Diena: 2022-05-19

Elsis TS has signed a subcontract agreement with MT Group UAB, which has won the tender „Increasing the capacity of the gas pipeline interconnection between Latvia and Lithuania (ELLI), part 2 – Reconstruction of the Kiemėnai Gas Metering Station” announced by AB Amber Grid.

ELLI (Enhancement of Latvia-Lithuania Interconnection) is a strategic energy project, which is included in the EU’s List of Projects of Common Interest, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG) Ten-Year Development Plan, and the Implementation Plan for the National Electricity and Natural Gas Transmission Infrastructure Priority Projects.

The rehabilitation project envisages an increase in the capacity of the Kiemėnai Gas Metering Station (GMS) by a factor of almost 2, from 67 GWh to 130 GWh in the Latvian direction and from 65 GWh to 120 GWh per day in the Lithuanian direction, by installing additional gas filtration, gas metering lines, process automation, data transmission, electrical engineering and other systems. The works will be carried out in the Kiemėnai DAS area, located in the Pasvalys district near the border with Latvia.

Elsis TS UAB will carry out the following works at the Kiemėnai gas metering station under this contract:

 Installation of automation and control system;

 Installation of gas flow control;

Installation of gas metering;

Electrical engineering works;

Installation, connection and programming of SCADA equipment;

 Grounding, lightning protection works.

The successful implementation of ELLI will ensure sufficient capacity between the Baltic States and other European countries, provide alternative gas supply sources and transport routes for the countries in the region, increase security of gas supply in the region and reduce dependency on a single gas supplier, contribute to the development of the internal energy market, increase market integration and competition, and strengthen the overall energy security of the EU countries.

The work is scheduled to be completed by 30 November 2022.

Elsis TS, acting as a subcontractor of Šiaulių dujotiekio statyba UAB and Alvora UAB, a joint venture partner, has successfully completed the subcontract agreement (final customer – Amber Grid AB) „For the construction of a gas pipeline interconnection between Poland and Lithuania in the territory of Lithuania”.

GIPL (Gas Interconnection Poland-Lithuania) is a natural gas infrastructure connecting the natural gas transmission systems of Poland and Lithuania, as well as those of the Baltic States and Finland, to the European Union system. The project is operated by the Lithuanian and Polish natural gas transmission system operators Amber Grid and GAZ-SYSTEM, and has been recognised by the European Commission as an infrastructure project of high interest for the security of gas supply – a project of common EU interest (PCI).

Natural gas will be able to flow in both directions through the interconnector. The GIPL pipeline will run from the Jauniūnai Gas Compressor Station (GCS) in the Širvintos district to the Holovcici GCS on the Polish side. The total length of the pipeline is 508 km – 165 km in Lithuania and 343 km in Poland. The pipeline is scheduled to start operations in 2022.

Elsis TS has made a significant contribution to the implementation of this strategic project by carrying out the process control and automation part of the pipeline in all the reconstructed and newly constructed GIPL-related facilities.

The works carried out during the project included:

Jauniūnai Gas Compressor Station (DKS)

Reconstruction of the Jauniūnai Gas Compressor Station and the Jauniūnai process site (ČA20) with the Gas Pressure Re-regulating Module (GDPRM)

Extension and installation of a process control and automation system (2 programmable logic controllers (PLCs), 14 controllable shut-off devices);

upgrade of the compressor station control algorithm, extension of DCS and ESD systems;

GIPL pipeline tap sites

Automation of the control of the 18 tapping points of the Lithuanian section of the 163 km GIPL and installation of a remote control system (15 programmable logic controllers (PLCs), 22 controlled taps);

Santaka Gas Metering and Pressure Regulation Station (DASRS)

