Lukoil Expanded Varendey Terminal
To increase exports to Western Europe and North America, Lukoil expanded the Varendey terminal’s onshore tank farm to a capacity of 325.000 cubic m and added two underwater pipelines. The company fixed also as an ice-resistant offshore terminal where the oil is loaded onto tanker ships. Throughput capacity of the new terminal is 12 million metric t per year, and it is able to operate at full capacity all year round, even under extreme weather conditions.
The automation solution designed and supplied by Emerson is based on PlantWeb digital plant architecture
Emerson supplied the control system, software, and vibration monitoring instrumentation, as well as system design and start-up services in this project. The integrated solution enables control of terminal operations at each stage of the process, from oil receipt at the tank farm to managing pumping through the underwater pipeline, and includes the systems for monitoring and detecting leaks in the pipeline. The architecture’s openness also enables it to control other subsystems supplied by other companies.
The architecture includes DeltaV digital automation system, AMS Suite software, Rosemount smart measurement instrumentation, and Fisher control valves and other control equipment. HART, Modbus and Foundation fieldbus communication protocols enable the DeltaV system to combine more than 6000 signals from more than 700 measurement instruments, including temperature, pressure, and level transmitters, flowmeters and vibration sensors. The system also manages final control elements such as control valves, as well as information from external control subsystems.
The far-northern location of the Varendey terminal requires that the oil transfer system operates in extreme weather conditions – including air temperatures down to -44°С, storm winds, waves up to 5 m high, and ice build-up that can reach 170 cm thick.