Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has completed a project to modernize and standardize the control system architecture of PDO’s government gas plant (GGP) in northern Oman using a suite of technologies from Honeywell Process Solutions.
Designed to deliver sustainable and efficient gas processing operations to help PDO satisfy Oman’s rising domestic demand for gas, the plant modernization and digitalization project involved upgrading the GGP’s supervisory control center (SCC) by moving all high-performance process manager controllers to the improved HPS C300 controller, as well as replacing the fail-safe controller with HPS’ proprietary Safety Manager, the service provider said on Apr. 13.
With the SCC changeover completed while keeping the same input and output modules, the modernization project also involves transitioning the plant’s supervisory control level to the latest HPS Experion PKS R511 software, coupled with a refresh of workstation, server, and network platforms, according to HPS.
PDO additionally is implementing the Honeywell Trace solution for better monitoring of critical control assets to achieve a standardized system architecture with advanced control capabilities, HPS said.
Alongside minimizing disruptions to normal plant operations and ensuring efficient execution of its various components, the project’s phased approach also has allowed PDO to maintain consistent gas quality, reduce its risk of unplanned downtime at GGP, and enhance its lifecycle planning capabilities, according to the service provider.
“Our ability to meet gas demand across the Sultanate rests on our ability to process and produce it effectively, and that requires modern control architecture,” said Ahmed Al Harrasi, PDO’s senior control and automation leader for gas assets.
HPS’ solutions have extended the lifecycle of PDO’s critical assets as well as reduced the operator’s project execution risk, Al Harrasi added.
Further details of the GGP project were not disclosed.
Jointly owned by the government of Oman (60%), Shell PLC (34%), TotalEnergies SE (4%), and Partex Oil & Gas Corp. (2%), PDO operates a 90,000-sq km onshore concession, with 209 producing oil fields, 55 producing gas fields, and more than 8,000 active wells, according to the company’s website.