple storage location, product wise) now maintain all the possible pipeline materials in that storage location. Now there will be two possible cases, 1. pipeline is always charged (full) or 2. always flushed out after each transfer. In case 1 initially you need to do a one time pipeline filling transaction with storage location to storage location (311) from tank to pipeline, after this a tank to tank transfer will be one step from one tank to another tank (normal 311), since pipeline is always full, goods in - goods out = 0, in scenarios where you need to flush the pipe to a tank you may do a 311 pipeline to tank in that case. In case 2 if the pipe is always kept empty its again good in - goods out = 0, hence the same transfer can be again treated as one step tank to tank (311).

Hope the above is helpful, let me know if you need more light.

Regards,

Anubhav

[Former Member]

Hi Anubhav,

Thank you for the reply. It's helpfull.

2 possible options that you suggested is good for my reference to discuss with the user.

But to consider only one storage location for all pipeline (Inlet pipeline and Outlet pipeline) might not be a good one.

Because currently, all pipeline are not fully charged and the oil still discharged to Inlet Pipeline and 2 Tanks.

Remaining Tanks and Outlet Pipeline still not charged.

For Reporting Purposes, Customised Goods receipt will be performed at Inlet Pipeline and Tank.

Now, another issue arise.

For each Inter Tank Transfer, user informed that Gain/Loss could happen in Pipeline and Tank.

And this need to be entered in the system

How to perform Gain/Loss? Do you create custom movement for Gain and Loss or use standard Physical Inventory?

Thank you in advance,

Sam

[Former Member]

Hello Sam,

Sorry for replying late. Yes its up to you to decide the design. Now you may have small number of pipelines, but in future it may increase so just be cautious. Separate Sloc for Inlet and Outlet is also ok.

For the Physical inventory I prefer using the standard MM processes in "MI00". Personally I like using MI10. I wonder how you are going to measure physical inventory in the pipeline.

Best regards,

Anubhav

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi sam,

We can use pipe as storage location but it i not advisable to use it. In IS OIL there is a different functionality called SILO management where you can maintained material for this with storage tank. transaction for this is O4NA. Please check this. there may be problems with inventory reconcillation with standard functionality . IS OIL is different process than standard so for physical inventory transaction O4_TIGER is used for the same.

[Former Member]

Hi Pravin,

Thanks for your reply.

We just get into the fuel tank business and our company is not using IS Oil,

Company want to utilize existing SAP standard that we've already used.

Thats why we need to adopt MM function to current the business process.

Sam