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sheets. For junction box layouts, each line from the terminals on an instrument to the terminal rail in the junction box had to be drawn individually. To make loop drawings, someone had to draw each loop, including field devices, ter- minal strips, and controls, and then manually type in information such as tag number, model number, calibrations, and so on. Typically, he or she was working from the spreadsheet equip- ment list when making the loop draw- ing. The process was time-consuming, and also inaccurate since it was possible to forget a loop, double allocate termi- nals etc.

On this project, Merpro decided to take a different approach. The company had recently purchased AutoPLANT from Rebis, in Walnut Creek, Calif. This family of 2-D and 3-D plant design soft- ware runs as an add-on to AutoCAD.

One of the reasons Merpro purchased this system was because they could buy only the modules they wanted. They purchased the P&ID module, the Instru- mentation system, and the Data Manag- er. Rather than simply drawing geome- try to indicate process lines and equip- ment as they would with a CAD system, the new system would allow them to create intelligent P&IDs that also main- tained a textual database with detailed specifications on all equipment and lines. Equipment lists could be generat- ed automatically from the information in the P&ID database. And because

Instrumentation and P&ID share a com- mon database, once a P&ID has been produced, all other required documenta- tion such as loop, cable, and termination drawings can be generated automatical- ly. When changes are made to a P&ID, they instantly ripple through the entire documentation package.

Intelligent process

After the process flow diagram and process schematic were completed, they were turned over to the designers who created the P&IDs. Rather than drawing equipment and lines, adding bubbles, and putting text in the bubbles, they were able to insert pre-created equip- ment blocks provided by the Rebis soft- ware into the drawings. The blocks included intelligence about the equip- ment they described. For example, after a designer inserted a pump block, the software placed its tag number on the drawing and a description of the pump in the equipment list. As designers added equipment to the drawings, either by using pre-made blocks or by drawing their own, the master database was being populated so that when the P&ID was complete, the database was as well.

Some of the textual data was generated by the software itself. For example, if a tag number started with certain letters, it knew that this was a transmitter and it

September, 2000 filled in the instrument description auto- matically. In other cases, engineers entered information into the data sheet module from which instruments' pur- chase requisitions are generated..

Once the P&IDs were finished, valve and instrument lists were automatically generated from the information in the

P&ID database, eliminating several weeks of manual data entry and poten- tially costly mistakes. Once design and documentation was finished, the 130- ton system was manufactured at Mer- pro's facility in Montrose. It was installed offshore, minimizing down- time for the FPSO.

Since installation of the Merpro mod- ule, flow rates to the existing process package have been increased from 80,000-bpd to almost 110,000-bpd, with resultant increased oil production of some 10,000-bpd. Solids are treated and disposed with no loss of production, and the produced water treatment package, designed for 45,000-bpd, has effectively treated up to its design limits and met the very tight environmental and legisla- tive limits.

Circle 1 on Reader Service Card by Ken Perkins, drawing office manag- er and Adrian Clay, design engineer

Merpro Limited, Bristol, England

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