Production • Processing • Handling
Emergency power for the oil and gas industry
Safeguarding reliable power supplies at the world’s third largest natural gas processing plant. Jörg Habermaas reports.
Proteger los suministros eléctricos fiables en la tercera planta de procesamiento de gas natural más grande del mundo, informa Jörg Habermaas.
Sicherung zuverlässiger Energieversorgung an der drittgrößten Erdgasaufbereitungsanlage der Welt. Jörg Habermaas berichtet.
project. During any future power outages, five MTU gensets powered by Type 16V 4000 G63 engines will be in place to supply the energy for essential production processes – and, thanks to special acoustic technology, they will do their job more quietly than ever. Most of Europe’s gas reserves are located in Norwegian territory and the country is one of the world’s largest gas producers. In continental Europe, 15 per cent of the total natural gas consumption are distributed through the Norwegian operator Gassco. Owned by a joint venture between oil and gas companies on the Norwegian continental shelf, Gassco operates the third largest natural gas processing plant in the world, Kårstø.
T Te onshore complex Kårstø plays a
key role in the transport and processing of gas and condensate pumped ashore from the most important areas of the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Located in Tysvær near Stavanger, the processing plant is fed by pipelines from 28 fields, including major natural gas reserves such as Åsgard, Mikkel, Sleipner and Kristin. Every year, Kårstø processes 28 million cubic meters of gas to produce 8.5 million tons of liquefied gas. Kårstø has grown significantly since
it first went into operation in the early 1980s. During the course of several expansion projects, the facility has developed until it now occupies an area five times as large as its original site - and it is set for further growth over the coming years. All technical service is provided by Statoil, the state-owned mineral oil and natural gas company and the country’s most important producer. “In the context of the upgrade
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he Norwegian natural gas processing plant at Kårstø has been equipped with a new emergency power system as part of a long-term expansion
programs which accompany growth, our main aim is to make Kårstø both safe and efficient for many years to come,” said Asbjørn Søndenå, Discipline Lead Electro Commissioning at Statoil, “Tat means protecting people and the environment as well as safeguarding trouble-free operation at the production facilities.” In particular, a number of electrical and mechanical systems will be upgraded in order to modernise and improve safety and control systems as well as utility systems.
Moving forward safely One of the key extensions is the new MTU-brand emergency power system which will supply essential power for the entire onshore gas processing plant in case of any future outage. As the installed capacity of the previous emergency gensets was no longer adequate, Statoil replaced the elderly generator sets with new MTU units. After successful test runs, they went into operation in summer 2011. “Our experience of working with MTU
had already proved very positive on an earlier project. Te fair price-performance ratio coupled with high product quality and MTU’s extensive experience with emergency generation systems tipped our decision in favor of these gensets,” explained Asbjørn Søndenå. “In addition, MTU was the only provider capable of meeting our low-noise requirements.” Te crucial factor in the decision,
however, was reliability. And that is why today five robust MTU gensets are in place to keep all of the major emergency consumers supplied with the power they need in the event of any future outages. Tese consumers include fire extinguishing systems, emergency lighting, battery-charging alternators for uninterruptible power supplies and HVAC plants which maintain the pressure inside buildings within areas exposed to the risk of explosion.
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