Control System World

A fluid automation product such as a valve operates to shut on and off — to control — the flow of a process liquid, or the supply of compressed air. However, perceptive managers realize that valves, pneumatic actuators, and similar components can do something more. They can control the flow of profit. In fact, their speed and reliability can provide competitive economic advantages in operations worldwide. Because these fluid automation products offer exceptional opportunities to extend overall  equipment service life, reduce warranty costs, cut maintenance/ repair/operations (MRO) inventories, and increase production uptime and productivity.

Please click White Paper by ASCO Valves to download.

The convergence of IT and industrial automation networks has created great opportunities, but with this comes increased security threats from hackers, worms, and viruses. Clearly, remote utility network administrators must rethink their approach to network security. Ethernet networks have proliferated across many of our workplaces today; that includes utilities such as pumping stations, electrical substations, and oil pumping wells. Initial implementation of Ethernet networks at pumping stations disregarded security measures since most of these networks did not have external network access (i.e. connection to the public internet). However, this safety is in fact illusory. However safe that it may seem, it turns out to be just the opposite. Studies have now shown that most attacks (83%*) occur from within the intranet, and not from external internet connections. Further, PLCs and RTUs distributed within the network are not designed to support traditional firewall and anti-virus software protection such as would be used in an IT network.

Please click White paper by Amplicon to read in detail.

Technip was awarded by Petrobras a highly technological lump sum contract for the Guara & Lula Nordeste pre-salt field development located in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil, at a water depth of 2,250 meters.

The contract covers the manufacture of 24 kilometers of 6’’ gas injection flexible lines rated for 552 bars (7,850 pound-force per square inch) design pressure:

- 2 x 200 meters top risers(1) designed with Technip’s innovative Teta-Clip pressure vault technology,

- 4 x 1,400 meters of intermediate and bottom risers,

- 18 kilometers of flowlines(2).

The gas injection lines will be used to re-inject produced gas into the reservoir to respect new Brazilian environmental regulation.  Frédéric Delormel, Technip Executive Vice President and COO Subsea, stated: “This very innovative solution developed by our French & Brazilian R&D teams takes Technip further to meet corrosion & fatigue requirements, which increased with pre-salt field developments. Our success in this first pre-salt tender for gas injection flexible risers demonstrates the leading edge position of our Teta-Clip pressure vault technology to meet such high internal pressure and high tension requirements, and comfort us in our investment to build our new flexible plant in Açu, Brazil, which will be capable to manufacture this type of high-end products.”

With its takeover of innotec do Brasil based in São Paulo, Brazil, the Siemens Industry Automation Division has extended its leading global position in the field of industrial process engineering software, and at the same time bolstered its presence in one of the world's key growth markets. For more than ten years, Innotec do Brasil has been an exclusive supplier of Comos software solutions for integrated plant management, focusing on Brazil's oil and gas, energy, chemical and paper industries. The newly acquired company will be assigned to the Industrial Automation Systems Business Unit. With the purchase price a closely guarded secret, the deal is set to go ahead subject to approval by the relevant authorities.

"By acquiring innotec do Brasil we are bolstering the position of Siemens in Brazil and extending our market presence as an industrial partner in the energy sector. We will be gaining a team of specialists which already enjoys an excellent reputation as a sound, dependable partner and preferred supplier of Comos software solutions among many of Latin America's key industrial players", says Eckard Eberle, CEO of the Siemens Industrial Automation Systems Business Unit.

The Brazilian firm provides an impressive performance spectrum encompassing business process analysis, solutions to specific customer needs, software implementation and a comprehensive portfolio of plant engineering services.

This document gives the details of the setup for the RadioLinx OPC Server. For the architecture of this implementation, the following equipment is required:
- 2 modules RLXIB-IHW-E
- A laptop or PC with Ethernet and wireless capability and containing the following software:
1. RLX-IH Browser version 3.004
2. ProSoft OPC Server version 1.1.4
3. FactoryTalk View Studio OPC Client version 5.00.00 from Rockwell Automation
- 1 Ethernet Switch (required to perform a wired communication test)

Please click to download the Application Note by Prosoft

The recently opened Botlek Tank Terminal (BTT) at Rotterdam relies on Rotork’s latest electric valve actuation technologies for automated flow control and vital safety related duties associated with the import, export and storage of a varied range of liquid bulk products.

Construction of the €70 million first phase of the terminal began in April 2010 and was completed within budget and on time by the Polish company Polimex-Mostostal S.A. BTT has 34 storage tanks, providing a combined storage capacity of 200,000 cubic metres, of which 130,000 cubic metres is earmarked for clean fuels and the rest is for edible oils and biodiesel. The state-of-the-art terminal has deepwater berths including a 420 metre jetty that can simultaneously accommodate two seagoing vessels and two barges, operating 24 hours-a-day.

Please click Case Study by Rotork to read in details.

This application note describes the recommended settings for integrating the Stahl IS1 Remote IO System with a Modbus TCP Virtual IO Module. Documentation is provided in the introduction for configuring the Stahl IS1 with a Modbus TCP interface in addition to the Modbus TCP Virtual IO Module manual.

please click Application Note by Mynah to read in detail.

Petrofac, the international oil & gas service provider, has been awarded a US$330 million lump-sum engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract by Gazprom Neft Badra B.V. (‘Gazprom’) for the first phase of the Badra Oilfield Development Project in Iraq. The competitively tendered project will commence shortly and be completed in three 18-month phases, with final completion scheduled during the second half of 2015.

Under the terms of the contract, Petrofac will provide detailed design, engineering, procurement, construction, pre-commissioning, commissioning and start-up work on the Badra development’s central processing facility, which comprises three crude oil processing trains. The first phase of the project is expected to come on stream in the second half of 2013.

Marwan Chedid, chief executive of Petrofac’s Engineering, Construction, Operations & Maintenance (ECOM) division, commented: “We are delighted to be working with Gazprom on this important development which holds significant future potential for the progression of Iraq’s oil & gas industry. This is Petrofac’s third notable project award in Iraq and also marks our first lump-sum EPC project in the country.