The newly built Santaka DASRS is equipped with a process control and automation system (4 programmable logic controllers (PLCs), 15 controlled shut-off devices), fully automatic and autonomous operation of the station (ensuring gas supply without human intervention), management and control from the Central Dispatch Centre;

a certified commercial gas metering system (6 ultrasonic meters, flow computers);

gas composition determination system (3 gas flow chromatographs);

gas flow measurement systems for water and hydrocarbon dew points, gas flow oxygen measurement;

natural gas and hydrogen leak detection system;

18 km fibre optic (48 fibre) cable and communication equipment for data transmission from Amber Grid AB to Gaz System S.A. (the Polish gas operator) were installed from Santaka DASRS to the first tap node in Poland. Unidirectional data transmission has been implemented, ensuring maximum cyber security for this critical infrastructure.

Electronic communication engineering networks were installed (extending the existing infrastructure of AB TELIA) for data transmission from DASRS to the dispatch centre of AB Amber Grid;

SCADA system of the central dispatching centre

Yokogawa Fast/Tools SCADA system of AB Amber Grid’s central dispatching centre was extended to include new technological objects,

Implementation of a data exchange mechanism with the Polish Gas Transmission System Operator using an agreed protocol.

The GIPL project is seen both as an energy security measure and as another source of energy supply, enabling the acquisition of cheaper gas from the pan-European gas market and expanding the LNG terminal’s capacity to supply the European market.

ELSIS TS has signed a partnership agreement with Cuculus GmbH, a German company based in Erfurt, Thuringia.

Cuculus designs and develops ZONOS™, a powerful and flexible IoT platform for the management of critical infrastructure systems, including Advanced Meter Management (AMM) and Meter Data Management (MDM) systems, as well as integrated AMM/MDM solutions for customers in the energy (gas, electricity) and utilities (water, heat) sectors.

The ZONOS IoT platform offers open-architecture and scalable solutions to manage millions of devices and their data and to support the business processes of the services provided, by connecting the different metering data collection platforms and the communication networks in use.

Cuculus sells the technologies, products and solutions it develops through a network of partners – system integrators – who are able to provide a comprehensive and high quality service to their customers.

This partnership will allow a company with extensive experience in Industrial Process Technology (IPT) and Information Technology (IT) to offer existing and new customers innovative, technologically advanced and sustainable solutions based on the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, analytics, cloud and other transformational technologies.

ELSIS TS has won the tender for „Hydraulic engineering structures control measurement equipment and installation services” published by Ignitis Group Service Centre UAB and signed a contract for works and services with Ignitis Production AB on 15 July this year.

The works to be carried out at the Kaunas Algirdas Brazauskas Hydroelectric Power Plant include the preparation of a technical work project, the supply and installation of sensors (piezometers and flowmeters) for static control point measurements, and the installation of a wireless data transmission system, which will transmit the collected measurement data to the existing KHE static observation and measurement data display and processing system.

The project will contribute to the safety and reliability of the Kaunas Hydroelectric Power Plant operated by Ignitis Production AB.

The contractual obligations, worth more than EUR 120 000 excluding VAT, are planned to be carried out in phases and to be completed within 3 months of receipt of the order.

On 25 February 2021, Elsis TS UAB and the State Enterprise Oro navigacija signed a contract for the installation of instrument landing systems with remote sensing equipment (ILS/DME) and remote sensing equipment at Vilnius and Palanga International Airports, as well as for the repair of equipment components. The contract partner and equipment supplier is Thales Deutschland GmbH.

The main objective of the project is to replace the old ILS (Instrument Landing System) / DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) equipment installed more than 15 years ago with a new modern equipment, ensuring all the requirements for this type of equipment required by the ICAO, the EU, the Law on Aviation of the Republic of Lithuania, the Special Requirements for the Design, Construction and Use of Civil Aerodromes of the Republic of Lithuania, the requirements of the European Civil Aviation and other local and international regulations.

The system at Palanga Airport will comply with the operational characteristics of ILS category 1. At Vilnius Airport, the system will meet the performance characteristics of ILS category 2 on Runway 19 and Runway01.

