Hirschmann Industrial Switches in Offshore Oil And Gas Projects

Deepwater, directed by Peter Berg, won Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Editing at the 89th Academy Awards for its spectacular cinematography and stunning visuals. The film, a true portrayal of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the worst oil spill in US history, has made us more aware of the potential for oil and natural gas resources to become catastrophic, transforming our lives and the environment. It has also heightened public awareness of the safety of offshore oil and gas projects.

Offshore oil and gas projects are characterized by harsh climates, complex production processes, and a high degree of automation. This requires that the electrical and automation systems in these projects not only meet the requirements of the offshore operating environment and production processes, but also ensure the safety of on-site personnel, equipment, and the environment. This places extremely high demands on the security and reliability of the system network.

As key network equipment, how do industrial switches meet the unique application requirements of offshore oil and gas projects? Let's discuss this.

The offshore environment is characterized by large temperature differences, high humidity, and strong corrosiveness. Although most systems are currently installed in relatively closed indoor environments, they are inevitably affected by factors such as electromagnetic interference, vibration, tilt, and impact. Industrial switches need to be able to cope with these challenges.

Solution

Selecting industrial switches with classification society certification① and anti-corrosion coating can meet the operating requirements of the marine environment. For example, the industrial switches can be installed anywhere on the ship, including on the open deck, and will not be affected by environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and electromagnetic interference.

Table 1 Classification of environmental parameters at different locations on board

Most offshore electrical and automation systems are remotely controlled, with operating instructions sent from a central control room or remote touch screen to on-site controllers. Data response times for automatic control must be within 100ms, placing extremely stringent requirements on the real-time performance of the system network.

Solution

During the design phase, rationally planning the network architecture and bandwidth can ensure real-time performance of the system network. If a ring network is used, the ring network convergence time should be less than the system's required data response time. For example, using the MRP ring network redundancy protocol, the ring network convergence time is within 50ms, ensuring that control data responds within the specified time.

Network planning must ensure that any single point of failure within the network will not cause system failure. Some high-reliability systems also need to avoid the impact of multiple points of failure on the network. The impact of network failures must be minimized and prevented from spreading to other systems.

Solution

The network adopts a fault-tolerant redundant network architecture and is designed in detail based on system requirements and terminal device functions. The network should choose switch products with wide-voltage power supply and power redundancy as much as possible to avoid the impact of power supply on the network. The network should use network segmentation, VLAN, boundary protection and other functions to minimize the impact of network failures.

As a vital national strategic resource, offshore oil and gas projects are attracting increasing attention for their system security. Network security is a crucial component of system security, and switches must fully meet the system's network security requirements.

Solution

IEC62443 is the internationally recognized cybersecurity standard. It sets comprehensive and detailed cybersecurity requirements for asset owners, system integrators, and product suppliers, encompassing aspects such as product functionality and system management. Selecting switches that meet IEC62443-4-2 ensures system network security in terms of system integrity, data confidentiality, and resource availability.

Figure 1 Example of IEC62443 for product life cycle

Electrical and automation systems centrally monitor and manage a large number of network devices within a project. These devices include not only network equipment like switches and routers, but also terminal devices like servers and controllers. When a network failure occurs, system engineers need to quickly locate and resolve the issue using monitoring information. This requires switches that support comprehensive network management, data synchronization, and communication capabilities.

Solution

Hirschmann switches can support industrial communication protocols such as OPC-UA, Profinet, IEC61850, as well as network management protocols such as SNMP. In addition to real-time network data, the information shared by the switches also includes the operating status of network devices, device logs, alarm information, etc., which can help the system network achieve comprehensive monitoring and management.

As oil and gas resource development shifts from shallow waters to deep seas, and offshore oil and gas equipment and technology continue to advance, offshore oil and gas resources account for an increasing proportion of total fossil energy extraction. The construction of supporting systems has become more diverse and complex, and networks have assumed an increasingly important role. Xiamen Tongkong Technology Co., Ltd, a distributor of Hirschmann industrial switches, boasts extensive experience in network products, technical teams, and project design for offshore oil and gas projects. For more information, please contact us for Hirschmann industrial switches.

① Currently, offshore oil and gas projects generally use classification society certification as the assessment standard for whether they can operate in an offshore environment. The nationally accepted classification society standards include DNV (Det Norske Veritas) and GL (Germanischer Lloyd).