NAM's Groningen gas field began production in 1959. Various small-scale upgrades have delayed the large-scale upgrade. But before 2010, uncontrolled mining may be cancelled. In order to guarantee the right to use the remaining reserves and continue to be a producer, NAM's GLT project implements a compression loss policy. As part of the first phase of the 11th field contract, the First Field installed a compressor in 1998. In order to ensure that the gas field can continue to produce for 40 years, all 29 fields will be upgraded.
NAM has developed detailed functional descriptions for GLT and proposed requirements for each part of the work, including engineering design, engineering construction, centrifugal compressor supply, compressor drive (including electric motor drive and gas turbine drive) And parameter measurement/automation. Qualified suppliers form a team. Yokogawa competed with a few opponents in this team. NAM's evaluation criteria do not depend on how passionate or artistic the design is, but whether it can reduce overall operating costs. StorkGLT is the ultimate winner. They established a fixed agency and opened an office in Groningen. In StorkGLT, Yokogawa is a supplier of major equipment, providing the required measuring instruments and automatic control systems, including field instruments, control systems, ultrasonic measuring systems, safety systems, DCSs, and plant information management. System (PIMS).
StorkGLT is responsible for the implementation of project improvement and gas field maintenance. Yokogawa's scope of work includes commissioning, start-up and maintenance of all test systems.
Interference Minimization The operation of NAM is based on the idea of ​​minimizing interference, which means "EyesOn, Hands Off." NAM is only on the white shift, and the remote production operation is fully automatic, and the instrument cluster can be started without warning from the cold standby state within 60 minutes. In the general operating conditions of changing production capacity, the operation must be stable and there is no alarm. Routine operations and maintenance work must also be fully automatic, minimizing the tasks of on-site monitoring. Compression equipment also requires a high degree of operational flexibility, not only for remote diagnosis, but also for online monitoring. For example, if a certain part of production occurs at night, the relevant person will receive an alarm at home. Only one PC and ISDN line are needed. Operators can log on to the site control network to solve problems remotely.
The distributed network consists of 29 Groninger gas wells (with an average of about 10 wells), each with approximately 25,000 I/Os. The entire site requires about 640,000 I/Os. These I/Os are controlled by 25 networks and 460 workstations. In order to meet the needs of this huge system, Yokogawa must increase its CENTUM integrated control system capabilities. This performance was described as a standard feature of the CENTUM system in 2004 and can handle 1 million I/Os, 512 workstations, and 31 networks. The project was developed on the basis of modern technology, and this technology has been field-proven. This means that while ensuring the normal operation of the system, it must include technological changes throughout the entire project cycle. The foundation of the local control system for producing the gas well group is the CENTUM component, Yokogawa ProSafe safety system, Exaquantum, plant information management system (PIMS), and equipment. Perennially, there are CENTUM devices and PIMS devices in the workstations that are distributed throughout the site. These systems are connected using TCP/IP protocols for secure data communication, thereby realizing the unattended operation of the gas well group.
In order to reduce system operating costs and improve efficiency, NAM allows each device to take full advantage of the combined capabilities of CENTUM's local or remote I/O. The CENTUM system uses a local I/O system to control most of the devices, and can reach remote devices beyond 5 km at the same time. These devices use smart remote I/O units to communicate with CENTUM systems on other devices, mainly through CENTUM. CENTUM is based on Ethernet's FIObus. The central control room located at the central location can start, stop, and control any equipment without the need for an operator to perform on-site operations. All production tasks can be performed in this manner. The central control room also runs ExaquantumPIMS to continuously monitor the operation of the entire production operation over a long period of time.
The huge scale of the entire Groningen gas field shows that the system upgrade will continue for a long period of time. The technological changes that initially needed to be seamlessly compatible enabled communication links with field devices. The first device was updated using traditional means of communication; later devices were equipped with a Foundation Fieldbus interface. This additional capability enables NAM to implement problem analysis, long-term analysis, and maintenance based on field conditions through the Plant Resource Management (PRM) system.
From a wider range of concerns. In addition to the fact that the world’s largest DCS network may be implemented, NAM also establishes a closer relationship between employees and enhances their awareness of goals through the use of control systems. At GLT headquarters, NAM has set up a number of Human Interface Stations (HISs) next to the coffee machine. These interactive stations can display the production status of the GLT site. This has become a key link factor in the organizational structure: in the office, experts can be provided to the site, and management can also obtain direct feedback from the site. This experience has had a very positive effect on NAM, and Ruurd Hoekstra, NAM's Director of Controls and Automation, suggested that the idea be applied to all similar factories because it narrows the distance between the office and the site.