The ILS/DME equipment will include:

– Directional Radio Beacon (DRB), Control System, Antenna System;

– Directional Radio Beacon (TRB), control system, antenna system;

– Long Range Equipment (LRE), control system, directional antenna.

– Remote command and control equipment.

The ILS system is designed to enable the on-board equipment to determine the magnitude and sign of the deviation from the nominal glide slope and to determine fixed distances to the runway threshold by receiving signals from ground equipment.

The range finder system is designed to measure the distance between the on-board equipment (aircraft) and the DME ground station. The DME equipment shall be paired with the instrument landing system (ILS) to provide continuous information on the slant (true) distance to the runway as the aircraft approaches the landing approaches. Distance is the most important parameter measured by the DME.

The systems to be deployed will help to improve flight safety, even in difficult meteorological conditions, and will provide high accuracy and range for the measurement of navigation parameters.

The contractual obligations, worth more than €2.4 million, are expected to be completed by 30 November 2022.

The Gas Transmission System Gas Metering Data Capture Information System (DAPDS IS) implementation project has been successfully completed and the system has been put into production operation. DAPDS allows the Lithuanian gas transmission system operator AB Amber Grid to automate the complex gas metering process, collect, process and provide gas consumers with timely and highly accurate information on the volumes of gas transmitted.

During the project, the unified gas transmission system management system, which had been in place for more than 20 years but was technologically obsolete, was split into two separate systems. Process control, including the collection of process data from the system facilities, was physically and technologically separated from gas metering, including the collection of data from gas metering devices and gas chemistry parameters. This step allows the optimisation of the operation of both critical systems, significantly reducing the load on the process network and thus increasing the security and reliability of the management of the entire gas transmission system.

The main components of the new DAPDS IS are:

– Yokogawa Electric Corporation’s FAST/TOOLS® (Flexible Advanced System Techniques) product for efficient control of production processes (base component).

– The Gas Metering Software Module (GUI) is a web-based application (graphical user interface) for configuring gas metering devices at sites, analysing and calculating gas volumes from different sources and evaluating gas chromatograph data.

– Oracle DB (Historian) – a database for the collection of historical data and for the calculation and adjustment of gas volumes according to various algorithms (operational models);

– SAP Business Objects BI Suite – a powerful business analytics and reporting tool that enables drill-down analysis of collected data and creation of desired reports.

The DAPDS system collects data from various gas metering devices such as flow computers, gas volume conversion devices (PTZ/TZ-correctors), chromatographs or gas composition analysers installed in process facilities such as gas distribution, metering and compressor stations. The system reads more than 10,000 different parameters (data points).

The new DAPDS is integrated with 3 of the customer’s internal systems (GIS, SCADA, GDPAS).

As the DAPDS is a very important part of the gas transmission system, special attention is paid to ensure the reliability, availability and safety of the system. System highlights:

– 99.999% („five nines”) system availability, i.e. the system can be unavailable to customers for as little as 5 minutes per year;

– Double system reliability. Protection of critical IT equipment components against failures, accidents, natural disasters) is ensured by using a redundant double HAC (High Availability Computing) configuration, i.e. the system is installed on 2 separate servers and operates in Active-Hot Standby mode;

– Oracle DB Extended RAC cluster for highest database reliability;

– IT security assurance using IBM Qradar SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) solution. The ability to proactively combat internal and external threats in real time by collecting and analysing logs generated by the company’s internal (technological) network equipment and system application software. When anomalies or potential threats to IT security are detected, the System automatically reacts and sends an alert to the specific persons responsible for the company’s cyber security.

The successful implementation of the project has enabled a qualitative step forward in the flexibility and reliability of the management of gas metering devices and the accuracy of gas metering in order to achieve the objectives set out in the National Energy Independence Strategy.

The implementation of the DAPDS system was carried out by a joint effort of Elsis TS (main contractor), Elsis PRO and Yokogawa Polska Sp. z o.o. (subcontractors).

