Emerson Exchange 365

When things go wrong on an offshore oil platform, training can make the difference between a minor incident and a full blown disaster. While it might make sense to practice fire-fighting or sea rescue operations in real-world conditions, regular operations training in an offshore environment can be unnecessarily hazardous. This was the thinking behind oil & gas producer Lukoil's decision to build an upgraded operator training simulator (OTS) for its Yuri Korchagin field platform in the North Caspian Sea.

“Safety is always our top priority,” said Sergey Mogilkin, head of the process control and instrumentation group at Lukoil-Nizhnnevolskneft LLC. “So when Emerson Process Management said it could create a fully integrated onshore OTS, with the exact same process controls and control logic as the actual platform, the choice was obvious.” Mogilkin discussed the project along with Emerson senior consultant Viacheslav Kulikov today at the 2014 Emerson Global Users Exchange in Stuttgart, Germany.

Operator training began at Lukoil's Corporate Training Complex near Astrakhan, Russia, in 2011. The facility was equipped to train personnel in evacuations, sea rescue operations, fire safety, and other essentials, but it was unable to simulate real operations of process control systems. In 2012, Emersonapproached Lukoil about installing a complete OTS system at the complex that would mirror the controls on the platform, but also have the ability to expose operators to customized situations.

“Our operators don't usually have to interfere much with the control system on the platform, so mistakes are possible when a malfunction or emergency occurs. The new OTS allows us to train personnel on fully configurable exercises that can recreate any scenario imaginable,” said Mogilkin.

Kulikov said the same Emerson team that developed the onsite control system participated in designing the OTS, which is based on an exact copy of the platform's DeltaVTM process control and DeltaV SISTM safety control system configurations. Their experience and expertise was essential to creating an accurate simulation model, Mogilkin added.

The architecture for the Yuri Korchagin field OTS consists of five switchable operator workstations serving the supervisor, central control room operator, and field operator roles, as well as three DeltaV application workstations. A DeltaV ProfessionalPLUS workstation was set up for the instructor.

The fully expandable system currently simulates 26 production wells, in addition to oil separation, transport, water treatment and auxiliary functions such as flares, chemical injection and drainage. The Technology Complex process model is implemented within Kongsberg K-SpiceTM software. DeltaV Standard Entities for the Engineering of Dynamic Simulators data is used to model the power and utility complex, including life support, air conditioning, and water supply systems.

All operator interface screens are exact copies of the actual onsite controls. Control room operators have access to all systems and complexes, and the field operator screens are able to even emulate actions such as opening manual valves and starting up equipment in the field.

Lukoil's training program employs 29 different work shift-based scenarios, from alarm reaction situations to full-scale platform start up, and the instructor can introduce events and malfunctions at any point during a session. The courseware allows for evaluation of various training levels from beginner to experienced operator, as well as shift efficiency evaluation.

“Emerson delivered the OTS on schedule and on budget, with no rework required,” Mogilkin said. “Since then we have been very pleased with the results. As we continue to expand, we plan to use OTS to test new process control strategies onshore prior to installing them on the platforms, which will save time and resources. On top of that, our people are now safer and better trained than ever before.”