This Day in History (1996): Control System Replaced at Shedgum

From the Jan. 24, 1996, edition of The Arabian Sun

The Central Control Room at Shedgum Gas Plant is taking on a radically different look as the facility's old, obsolete analog controls are replaced with a new, technology-integrated Distributed Control System (DCS). 

The transformation of the facility's Sulfur Recovery Plants is Phase I of the Shedgum Control System Replacement Project, which is designed to preserve the safety and reliability of Shedgum Gas Plant. 

The newly installed "Intelligent Automation" DCS also provides a better man-machine interface and will be integrated with the company's new Management Information System (MIS). 

Plant personnel were incorporated into the planning process at an early stage and participated in the design review, factory acceptance test, site commissioning and site acceptance phases of the 

system replacement project. This approach means Shedgum's Saudi engineers, craftsmen, and operators are an integral part of the plant's overall support structure for the new system. 

The conversion process itself also allowed young Saudi engineers to familiarize themselves with the new control system. The conversion was performed safely and ahead of schedule.

Phase II of the replacement project is now under way. This phase will replace the plant's remaining obsolete control equipment and draw on implementation procedures developed during Phase 1. Similar 

projects are being implemented at other Aramco facilities. 

Caption for top photo: Sulfur Recovery Module Operators Nasser Al-Mohaisen, standing, and Ahmed Abdullah Al-Ismail, monitor readings from Shedgum Gas Plant's new Distributed Control System.

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