Simian/Sienna & Sapphire online Production System Simulator (PSS)

Fantoft has been awarded the contract for engineering and customisation of an online Production System Simulator (PSS) for the Simian/Sienna & Sapphire deepwater projects, from Vetco Gray Controls Ltd. All these fields are located in the West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM) concession offshore Egypt. Burullus Gas of Egypt is the operator of the field.

Technip Offshore is the EPIC contractor for the Simian/Sienna & Sapphire subsea development, while Vetco Gray Controls, a division of Vetco International Inc., and formerly known as ABB Offshore Systems is the supplier of the subsea control system.

The Simian/Sienna & Sapphire PSS will be an extension of the Scarab/Saffron PSS that has been in operation in the Central Control Room since March 2003, supporting the daily operation of the field. The PSS will be integrated with the automation systems for the onshore as well as the offshore plants. The PSS will support the daily operation of the complex plant with “the window into the pipeline” functionality, represented with model-based calculations in addition to measured values. The main objectives for the PSS are to assist the operators in handling of liquid surges and avoiding formation of hydrates (formation of ice-crystals and in worst case blockage of pipeline). The plant supervisors and engineers will utilise the automatic look-ahead prediction and offline training simulation for planning purposes. Furthermore, the PSS will be used to optimise the amount of injected glycol etc.

“This contract demonstrates our capability and strength in fulfilling customer requirements and expectations in deliveries of high-quality online simulator applications like the Scarab/Saffron PSS”, informs Knut Erik Spilling, director of Fantoft’s sales activities. “The D-SPICE Simulator Technology has again shown to be world-leading with regards to accuracy and flexibility. The Scarab/Saffron field is a trendsetter for future oil & gas development projects, and we are delighted to serve Burullus Gas also in the Simian/Sienna & Sapphire projects”.

The Simian/Sienna & Sapphire PSS project will be executed by staff from the Pipeline Management Systems department at the Fantoft offices in Oslo, Norway. Fantoft is currently executing several online-PMS projects; among them the Sn?hvit PMS for the 150 km pipeline tie-back project in Barents Sea, the Goldeneye 105 km tie-back project in UKCS and the Western Libya Gas Project.