Summary
The process conditions at an offshore installation had changed significantly over the years and would continue to do so until the end of field life. To ensure stable control of the main oil line pumps, new control valves with reduced capacity were installed.
We were engaged to assist the operations team with the plant restart following the control valve replacement, performing controller tuning and system optimisation for the main oil line pumps.
Our Scope
Ensure that the replacement control valves provides stable and responsive plant operation for current production rates and process conditions.
Ensure controllers are tuned to cater for a range of likely future production scenarios including simultaneous operation of multiple main oil line pumps.
Assess, tune, and optimise the following controllers and control schemes:
- Level controller on pump suction vessel
- Pump minimum flow controller
- Export pressure controller
- Pump recycle cooler temperature controller
Result
All controllers were re-tuned and successfully operated under automatic control.
Production trials were completed to establish the required production rates for multiple main oil line pump operations.