News
Electrical Engineering Oil & Gas in a refinery in operation
The project: intervention on a plant in operation
A refinery works in continuous operation, with planned stops and planned intervention windows in advance. It is in this context that Emmetitech is carrying out a project of Oil & Gas electro-instrumental engineering in one of the main refining plants of Northern Italy.
The work, started long ago and still in progress, includes electrical and instrumental design, 3D modeling and installation in the field.
The complexity of the project is not only technological: the physical and operational constraints typical of an existing system are added to the design, where each new solution must be integrated with existing infrastructures.
The challenge: available space, existing infrastructure and operational continuity
In a refinery pipes, catwalks, supports, valves and insulation develop on multiple levels and often reflect later interventions made over time. The space available for new routes is therefore reduced and the possibility of changing existing structures can be strongly bound.
This affects every design choice. A correct cable path on the documentation can be incompatible with elements present in the factual state; in the same way, the position of a new equipment must be verified with respect to the spaces actually available, accessibility and maintenance needs.
To these aspects is added the operating bond of the plant in operation. Areas classified, safety procedures and work permits define time and mode of intervention in the field.
The Emmetitech approach: check first, integrate into the field
3D modelling and status verification
The three-dimensional reconstruction of the factual state allows to check already in the design phase interferences between existing infrastructures and new paths, maintenance spaces and accessibility of the equipment. The goal is to anticipate the criticalities before the execution and limit, as far as possible, changes and reworks in the field.
Integrated electrical and instrumental design
In a system already wired and instrumented, each new element must be inserted in a defined context. The electrical and instrumental design proceed together: the power and signal paths share the same spaces and the same interference, and they must be solved as a single problem.
The design choices are developed from the factual state detected, not only the available documentation. This reduces the discard between the project and what can be achieved in the field.
Emmetitech activities
- Electrical design: dimensionalities, patterns, feeding routes and distribution in an already wired system.
- Instrumental design: selection and specification of field instrumentation, signal paths and interfaces with existing systems.
- 3D modelling:embodiment of the factual state and prior verification of interference before execution.
- Installation:field activity on plant in operation, coordinated with operational and production needs.
The integrated management of these activities within the same technical structure allows to address the interdependence between design and realization without passages between different suppliers.
State of the project
The project is still underway. In orders of this nature the activities are divided into successive stages and intervention windows, each with its own operating constraints.
Operating on an existing system requires technical competence and a structured method of preventive verification, because the correction margin during the execution is conditioned by the available spaces, the present infrastructure and the operating requirements of the plant.
