A FULLY INTEGRATED, INTRINSICALLY SAFE
UNMANNED PLATFORM CONTROL SYSTEM

PART 2 Dual Redundant Platform Control System

HAS PROVIDED A TURNKEY REMOTE CONTROL SOLUTION FOR THE ADMA-OPCO UMM SHAIF FIELD DEVELOPMENT PROJECT. THIS MAJOR PROGRAMME OF WORK INCLUDED THE MASTER TELEMETRY UNIT (MTU) ON THE UMM SHAIF SUPER COMPLEX (USSC) FACILITY AND THE FULLY INTEGRATED, TOTALLY INTRINSICALLY SAFE REMOTE WELLHEAD CONTROL SYSTEM WITH TELEMETRY FOR SIX NORMALLY UNMANNED PRODUCTION PLATFORMS, CONTROLLED AND MONITORED FROM THE USSC.

FOR DETAILS OF THE SCADA MASTERSTATION, REFER TO A SEPARATE SHEET.

THIS PROJECT WAS BASED AROUND THE WELL-PROVEN, WORLD’S ONLY TRULY INTRINSICALLY SAFE REMOTE TELEMETRY UNIT/PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROLLER (IS RTU), DESIGNED AND DEVELOPED IN-HOUSE BY . THE EQUIPMENT IS FULLY CERTIFIED BY THE BRITISH APPROVALS SERVICE FOR ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT IN FLAMMABLE ATMOSPHERES (BASEEFA).

Intrinsically Safe Remote Wellhead Control System Solution

THE SYSTEM PROVIDED FOR EACH OF THE SIX PLATFORMS WAS BASED UPON A COMMON SET OF ’S INTRINSICALLY SAFE RTUS (IS RTUS). THE SIX SYSTEMS SHARED A SINGLE, COMMON DESIGN, WITH A COMMON SUITE OF SOFTWARE. VARIATIONS BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL PLATFORM REQUIREMENTS BEING HANDLED BY SIMPLE CONFIGURATION.

EACH OF THE SIX SYSTEMS INCORPORATED ALL THE SIGNAL PROCESSING EQUIPMENT NECESSARY FOR THE CONTROL AND MONITORING OF:

  • WELL SLOTS ASSOCIATED MANIFOLD SHUTDOWN VALVES

  • TEST SEPARATOR CONTROLS

  • DRAIN DRUM

  • HYDRATE INHIBITOR

  • CORROSION INHIBITOR

  • COMMON PRODUCTION HEADER CONTROLS

  • SCRAPER LAUNCHER MONITORING

  • WELL CONTROL PANEL HYDRAULIC POWER SUPPLY UNIT

  • PLATFORM HAS DETECTION EQUIPMENT

  • POWER SUPPLY AND CHARGING FACILITIES

EACH WELLHEAD IS SERVED BY A SINGLE DEDICATED IS RTU UNIT. CONFIGURATION ALLOWS THE RTU TO CONTROL AND MONITOR A PRODUCTION OF INJECTION WELL.

AN RTU PERFORMS CONTROL OF:

  • WELL TESTING

  • HYDRATE

  • CORROSION INHIBITOR

IT ALSO PERFORMS PID CONTROL ON THE TEST SEPARATOR GAS PRESSURE AND LIQUID LEVEL, FLOW CALCULATION AND TOTALISATION.

THE RTUS ARE LINKED WITH A DUAL RS485 DATA BUS. TWO RTUS ACT AS DATA BUS MASTERS, WITH MUTUAL BACKUP. THESE TWO UNITS INTERFACE THE RADIO TELEMETRY LINKS TO THE MASTER TELEMETRY UNIT OF THE USSC.

TWO ADDITIONAL RTUS ARE CONFIGURED TO CONTROL THE HIGH INTEGRITY PROTECTION SYSTEMS FOR ESD LEVEL 1 AND LEVEL 2. THE TWO UNITS OPERATE IN PARALLEL TO PERFORM ESD OPERATIONS.

ADDITIONAL COMPONENTS DESCRIPTION

EACH PLATFORM SYSTEM WAS PROVIDED WITH AN OPERATOR INTERFACE UNIT, MOUNTED ON THE WELLHEAD CONTROL PANEL FACIA, CONNECTED TO IRTU-1. THIS IS TO FACILITATE LOCAL MANUAL CONTROL.

FOR MAINTENANCE AND TEST PURPOSES, ALL SIX PLATFORMS CONTROL SYSTEMS ARE SUPPORTED BY A SINGLE PORTABLE TEST UNIT, WHICH CAN BE CONNECTED TO ANY RTU/PLC FOR MAINTENANCE AND CONFIGURATION PURPOSES.

THE RADIO EQUIPMENT FOR EACH PLATFORM SYSTEM CONTAINS TWO SETS OF HALF DUPLEX COMMUNICATION WITH THE USSC MTU. THIS DUAL REDUNDANT INTRINSICALLY SAFE UHF RADIO SYSTEM IS CONFIGURED SUCH THAT EACH OF THE TWO COMMUNICATION RTUS HAS IT’S OWN DEDICATED TRANSCEIVER .

INTRINSICALLY SAFE EQUIPMENT BENEFITS

THE ADVANTAGES OF INTRINSICALLY SAFE RTUS AS OPPOSED TO THE CONVENTIONAL PROCESS AND CONTROL METHODS ARE:

  • CONSIDERABLE WEIGHT SAVING

  • LOWER POWER CONSUMPTION AND HEAD DISSIPATION

  • NO GAS-FREE PERMIT REQUIREMENT

  • QUICK SERVICING (UNIT CHANGE OUT IN TEN MINUTES)

  • REDUCED CABLING COSTS

  • NO ZENER BARRIERS

  • SPACE SAVING

Ocean Technical Systems Ltd.
P.O.Box 752, Sutton, Surrey, U.K. SM2 7RQ
Tel: +44 (020) 8643-2233 Fax: +44 (020) 8643-6444
e-mail: oceantech@oceantechsys.com

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