Abstract

Simulation has been used for some years in the oil and gas industry, and its applications and value are now well established. With the advent of powerful computer systems, very realistic and real-time simulation of processing facilities is available. Thus it is not surprising that training simulators have been adopted to train new personnel and to upgrade operators to higher levels of skills.

The principal elements of a typical simulator include the operator control panel duplicating the plant instrumentation, the computer system simulating the plants and the instructor facilities. Using the above, operators can be trained in most aspects of their duties covering startup, shutdown, malfunctions, emergencies and normal operations without effecting the live process operations.

In order to provide better training services, TOTAL-CFP has acquired the knowledge and the tools required for the development of process simulators:

• An oil and gas process application is under implementation for an offshore North Sea production platform to be used for pre-startup training.

• Operation training of a water treatment and injection plant has been achieved on the in-house simulator.