ABB to automate major UK gas storage facility
18 May 2011
Cheshire, UK – ABB is to automate a major gas storage facility being built in Cheshire for Storengy, part of a GDF Suez. The Stublach facility, which will store over 400 million cubic metres of gas in underground salt caverns, is to be controlled by the vendor’s System 800xA.
The processing plant consists of gas compressors which move the gas between the caverns and the National Grid Transmission System (NTS). An on-site drying plant removes water from the gas before it is returned to the NTS. The site is expected to be in operation for over 25 years.
ABB acting as the main instrumentation and automation contractor (MIAC) will provide engineering design services for the automation, safety instrumented system (SIS).
The contract includes supplying an 800xA Integrated Process Control system and 800xA-based SIS, as well as ABB and third-party instrumentation to Jacobs Engineering who are responsible for engineering, procurement and construction of the plant.
According to ABB, its system will control the import of gas into the caverns for storage and export of Gas into the National grid, this includes the complex control required to handle these transfers in both free flow and compression modes.
TUV-certified AC 800M HI controllers along with the field devices will be used as the SIS to control the processing plant, associated pipelines and the well heads, which are situated up to 2 km from the processing plant. This will be engineered by ABB’s TUV-certified ABB engineers based in St. Neots, UK.
The System 800xA controllers, which will be in a redundant configuration, also interfaces to fire and gas monitors around the plant, third party packages such as the compressor unit controls to monitor and control the plant.
This, said ABB, provides integrated visibility for the operators of the process, plant assets along with the safety aspects for both the plant and personnel.
