Keeping a 235 km oil pipelineflowing smoothly and watercontaminant free
February 2022
Connectwell high availability, high MTBF Terminal Blocks for Oil Water Separator (OWS) Systems.
In the field of oil infrastructure, nothing is more prestigious or complex as supporting a liquid petroleum transport pipeline. Our client, as an expert in the field of oil and gas automation, had been appointed to support a 235 km long, 457mm (18”) gauge, onshore pipeline for liquid petroleum transport. Their expertise was called on to develop a state-of-the-art Oil Water Separator (OWS) System at the pipeline’s receipt terminal. The OWS system would be required to treat contaminated oily-water effluent that had multiple origin points within the terminal. A compact treatment ecosystem had to be engineered with an oil removal (TPI separator), Filtration (PSF & ACF) and evaporation pond, closely interlinked and monitored.
The Challenge
Oil-water effluent treatment requires robust automation management systems with very high degree of dependability as any unforeseen failure can have extreme consequences for oil infrastructure and equipment, operational throughput, reputation and the environment. Here are some of the challenges our client had to manage:
> The oil-water separator needed to operate around-the-clock and process varying effluent contamination levels. This required nearly a 100% system availability with very high MTBF.
> Hundreds of critical digital sensors and actuators needed to be terminated with PLC controller. They also needed to be provided with protection against over-current and short circuit conditions.
> Critical equipment inside the panel required 24V DC supply which needed to be visually easily identifiable.
The Connectwell Solution
Based on our long and preferred supplier status with our client, we were able to analyse the requirement in detail and provide a compact and reliable solution that fit the operational requirements in the following ways:
> Realising the critical nature of the system, Connectwell recommended Screw Clamp technology connections which offered hazardous-area certifications.
> The double level fuse terminal blocks were used to connect digital inputs and outputs with PLC. This not only protected the high-value PLC from short-circuits and over-current faults but also provided 50% space-saving on the DIN rails. The compact solution inside the panel enabled the potential for future growth with adequate space saving for extensions and spares.
> A key safety aspect provided were the Connectwell colour-coded terminal blocks used in powering the critical 24 V DC, so that easy visual identification could be made.
A positive outcome
Knowing the extremely high criticality of the solution our client required, and the key lifeline the pipeline represented, Connectwell provided a Terminal Block solution that could be continuously available with its high performance and hazardous area operation capabilities.