Offshore contract

Contract to Supply Integrated Control and Safety Systems for Cygnus Offshore Development Project

Yokogawa's Centum VP

Yokogawa has been awarded a contract by GDF SUEZ E&P UK Ltd to supply the integrated control and safety systems (ICSS) for its new Cygnus Development Project, following on from recent North Sea contract awards from a number of major oil and gas companies.

Under the contract, Yokogawa Europe Solutions B.V. will supply the complete ICSS comprising of the following systems: process control, process shutdown, emergency shutdown, fire & gas detection (complete with associated field devices), process data historian, and field device asset management.

The ICSS will feature Yokogawa’s CENTUM VP process automation system, ProSafe-RS safety system, Exaquantum production management solution, and PRM asset management package.

Yokogawa Europe Solutions B.V. will also be supplying an operator training system (OTS) utilizing the OmegaLand advanced operator simulation environment.

The ICSS will be distributed across the Cygnus complex, which currently consists of a total of four greenfield offshore platforms. Three platforms are bridge linked (Alpha WHP, PU, and UQ) and a second remote drilling centre is located on the fourth platform (Bravo WHP). The planned export route is through the ETS pipeline system to the Perenco Bacton Gas Terminal in North Norfolk.

The Cygnus gas field has 18 billion m3 in proven and probable reserves and is situated within British Continental Shelf blocks 44/12a and 44/11a. The field is operated by GDF SUEZ, which also owns a 38.75% stake. Centrica has a 48.75% interest and Bayerngas holds the remaining 12.5%.

Production is expected to start from the new facilities in late 2015. The field is expected to meet demand for nearly one and a half million homes at peak production, accounting for around 5% of British gas production.

The ICSS will provide fully integrated and seamless control and safety functions for the platforms along with a single interface allowing operators to start, control, and monitor all facilities from a central control room. Asset management is another important issue; with its rich functionality, PRM will minimize maintenance costs and enable proactive instrument maintenance management. The OTS will be used not only for operator training but also as an engineering tool to confirm changes in control strategy.

Yokogawa’s rapidly expanding North Sea installation base has also enabled the further expansion of the company’s Aberdeen based north sea business unit, which is due to move into larger premises in early 2013.

In its Evolution 2015 mid-term business plan, Yokogawa has designated the upstream oil and gas sector as a focus area. Yokogawa will continue to propose solutions that ensure safe and stable operations at its customers’ plants and production facilities, thereby expanding its industrial automation and control business.