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Gold/Mining/Energy : Unitec Int. Controls Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bobby Yellin who wrote (296)	4/11/1998 3:00:00 PM
From: John B. Smyth	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 856

Lets talk about specific examples where Unitec has installed systems in the energy sector (oil and natural gas), Bobby. SCADA is used for monitoring and control in the collection, transmission and distribution of energy. Source to market. I will outline how Unitec's SCADA products are used with Renaissance Energy in Alberta and Metrogas S.A. in Chile in these three phases. Gas collection begins with drilling and installing gas collection systems (wells) in gas bearing zones where natural gas is trapped below the earth surface. The gas naturally percolates into the well where it is piped (after processing) to a transmission line (pipeline). The collection point has many problems that need continuous monitoring to insure effective recovery of the gas. As the gas percolates into the well, it carries water with it, which is normally filtered out at the well head. Quite often, the water build-up reaches a point where it will stop the flow of gas. The well may also suffer from a parafin build-up which will also stop the flow. If gas stops flowing, it is normally restarted by "blowing it down" through the injection of methyl hydrate under pressure back into the well and venting it to atmosphere. If the flow has stopped for too long the well may become plugged and it may not be possible to restart it. If the well cannot be restarted it must be re-drilled at a cost perhaps of $100,000 or simply abandoned. Using Unitec's SCADA system, Renaissance continuously monitors the wellheads, collecting gas flow data (which is calculated using a complex formula defined by the American Gas Association) and trends that information at the Master Station. If the Master Station detects a slow down or loss of flow, it generates an alarm. The operator can then issue commands from the computer by remote control through the SCADA system to initiate a "Blow Down" procedure to attempt to restore the flow. The system also has "Pig (a plug used to clean the pipeline) Launching" capability that allows the operator at the Master Station to insert a pig into the pipeline at the wellhead by remote control. This is used periodically for cleaning and maintenance of the line. The second system installed for Renaissance is at their Pipeline Compressor Stations. Gas fed from the wellhead is relatively low pressure (natural pressure). The Compressor Station is used to boost the pressure (also called a Booster Station) to increase the delivery capability of the pipeline system. The Compressor Stations are normally unmanned and require continuous monitoring for reliable operation and detection of failures within the system or line. Metrogas' system is on the distribution side of the natural gas cycle. By far the largest component, Metrogas must continuously monitor and control the gas within its complex web of lines, balancing pressures, insuring reserve capacity for delivery to customers, and matching of purchases of their supply (from GasAndes) with the demand from their customers. A mismatch can be very costly to them. The system must also be capable of "slam shut" of parts or all of the system in the event of line breakage. The operation of SCADA in these areas is hazardous as it is a highly explosive environment. Unitec developed "Intrinsic Safety Barriers" unitec.ca to limit the energy in any short circuit related to its equipment below the flash point (ignition point) of the gas. Our application in the Oil Sector is with Interprovincial Pipelines (IPL). This system is used for Batch Tracking in their pipeline. IPL may pump a low grade gasoline through their line for several hours, then pump a high grade gasoline immediately behind it. While it is acceptable to mix the high grade with the low grade, they must avoid contaminating the high grade gasoline. As the products are pumped down the pipeline, the transition point between them becomes difficult to define as they comingle due to eddy currents created by parasitic drag and other factors as the fluids move against the pipeline walls. Contamination of the high grade product can be very costly. IPL uses Unitec's SCADA as we have one of the most accurate Analog Inputs with a very accurate time stamping capability to detect the transition points of the product mixes and locate that point using time to switch the product from one tank to another for example. To do this, we monitor the "signature" generated by the gasoline, sensing the composition of color, fluorescence and density. A change in the signature identifies the transition point where the products comingle. Complex but simple. I have tried to keep the answer short and simple. Would you like me to elaborate more, Bobby? Regards, JBS