Automind implemented the Automation System of Bahiagás Pressure Reduction and Measuring Stations, with equipment supplied by Fluxo. This is the largest telemetry project for a gas distribution company in Brazil.
The natural gas distribution network comprises operating stations for pressure control, odorization, chromatography and safety interlocking in the event of an accident in gas pipelines, as well as pressure measurement and reduction stations with end customers.
The automation system consists of two control centers, based on Intellution's iFix technology, one in Salvador and the other in Camaçari. The centers are integrated through a dedicated high-speed link and monitor a total of 54 stations equipped, mostly with ROC 364 Remotes and with Emerson Process Management Floboss 503 and 504.
Field equipment processes standardized flow calculations AGA7 or AGA3, records up to 35 days of history of variables of interest to Bahiagás and stores alarm and Audit Trail data. Some of the monitored stations, such as the Distribution Station at the Camaçari Petrochemical Complex and the Mapele Distribution Station, also receive remote controls for gas pipeline protection valves and have safety interlocks in place.
The two Supervision and Control Centers carry out a minimum of two scheduled communications per day with all monitored stations via the telephone line. The stations, equipped with Emerson's ROC 364 and Floboss 503 and 504 remotes, have the ability to send messages to the centrals at any time, in case of operation outside the established limits and without the need to request them. In addition, the exchanges can carry out communications at the operators' request.
In addition to monitoring the customers' consumption profile through historical graphs and automatic reports, the new system allows the operation and maintenance team to perform a quick diagnosis of abnormal supply and risk situations for its main stations. Among the 54 stations, the seven most critical are monitored online via radio, such as the ETC Camaçari Station, which supplies the CHESF thermoelectric unit, and the Millennium HI LOW 2 Station, which protects the gas pipeline that supplies Millennium and a gas station CNG on the North Coast of Bahia. The advantages of the total integration of the equipment are already being perceived by Bahiagás and reflected in the higher quality of services provided to customers and the community. The president of Bahiagás Petronio Lerche Vieira attested that "Bahiagás' automation system is intended to monitor the piped natural gas distribution network, making it possible to safely anticipate the correction of operational problems, without having to interrupt the supply."
For the measurement engineer at Bahiagás Carlos França, the automation system provided improvements in the operating routine, saving time, greater safety and greater environmental protection: "we noticed a reduction in the number of visits to the stations, an increase in the reliability of the measurement data and better use of employees", he says. The system started to make measurement records available in the corporate database, enabling automatic invoicing and consultation service by managers and clients through the Web.