Belden installs WLAN Process Control solution for Shell Petrochemical plant

With this breakthrough application, Belden has demonstrated that it offers a complete solution for scalable, redundant LAN and WLAN architectures for Process industries.

Shell Eastern Petroleum recently completed a new Ethylene Cracker Complex in Singapore. This is the first time in the Oil & Gas industry that wireless technology has been deployed to get mobile access to the Process Control system.

When planning the project, Shell wanted to get mobile access to all process data via WLAN at defined places in the refinery to drive efficiencies. Peter Beerepoot, who was responsible for Instrumentation Process Control of the entire project for Shell Eastern Petroleum, says: “We were given the opportunity to develop a complete infrastructure. Our initial thoughts during the Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) phase, was that wireless would give us a number of key benefits. So we considered substitution of local panels, which we believed would bring us advantages in terms of cost reduction and increased efficiency.”

Tsjoi Tsim, Consultant Wireless Technologies, who acted on behalf of Shell Global Solutions International (SGSI) adds: “Following the vision of SGSI to create a wireless plant, it was essential to identify the right partners.

Throughout our selection process, a few potential partners were willing to listen, but only one, Belden, was capable of delivering the right solution by successfully listening to what the customer has to say and to act accordingly.”

Yokogawa was appointed as the main automation contractor for the project. Peter Roodenburg, Project Manager at Yokogawa: “Yokogawa contracted Belden to design and deliver the wireless infrastructure, which acts as an interface to our process control systems. Belden proved to be a highly knowledgeable and reliable partner throughout the entire process from design to delivery. The Yokogawa and Belden teams worked closely together and were able to deliver the systems timely meeting the customer’s requirements.”

Belden took on the project management, the design and building of a complete WLAN solution, consisting of a wireless distribution system incorporating 90 Hirschmann™ access points (BAT54-F X2) for ECC and multiple antennas, linked across a redundant, fiber ring backbone. A very important feature in this project was that all relevant parts of the solution had to be suitable for the challenging environmental conditions and that they had to be properly certified accordingly to comply to ATEX/IEC60079. To have such certification is mandatory for safety and governance reasons. Therefore this unique location has to be regarded as being a hazardous area.

HaJo Finkbeiner, Belden Senior Consultant says: “We were able to provide Shell, and our partner, Yokogawa, with a one-stop-shop solution for WLAN and firewall technology with a redundant backbone structure. This comprised hardware and software, as well as a full range of services including consulting, planning, maintenance, site survey, training and configuration of all devices, to the commissioning and testing of the entire system at various stages, prior to handing over the entire system to Shell.”

The application required a full range of Hirschmann™ WLAN products including outdoor access points and modular MICE switches, together with accessories, antennas, switches, media converters and surge arrestors. For enhanced security, the EAGLE firewall was used at the demarcation point to the customer’s process-LAN. To build the backbone, Belden’s PROFInet copper and fibre optic cables were used, as well as Lumberg Automation™ Ethernet M12 connectors for all Ethernet devices. At locations where wired LAN access was difficult, wireless point to point links were installed.

This project in the Oil & Gas market is now fully functional. Significant benefits include improved overall efficiency, resulting from both the faster commissioning time for the petrochemical process control system and improved maintenance efficiency, as well as an overall system cost reduction – due to fewer indicator units being needed. This clearly demonstrates that Belden has the right products and the relevant experience and expertise to successfully employ WLAN solutions in harsh environments.

Peter Beerepoot: “Today, we not only have the proof that the Belden system works, because the coverage is better than we originally expected, we are also looking at options to maximise our usage of the system. Belden delivered excellent work and proved to be a reliable partner throughout the project.”