The Challenge
GNI required an upgrade to the Station Control System (SCS) at Loughshinny Interconnector, a landfall station for the subsea interconnector pipeline to South West Scotland. Leveraging NeoDyne’s prior project experience at the Gormanston Landfall station, GNI appointed NeoDyne to design and project manage the Loughshinny upgrade incorporating a High Integrity Pressure Protection System (HIPPS).
The project goals were to deliver a a fault-tolerant safety system that maximised safety and system availability with predictable control. The upgrade needed to be fully compliant with the IEC 61511 Functional Safety Standard, the standard that governs safety instrumented systems in the process industry.
Our Approach
NeoDyne delivered a high integrity station pressure and flow control system with high availability using the Rockwell Trusted platform. The safety instrumented solution incorporated triplicated processors and I/O modules to ensure the highest availability with high safety function.
We configured the system to react immediately to system faults, helping achieve GNI’s safety integrity requirements in full compliance with the IEC 61511 Functional Safety standard.
About Gas Networks Ireland
Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) is the gas transmission and distribution systems operator in the ROI. GNI own, operate, build and maintain the natural gas network in Ireland and connect all customers to the network.
NeoDyne has a long-established relationship with GNI, having worked on gas projects for over 20 years and is currently on the GNI Engineering Design Services Framework.
Customer Requirements
- High Integrity Fault-Tolerant Safety System
- High Availability with Maximum Safety
- Compliance with the IEC 61511 Functional Safety Standard
- Structured design of the Control and Safety Logic using Functional Logic Drawings
- Development of a new SCADA interface for operation of the station
Challenges
- Designing and planning for minimal downtime during the control system upgrade, as Loughshinny is a Tier 1 critical site
- Utilisation of the existing site cable infrastructure
- Incorporating additional safety features, such as excess flow protection and pressure protection into the control and safety logic
Outcome
- Successful delivery of the control system upgrade within the specified outage interval
- Delivery of a High Integrity Fault Tolerant system
- Development of an intuitive SCADA interface, with a similar design to other GNI sites, ensuring familiarity
- Successful design and configuration of Control and Safety Logic
Other Case Studies
See other Transmission & Distribution projects below to see our solutions in action
Cordal Windfarm
Electrical Design for a Contestable Build 110kV Eirgrid and IPP Substation.
Wexford 110kV Substation Upgrade
Replacement/Upgrade of Generator Control and Protection Systems to support a Complex Site Islanding System.
