Emerson Helps LUKOIL Tap New Opportunity in One of the

World’s Harshest

Environments

The Timan-Pechora basin in Russia’s Arctic northwest offers vast oil and gas resources, as well as challenges for those looking to tap them. Weather conditions in this region are better suited for wildlife, like polar bears and wolves, than people. The temperature can drop to as low as minus 47 degrees F (minus 44 degrees Celsius), sea ice builds to over five-feet (170 cm) thick, and waves in the nearby Barents Sea will top 16 feet (nearly five meters) during a storm.

LUKOIL Group, one of Russia’s largest oil and gas companies, wanted to increase exports from Timan-Pechora to Western Europe and North America by expanding its Varandey facility – the world’s northernmost continuously operating oil terminal. The company knew that automation was key to enabling consistent and safe year-round operations in a harsh environment where it had never been attempted before. It turned to Emerson for rugged and reliable automation solutions for the Varandey terminal, which today moves 12 million metric tons of commercial crude oil annually.

Share:
Watch Our Commercial

RELATED LINKS

Visit: Emerson Process Management
Learn More: Emerson’s PlantWeb™ Architecture
Learn More: Emerson’s DeltaV™ Digital Automation System

Automated Systems
Ensure Safety In The Arctic

The Timan-Pechora basin in Russia’s Arctic northwest : Home to the Varandey oil terminal – the world’s northernmost continuously operating oil terminal

  • Temps as low as -47°F (-44°C)
  • Sea ice builds to over 5’ (170 cm) thick
  • Waves up to 16’ in the nearby Barents Sea

Due to these extreme conditions, LUKOIL wanted to automate the Varandey facility, and they chose Emerson’s PlantWeb™ architecture to achieve this goal.

Preventative Protection

The Emerson system includes diagnostic and detection technology that can help to detect potential areas of failure before they occur.

An Expansive Facility

LUKOIL’s Varandey facility has a capacity of 325,000 cubic meters, features two 25-kilometer underwater pipelines, and an ice-resistant fixed offshore terminal.

Increased Safety

Additionally, Emerson technologies enable LUKOIL to manage more of its operations onshore, helping to reduce safety concerns for employees at the offshore facility.

Complete Coverage

Now, more than 6,000 signals from more than 700 measurement instruments monitor temperature, pressure, flow, vibration, and other variables in the terminal facilities both onshore and offshore, as well as the underwater pipelines.

Emerson Helps LUKOIL Tap New Opportunity in One of the World’s Harshest Environments

The Timan-Pechora basin in Russia’s Arctic northwest offers vast oil and gas resources, as well as challenges for those looking to tap them. Weather conditions in this region are better suited for wildlife, like polar bears and wolves, than people. The temperature can drop to as low as minus 47 degrees F (minus 44 degrees Celsius), sea ice builds to over five-feet (170 cm) thick, and waves in the nearby Barents Sea will top 16 feet (nearly five meters) during a storm.

LUKOIL Group, one of Russia’s largest oil and gas companies, wanted to increase exports from Timan-Pechora to Western Europe and North America. To accomplish this, the company expanded its Varandey facility – the world’s northernmost continuously operating oil terminal – to a capacity of 325,000 cubic meters and added two 25-kilometer underwater pipelines, as well as an ice-resistant fixed offshore terminal for offloading of oil from its shore-based tanker field to reinforced tanker ships for transport abroad.

It’s Never Been Done Before. When LUKOIL decided to expand its Varandey oil terminal, it knew that automation was key to enabling consistent and safe year-round operations in a harsh environment where it had never been attempted before. The company turned to Emerson for rugged and reliable automation solutions for the Varandey terminal, which today moves 12 million metric tons of commercial crude oil annually.

  • Automation of the plant is achieved via Emerson’s PlantWeb™ architecture, including the DeltaV™ digital automation system. The Emerson solution enables control of terminal operations at every stage, from receipt of oil at the onshore tank farm to pumping through the underwater pipelines to the offshore terminal.

    		•   

  • Emerson designed and deployed control systems, software, and vibration monitoring instrumentation for the project. All told, the solution combines more than 6,000 signals from more than 700 measurement instruments monitoring temperature, pressure, flow, vibration, and other variables in the terminal facilities both onshore and offshore, as well as the underwater pipelines. The system even enables control over additional subsystems developed by third parties.

    • The Emerson system includes diagnostic and detection technology that can help to detect potential areas of failure before they occur. This technology helps to ensure continuous operation and supports LUKOIL’s commitment to environmental safety.

    Additionally, Emerson technologies enable LUKOIL to manage more of its operations onshore, helping to reduce safety concerns for employees at the offshore facility.

    Emerson’s automation solutions for the oil and gas industry are playing a key role in helping LUKOIL to maintain continuous, safe and efficient year-round operations at its Varandey terminal facilities where challenging weather conditions are a fact of life.

    Visit: Emerson Process Management
    Print PDF
    Share:
    Show Video