

Production Facilities Control Room Operation
Overview:
Introduction:
This course aims to acquire best practices of production facilities control room operation through role-play situations on integrated Oil & Gas production plant dynamic simulator.
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:
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analyze and anticipate the behavior of main control loop structures (DCS and SIS systems architecture and functionalities),
- explain production equipment, process operating parameters, and perform troubleshooting,
- implement proactive, anticipatory control room operation and acquire a safety mindset,
- react and act in a structured manner to anomalies and plant upsets,
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enforce safety guidelines during downgraded and critical situations.
Target Audience:
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Experienced control room operators and production supervisors looking to advance their know-how in control room operation.
Course Outlines:
Unit 1:
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GETTING STARTED - DCS FUNCTIONALITIES FOR PROPER ANALYSIS
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- Familiarization with HMI functions and operations.
- DCS tools review.
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PROCESS CONTROL & SAFETY INSTRUMENTED SYSTEMS
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- Impact of P&ID parameters and simply closed loop tuning.
- Study of control loop structures: cascade, split-range on the simulator.
- Programmable logic controllers: introduction to automated sequences.
- Monitoring of start-up sequence (compressor) through MMI.
- Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS): PSS, ESD, HIPPS, and F&G systems description.
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Unit 2:
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WELLS & PRODUCTION LINES OPERATION
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- Well, start-up (ramp-up) and shutdown.
- Analysis of automatic good control.
- Well, monitoring and detection of abnormal conditions.
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ROTATING MACHINERY OPERATION
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- Centrifugal pumps.
- Centrifugal compressors:
- Technology review, the study of process and auxiliary lines, protection systems.
- Start-up and shutdown sequences.
- Analysis of operating conditions and operating parameters.
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Unit 3:
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PROCESS UPSET MANAGEMENT
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- Alarms: priorities management and decision making.
- Becoming aware of the need for anticipation VS on-alarm action.
- Managing and predicting process disturbances by using trend views. Use of trends to anticipate deviations.
- Global plant performance checks: identification and implementation of a routine checks roadmap.
- Shift report and impact of a faulty report through role-play situations.
- Process upsets: learning to react and act in a structured manner.
- Identification, analysis, and containment of process upsets according to the learned methodology.
- Example of simulator exercises performed:
- Loss of centrifugal compressor.
- Loss of cooling media.
- Production rate decrease.
- Unexpected slugging.
- ESD activation due to process safety trip.
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Unit 4:
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SAFETY IN OPERATION
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- Learning to operate the plant in critical situations, to make adequate decisions, to follow-up on actions performed.
- Example of simulator exercises performed:
- Gas leakage to the flare.
- Inhibition and downgraded situation mitigation (faulty pressure transmitter, SDV blocked open…).
- Manual ESD activation following leakage detection.
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Unit 5:
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PRODUCTION START-UP
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- Analysis of production facilities start-up philosophy.
- Safe plant start-up.
- Implementing the start-up procedure on the simulator:
- Operating parameters analysis and anticipation of process upset.
- Generation of several malfunctions (by the instructor) to be fixed.
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CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT TEST
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- Weekly tests on the simulator.
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