Saneg reduces daily oil losses through production automation

Oil losses due to shutdowns of wells due to emergency halts of external power supply facilities average about 20 tons per day.

During the onset of cold weather, the frequency of emergency power outages increased significantly. To reduce downtime of production wells equipped with pumping units, Saneg oil and gas specialists have introduced voltage control relays and time relays at control stations. This allows for automatic start and stop of equipment after a power outage from external sources. Earlier, it was required to manually re-start the equipment, but now, with the help of the automation system, the pumping unit is put back into operation within a minute.

“To ensure automatic re-starting after emergency shutdowns, we decided to modify the control stations for pumping units with the help of special devices for closing and opening the electrical circuit. First, the voltage relay checks the state of the voltage when the power supply is restored, then the time relay starts. This is necessary for the launch of each pumping unit to be spaced in time in order to reduce the starting loads on external networks,” said Dmitry Shaydurov, chief power engineer of Saneg.

According to Shaydurov, due to the implemented automation system at the Palvontash and Western Palvontash fields, it was possible to minimise oil losses by a total of 15 tons per day by reducing downtime and putting production wells into operation.

This increase in oil production is commensurate with the commissioning of two new wells, while the costs spent on automation is disproportionately lower. Saneg plans to replicate this method of reducing oil losses in other fields of the company.