Honeywell announced Sunday that it is working with Dolphin Energy in Qatar to upgrade its existing Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) servers, stations and software online at its gas processing plant at Ras Laffan Industrial City to further improve the facility’s efficiency and reduce maintenance costs.
The company said that the upgrade will enable the enhancement of production processes at the plant in Ras Laffan, which is the largest single build plant in the world and central to Dolphin’s operations in the region. Dolphin Energy, one of the largest energy ventures in the Middle East, was set up to produce and process natural gas from Qatar’s offshore North Field. The processed gas is then transported to the UAE via an undersea pipeline.
As part of the project, Honeywell will upgrade nine Experion servers and 45 Experion stations to Honeywell certified Experion system hardware platforms, allowing Dolphin to optimise their integrated control system performance and sustain their automation investments.
The project also includes an upgrade of the facility’s system software to the latest release, including its operating system.
The offline development system will be a small-scale replica of the gas processing plant’s existing integrated control system and will allow Dolphin Energy to test various migration scenarios without affecting the plant’s productivity. The development system will also facilitate the training of engineers on the Experion platform.
“This migration of our Experion system is part of our strategic, long term automation roadmap, which aims to enhance efficiencies at Dolphin’s Ras Laffan plant,” said Adel Ahmed Albuainain, General Manager, Dolphin Energy, Qatar. “In addition to addressing operating system obsolescence and its associated hardware compatibility issues, the software upgrades will deliver operational and maintenance enhancements such as advanced diagnostics. It will also facilitate future systems expansions on the latest platforms.”
“We have already seen the initial benefits of Honeywell’s Experion System, and we are confident that the migration will further improve our business agility, optimise yield and reduce maintenance costs for Dolphin’s Ras Laffan Plant,” Albuainain continued.
Honeywell’s Experion PKS transforms process control beyond traditional Distributed Control System (DCS) functionality and is designed to manage business, processes and assets in one unique system. Built to scale, Experion can streamline system management and reduce the total cost of ownership by up to 30%, the company claims. The Experion system is already being deployed for Abu Dhabi Gas Development Company Ltd (ADGDCL) for its Shah Gas Development Project.
“Dolphin Energy’s decision to upgrade its Experion systems reaffirms its commitment to setting high standards in maintenance of open systems, while reducing costs and boosting plant safety and efficiency,” said Ged Blenkharn, regional general manager for Honeywell Process Solutions, Middle East. “Honeywell enjoys a proven track record with Dolphin Energy, and since our support engineers are already integrated into Dolphin’s onsite maintenance team, their familiarity with the installed systems and maintenance practices should support the smooth and seamless execution of this project.”
