Novosibirsk State Technical University has developed a specialized methodology that allows assessing the actual technical condition of medium-voltage (6-10 kV) power equipment in the oil and gas industry and determining priorities for the repair of certain facilities.
The strategy of planning maintenance and repair of power equipment (MRO) "according to the frequency of operation", that is, at certain, strictly fixed time intervals, has a significant drawback: it assigns to each unit of power equipment the passage of a full range of corrective operations as planned, regardless of whether there is an actual need. More effective in terms of reliability of power supply to consumers and the costs to maintain it is the "technical condition" strategy, when maintenance and repair is performed at arbitrary intervals strictly as necessary, which is determined by the results of monitoring and diagnosing the parameters of the state of power equipment with a quantitative assessment of the technical condition index (ITS) of each facility.
"In the process of carrying out research on the instructions of one of the leading oil producing companies in Russia, the task arose to include numerous energy facilities of the company with a voltage of 6-10 kV in the MRO control circuit "according to technical condition". To do this, we had to develop a new specialized methodology for evaluating the index of the technical condition of each repair unit with a voltage of 6-10 kV as part of the company's electric power complex. The work began with a study of the regulatory and methodological base of MRO and allowed to master in detail the basic methodology of the Ministry of Energy, designed for equipment and facilities of 35-110 kV and above. It turned out to be a difficult task for us to develop a new original methodology that does not contradict the basic one. It was necessary to take into account the progressive experience of MRO organization accumulated in the company, and at the same time preserve the basic principles of integrated assessment," said Vladimir Levin, Head of the Department of Automated Electric Power Systems at NSTU-NETI, Doctor of Technical Sciences. — It should have looked like this. Arriving at the repair facility, the team collected information on electrical equipment without disconnecting it, using non-destructive testing methods. The data obtained were embedded in special calculation models that we developed using the principle of analyzing alternatives (this principle is based on an expert comparison of options with the choice of the best one). As a result of calculations, a quantitative indicator was obtained — an index of an integral assessment of the technical condition of any of the repair facilities. Thus, it became possible to reasonably rank repair facilities according to the priority of their implementation in order to direct the limited resources of the company to the points of greatest return."
The methodology developed by the university staff has found practical application in the conditions of real operation of the equipment of the company's oilfield facilities.
"The oil company has incorporated the models we have obtained into its software and computing complex, calculations are performed automatically. This makes it possible to plan repairs taking into account the priorities of decommissioning equipment according to the technical condition index," Vladimir Levin added.