North American pipelines and utilities will spend more than $170 million on new or upgraded supervisory control and data acquisition (scada) systems during the 30-month period that commenced Sept. 1. Another $12.5 million will be spent on peripherals and consulting.
Among the 699 various projects to be implemented during the period, companies will install 151 scada systems, add 154 remote-terminal units (RTUS) to existing scada units, and install 196 communications systems.
These figures are based on research by CSR Inc., Roseville, Calif., which maintains a data base on gas utilities and pipeline companies. Recently, more than 800 of these companies in the U.S. and Canada were contacted to determine their plans for scada implementation and other field monitoring systems.
Scada systems are computerized hardware and software systems that perform a set of monitoring and control functions. In gas utilities, these systems perform functions normally associated with gas transmission and distribution as well as production plant process control.
In gas and oil pipelines, the systems perform these functions as well as such specialized functions as batch tracking, leak detection, and gas load flow.
RTUs measure parameters at remote sites and transmit those data to a central computer for monitoring and control functions. Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) perform as RTUs but also perform local logging and control functions, thereby reducing the requirements on the central processing unit (CPU).
GROWTH; SHARE
CSR says that in total value of system awards, 1991 saw nearly twice the value of projects-$82.8 million-as was installed in 1990, almost $45 million.
For the 30-month period commencing in September, CSR estimates that $129.3 million will be spent on scada systems, $42.7 million on RTU additions, $10.6 million on communications systems, $1.25 million on map-board projects, and $855,000 on consulting.
Fig. 1 shows last year's market division among scada system suppliers, each of which reported at least $5.3 million in projects for the year.
For 1991, contracts reported to CSR by these companies totalled more than $82.8 million.
Copyright 1992 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