The project for the installation of the gas transmission system’s remote process control information system (SCADA IS) has been successfully completed and the system has been put into operation. SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) is a mission-critical system through which the Lithuanian gas transmission system operator AB Amber Grid manages a large and complex network of trunk gas pipelines and technological facilities.

During the project, the old TEMEKA system, which had served well for more than 20 years, was replaced by a new, modern, technologically advanced system with significant potential for further development.

The main components of the new SCADA IS are:

– Yokogawa Electric Corporation’s FAST/TOOLS® (Flexible Advanced System Techniques) product for the efficient control of production and technological processes (base component).

– Oracle DB (Historian) – a database for collecting and processing historical data;

– SAP Business Objects BI Suite – a powerful business analytics and reporting tool that enables drill-down analysis of collected data and creation of desired reports.

– Failure Analysis Tool (FA), which allows for a detailed analysis of events (incidents, accidents) that have occurred in the gas transmission system over time and to identify possible causes of incidents.

The SCADA system provides a high frequency (every 3 seconds) and a detailed analysis of the accident and incident data. The SCADA system scans the gas transmission system network and collects data from all technological objects: 70x gas distribution stations (DSS), 5x gas metering stations (DAS), 2x gas compressor stations (DKS), 2x gas pressure limiting units (DSRM), 27x gas pressure monitoring points (DSMT), more than 200x gas metering devices (FC/PTZ/TZ), 15x gas chromatographs, and manages more than 200 telemetered line taps (shut-offs) installed in the trunk pipelines and their branches. The system reads more than 11,000 different parameters (data points) in near real time using main or backup communication lines.

The new SCADA is integrated with 4 of the customer’s internal systems (GIS, TVIS – asset management, SIMONE – modelling of gas flows and leak detection, DAPDS – gas metering).

As SCADA manages critical energy (gas) infrastructure, special attention is paid to ensure system availability, reliability and security. The system ensures the highest requirements and performance:

– 99.999% („five nines”) system availability, i.e. the system can be unavailable to customers for only 5 minutes per year;

– Quadruple system reliability. Critical IT equipment components are protected from failures, accidents, natural disasters) by using a redundant quadruple HAC (High Availability Computing) configuration, i.e. the system is installed on 4 servers, in two geo-redundant data centres. The system operates in Active-Hot Standby mode;

– Oracle DB Extended RAC cluster is the highest database reliability;

– Secure and reliable data transfer to external users using a WS-Security compliant web services component;

– IT security assurance using IBM Qradar SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) solution. Proactive fight against internal and external threats in real time by collecting and analysing logs generated by the company’s internal (technological) network equipment and system application software. When anomalies or potential threats to IT security are detected, the System automatically reacts and sends an alert to the specific persons responsible for the company’s cyber security.

The successful implementation of the new SCADA IS has enabled a qualitative step forward in terms of efficiency, flexibility, reliability and security in the management of the gas transmission system in order to achieve the objectives set out in the National Energy Independence Strategy.

The implementation of this highly complex system was carried out by a joint effort of Yokogawa Europe Solutions, Elsis TS and Elsis PRO.

On 8 September 2020, Elsis TS signed a contract with the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service under the Ministry of the Environment (LHMT) for the renewal of the radiosounding equipment, the acquisition of radiosondes with aerological bladders, and the renewal of the radiosounding building.

Until now, the LHMT has been using the radiosounding equipment and probes installed in 2010 by ELSIS TS UAB and Vaisala Oyj, the manufacturer of radiosounding systems. The contract will upgrade the hardware of this system, including the latest version of the software. It will also include the refurbishment of the hydrogen building for the aerological bladders, both externally and internally, as well as the installation of a hydrogen gas supply system and the provision of a gas supply for a period of five years.

