Barry D. Payne and Associates Inc. Monthly Newsletter

September 2009

Recent Project News:

BDP project delivers automation and enhanced control strategies

Curtailed capital spending during 2009 has significantly impacted projects in the natural gas industry. However, selected projects related to natural gas liquids continue to be funded based on the strength of liquid product prices which tend to follow oil prices rather than be adversely affected by unusually low natural gas prices. The BDP team is currently providing DCS equipment procurement, programming, and commissioning services to upgrade a NGL Frac unit at a gas processing facility in Texas. The automation project includes an expansion of the existing plant DCS to cutover panel board loops associated with the existing Frac unit, and to support a new de-ethanizer column being added to the facility. These BDP engineering and site support services are being provided direct to the operating company, with project coordination in parallel to the mechanical contractor’s scope for the new DeC2 column installation.

In addition to traditional automation services, the operating company has selected BDP Inc. engineered solutions that provide advanced control strategies for the Frac unit. These APC strategies improve Frac unit performance using enhanced regulatory control, model-based advanced control, heat & energy balances, and constraint & upset management. The Frac unit advanced control strategies are designed to smooth the feed flow from upstream gas processing units, to provide advanced composition control for liquid products, and to honor operating constraints to improve Frac unit stability. These BDP Inc. designed advanced control strategies are typically configured directly in the DCS or PLC control system, using the native programming features available in the vendor software. When implemented directly in the DCS controller, these advanced control strategies can improve the control loop response time, can minimize operator intervention, and can ensure program compatibility when control system version upgrades are required.

BDP Inc. offers process control consulting, advanced control strategy design and implementation, and system integration services to deliver overall control system performance enhancements. Contact BDP Inc. for more information on similar control system services and process control improvements to enhance your plant operations today.

Partial List of Current Projects at BDP:

<> Conceptual engineering and control system scope development to automate multiple pump stations along a NGL pipeline in Texas.
<> Engineering, configuration, system assembly, and commissioning support for a process automation system to replace a legacy DCS at a compressor station in east Texas.
<> Process control consulting and APC commissioning for multi-train cryogenic liquids recovery and NGL fractionation strategies at a Texas gas plant.
<> Conceptual engineering scope development to upgrade a legacy DCS with a combined Process Control System (PCS) and Safety Instrumented System (SIS) at a gas plant in south Texas.

Partial List of Systems included in recent BDP projects:

<> Emerson Delta V control system.
<> Honeywell Experion PKS system.
<> MOST process automation system from GE Fanuc.
<> Wonderware InTouch HMI with Allen-Bradley ControlLogix PLC.