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).