The radiosounding system measures atmospheric pressure, air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and wind direction by means of a probe carried by a hydrogen inflated bladder. The upgrade will improve the quality of the services provided by LHMT. The aerological observations are used to produce LHMT’s meteorological forecasts. Radiosonde data increase the reliability of meteorological forecasts. The data obtained are also transmitted to the global/regional network of meteorological stations under international cooperation agreements.

The need for aerological observations (direct measurements of meteorological conditions in the troposphere and lower stratosphere) is specified in WMO Technical Regulation 1160 Annex 5.7, paragraphs 5.7.1, 5.7.4 (2019). Radiosonde data are used for forecasting of both Lithuanian and European numerical atmospheric models (field analysis, forecast quality assessment), for forecasting environmental pollution, for assessing long-range transboundary atmospheric pollutant transport, for atmospheric process studies, for aviation, etc. Without these data, forecasting of many natural and catastrophic events is very difficult or impossible. According to a 2016 study published in the Journal of the American Meteorological Society, radiosonde information increases forecast accuracy by 15%.

The main suppliers of equipment are Vaisal Oyj (Finland).

The contract was concluded within the framework of the project ‘Upgrading of the Hydrological and Meteorological Observation Network’ No 05.1.1.1-APVA-V-004-01-0007, funded by the European Union Structural Funds.

The contract is worth more than EUR 357 000 excluding VAT and the work is scheduled to be completed by 31.12.2020.

Elsis TS has signed a subcontract agreement with Šiaulių dujotiekio statyba UAB, which has won the tender „Installation of control device start-up and reception chambers and implementation of operational technological control of the gas transmission system (stage II) and services for preparation of the projects for the reconstruction works (stage – technical working designs)”, for the performance of control and automation of technological processes (SCADA) and electrical engineering and active and passive corrosion protection works announced by AB Amber Grid.

During the execution of the contract, the contractor, UAB Šiaulių dujotiekio statyba, will replace inadequate shut-off devices and pipeline fittings and adapt the MD pipeline for internal diagnostics in seven branches and sections of the MD, works on process control and automation (SCADA system) and electrical engineering and active and passive corrosion protection, including the supply of all related materials and equipment, as well as earthworks and general construction or reconstruction works and system commissioning, testing and debugging, will be carried out in connection with the execution of these works.

The project will contribute to the further modernisation and development of the main gas pipelines operated by Amber Grid AB in order to ensure management efficiency, safety and reliability.

The contract value is more than EUR 925 000 excluding VAT. The works will be carried out in several phases and the contract is expected to be completed by 22 December 2021.

On 3 October 2019, Elsis TS UAB signed a contract with the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service under the Ministry of Environment (LHMT) for the modernisation of the lightning detection system.

Currently, the LHMT meteorological observation network operates a low-frequency lightning detection system from the manufacturer Vaisala Oyj (Finland), which allows the detection of low-frequency cloud-to-ground (hereinafter – CG) lightning discharges (the accuracy of the location of the CG discharges is currently 500 m in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania), determine the location, polarity and intensity of CG discharges, group individual discharges in real time and display repeatability values, and transmit and display data in real time for analysis.

The lightning detection system currently consists of three Vaisala LS7000 sensors installed at the Biržai, Šilutė and Varėna meteorological stations and a Vaisala TLP100 central processing unit which processes and analyses the primary data sent by the sensors.

This contract will upgrade three existing sensors and the lightning detection CPU system, as well as install and integrate a fourth sensor at the Raseiniai automatic meteorological station. The work will allow the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service to monitor data more accurately and reliably and to avoid incomplete coverage of the territory of Lithuania in the event of an unforeseen failure of any station.

The contract was concluded within the framework of the European Union Structural Funds-funded project „Upgrading of the Hydrological and Meteorological Observation Network” No 05.1.1-APVA-V-004-01-0007.

The contract is worth more than EUR 167 000 excluding VAT and the work is scheduled to be completed by 03.05.2020.