№ 10 (October 2006)
Management-Information System Provides Effective TyumenTransGaz Operation
Integrated automation has an advantage of maximum optimization of the enterprise activity based on end-to-end analysis of information flows both on the production (Automated Process Control System – APCS) and on the organizational (Automated Enterprise Control System – AECS) levels.
By Mikhail Pertzovsky, Andrei Maslyuk
It allows synchronizing many aspects of an enterprize’s activities with real-time production processes. The management of all levels receives a real-time visualization of the production process and of all administrative activities. For a company having a branched structure with remote subdivisions, creation of an integrated automation system based on corporate network is the only way to organize a well-coordinated effective operation of the company as a whole with unified control and management system.
How to Create Unified Information Field?
The main problem of integrated automation is the formation of a unified information field at an industrial enterprise. To solve this problem, a system of basic models is built that could be acceptable for both the Automated Process Control System and the Automated Enterprise Control System.
In practice, integrated automation makes specialists deal either with complete production upgrading – in such cases the system’s design takes into account all the production’s specifics and is based on the optimum set of design solutions, or with the option of designing a system on the basis of existing automation systems created for particular tasks at different periods of time and based on various, often obsolete platforms. The second approach is far from ideal, but it is used most frequently.
In case of designing a management and information system for TyumenTransGaz both options were used. The system is the result of further development of methods and tools designed by the Laboratory of Computerized Systems (CS)® and utilized at a number of enterprises (systems for accounting and control of oil refinery resources and a system used at an oil producing enterprise for integration of local automation systems built at different periods of time and based on different platforms).
Increasing Management Efficiency in TyumenTransGaz
TyumenTransGaz is a company that provides gas transportation from gas fields located in the area of Ob Gulf (Urengoi, Yamburg, Zapolyarnoye, etc.) to the Ural region. Linear portion includes up to 15 lines of main gas pipelines, with average length exceeding 1,400 km, approximately 4,000 line shutoff valves and 8,000 additional valves. The company has 35 compressor stations with 240 compressor shops and 1,100 gas-compressor units.
Increase in natural gas production sets higher standards to the efficiency and accuracy of data received by dispatchers at all levels of gas transportation network management, and also to the management efficiency. Introduction of management and information systems provides a convenient solution to this problem.
The system covers several levels of automation and provides the following performance capabilities to the customer:
• real-time control of a gas transportation system’s current status (update cycle for a changed parameter takes approximately 2 to 3 seconds, without considering data providing systems);
• analysis of data archives;
• management of main gas pipeline linear portions;
• integration with both existing and new systems of an enterprise.
Organization Levels of the Management-Information System
Various lower level automation systems, such as control systems of gas-compressor units and compressor shop, systems of remote control and automatic data acquisition from analog systems, function as data sources.
The first stage of data consolidation is a workstation of a line-production facility (LPF) dispatcher. The line-production facility integrates several compressor stations and each of these stations has a number of compressor shops. The workstation is based on the SCADA-system Wonderware InTouch. LPF dispatchers have an opportunity to monitor operating regimes and parameters of gas-compressor units, shops and line portions of their LPF, as well as of adjacent LPFs in real time. Since calculations require a certain minimum set of data that cannot be obtained automatically, the data is entered manually. In case telemechanics system provides information, the LPF dispatcher has an opportunity to control the position of shutoff valves in his LPF’s line portion. All significant changes in the LPF operation, as well as accidents, are recorded in the centralized event log.
The upper level of data acquisition and storage receives information from all LPFs through regional data transportation network. The data is integrated and archived at a fault-tolerant server with real-time database MS SQL + Wonderware Industrial SQL located at the central control room. The centralized event log is stored at the same server. Industrial SQL enables users to accumulate data on a large number of parameters (up to 100,000) with high acquisition frequency (up to 1 Hz/channel). The whole data archive may be accessed through a standard SQL that provides wide capabilities for further integration. The data is acquired by means of Wonderware-designed high-performance protocol.
Dispatchers of the central production-dispatcher service can overview current parameters of all LPFs’ facilities, analyze archive data for the period of one year or more, overview the facilities’ certificates (integration with the external certification system), review the event log, and also control the line portion’s shutoff valves at any LPF.
Specialists of the services directly related to gas transportation can also access the on-line and archive data of the management-information system with the help of workstation based on web-technology Wonderware SuiteVoyager. The workstation is accessible from any computer at the enterprise (restrictions to access apply on the user’s level).
To improve the management efficiency at production enterprises, Gazprom has set up its own dispatcher system that collects data from all the enterprises. For on-line data acquisition related to the transfer to a new information system, Gazprom employs a new technology that enables update transfer with 1 minute interval or more frequently.
Conclusion
In 2004, the Laboratory of Computerized Systems introduced its management and information system at TyumenTransGaz. Today, the system is being developed intensively, both in functional and structural aspects. Also, its territorial coverage is expanding.
