Telegrafia at OMV Petrom Refinery  (Summary of the Control Centre Modernization)

Telegrafia at OMV Petrom Refinery (Summary of the Control Centre Modernization)

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The Petrobrazi refinery, one of the largest in Romania and the largest in Eastern Europe, is located in the town of Ploieşti in the Prahova District. It currently enjoys the benefits of a modernised, state-of-the-art control centre supplied by the Telegrafia company. Petrobrazi is owned by the energy giant OMV Petrom, the energy leader in South-Eastern Europe. Despite the near-fatal destruction during World War II, the refinery has steadily escalated its production, going from 300,000 tons of crude oil processed per year (in the year of the company’s founding-1934) to over 4.5 million tons of crude oil processed into high-quality fuels over the decades of its existence. Such an operation requires constant control and security of all its activities. And that is precisely what Telegrafia has taken care of.

Not quite the first phase

As already mentioned, it was the control centre modernisation. Thus, the core of the warning system in the form of various sensors and electronic sirens remained original. Pavian sirens were supplied by Telegrafia to the refinery some time ago. Together with the sound quality and acoustic coverage range, their power output meets all the characteristics and quality requirements for the safe operation of the refinery. However, what has been added is a new master Pavian siren to the control room through which commands are executed to sound the sirens in the area and the interior of two fire stations serving the refinery. This is under the umbrella of the Amadeo sound and warning system.

OMV Petrom Refinery Control Centre Modernization

The core of modernisation: An automated control centre

The control centre automation and modernisation solution consisted primarily of updating the hardware and software equipment of the control centre and fire stations. Moreover, the new Vektra® software was installed in the control centre, with strict data security and backup controls. Putting these upgrade features into practice has given the Petrobrazi refinery full automation of all critical processes and vastly simplified the operators’ daily tasks.

The interconnections of the new master siren, the already used Pavian sirens with the Vektra® software, the OCP16 control panels and the new Amadeo system have filled the gaps between the individual work operations and strengthened the integrity and speed of the actual warning and notification process. For example, thanks to the Vektra® Warning app, the sirens in the refinery area can also be activated automatically (thanks to the connected sensors) in pre-defined or scheduled events. Subsequently, workers can be more effectively evacuated thanks to the possibility of live announcements.

Control Centre

Vektra® as the refinery’s driving engine

Should a dangerous situation occur, the Vektra® Notification app ensures that those responsible are immediately informed via SMS, or emergency units and rescue teams are summoned without delays. Moreover, due to both Vektra® SCADA and OCP SCADA apps, the control centre operators can control all technology in the area, such as garage doors, air conditioning or lighting systems, simply by touching a single button. At the refinery’s request, an IP video server for twelve security cameras was also supplied as part of the system upgrade to ensure the highest plant security. This makes it possible to directly monitor the live feed from these cameras in the Vektra® software. Radio communications between, for example, the control room and the emergency response vehicle can also be recorded via the additional Vektra® Recording app. Implementing the Media Player directly in the software enables the users to archive and playback audio and video recordings, which is another added value to the modernised control centre system.

All processes within a refinery operation require the most thorough security arrangements and recording systems for everything that happens in the plant. Information and records on events, human and financial resources, reserve stocks and rescue equipment and consequently all data management, supervision, evaluation, updating and systematic archiving are provided to the refinery in the Vektra® Emergency & Rescue Management app. Therefore, whatever happens on-site, the modernisation of the control centre, spearheaded by Vektra®, will promptly help Petrobrazi deal with any situation.

An all-in-one solution from a fraction of Telegrafia’s broad portfolio

Telegrafia is grateful for the trust shown, especially regarding accountability, as this kind of solution can perfectly screen the more significant part of the company’s product portfolio. However, as time passes, Telegrafia is improving its technologies and is now aware that it can face any further challenges and requirements, not only those from the Petrobrazi refinery.

If you are looking for a comprehensive warning system with unified control centre software, do not hesitate to contact us.

The article was written by

Róbert Jakab

Robert is like a moving photograph – because he is like a video. He can capture 60 frames per second. Whenever something happens, he records it. Currently, he’s working on smaller videos and hoping to make a feature film one day and then its sequel. Telegrafia 2: Monkey Power

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