Off-shore platforms controls were depending up on some relays, electrical contactors as a single line control system with life time more than 15 years. The objective of this research is to transform the manual control system to automated SCADA control system which was necessary after facing many problems such as, process imperfection due to obsoleted devices, long fault detection time, low sense of manual controls & human error.
Accordingly, study, engineering & implementation of SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system of three platforms had been done and it was the best solution to controlling and monitoring oil & gas off-shore wells and facilities. This automated distribution system analyzed to develop a secure, reliability which can use remote terminal units (RTUs). SCADA improved our control system by achieving on-time observation and monitoring for all lines and wells with very high accuracy, the proposed automated control system using SCADA are met with the desired control environment with high performance stage. Plus, converting old pneumatic control system to PID (proportional, integral, derivative) algorithm control then linked to SCADA was the best solution to ensure full control of (level and pressure control valves).
SCADA system linked with radio link communication with high baud rate to transfer all collected analogue and digital data to on-shore process (Master control station, human machine interface), two software programs had been used STEP 7 and WINCC fixable.
Using of SCADA based technology allowed us to convert said platforms to be UNMANNED, subsequently saving money (more than 60,000 $/month), time and helped to trace process faults in very simple easy way through some graphics. As a result, achieved the highest level of functional safety, immediate follow up &reducing production losses.
Ashrafi oil field, located in south-western part of the Gulf Suez "Figure 1", was discovered in 1987 and production started in 1992 till today.
Producing field is approximately 20 Km off the coast of Gulf Suez, Red Sea with water depths 160 feet, Ashrafi field is producing from three offshore platforms with average daily production 6 thousand BOPD via a subsea trunk line to an onshore crude stabilization and exporting terminal. Ashrafi platforms can be divided into two types, namely,
