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SCADA SYSTEM AND INDUSTRIAL NETWORK FOR PETROLEUM INDUSTRY

Technical Report · February 2017

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.14294.45124

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 2017
SCADA SYSTEM AND
INDUSTRIAL NETWORK FOR
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY

WISAM SAILAWI
1/1/2017
 Wisam sailawi 1

Table of Contents
Introduction: ...................................................................................... 2
What is data acquisition? ................................................................ 4
SCADA hardware ........................................................................... 4
SCADA software ............................................................................. 5
SCADA FUNCTIONS........................................................................... 6
MMI ................................................................................................... 6
Alarm Handling ............................................................................... 7
Trending ........................................................................................... 8
Logging/Archiving ......................................................................... 9
Report Generation ......................................................................... 9
Automation ................................................................................... 10
Evolution ........................................................................................ 10
SCADA Classification ..................................................................... 11
Features and Benefits of SCADA Systems .................................. 14
Operational Considerations ......................................................... 15
Economic Considerations ............................................................. 16
Conclusions ..................................................................................... 18
References....................................................................................... 19
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Introduction:
During the past decade, the industrial sector throughout the world has
shifted from the classical methods of Control and Automation to the
state of the art techniques. This allowed the industries to attain a higher
percentage of growth and production, which consequently gave rise
to reduction in costs of the products. This shift can be addressed by
promoting locally developed SCADA systems, which might encourage
the industries to take the path of modern automation.

SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) is a type of industrial

control system (ICS). Industrial control systems are computer controlled
systems that monitor and control industrial processes that exist in the
physical world. SCADA systems historically distinguish themselves from
other ICS systems by being large scale processes that can include
multiple sites, and large distances.
These processes include industrial, infrastructure, and facility-based
processes, as described below:

 Industrial processes include those of manufacturing, production, power

generation, fabrication, and refining, and may run in continuous, batch,
repetitive, or discrete modes.
 Infrastructure processes may be public or private, and include water
treatment and distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, oil and gas
pipelines, electrical power transmission and distribution, wind farms, civil
defense siren systems, and large communication systems
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What is SCADA?
SCADA stands for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. As the
name indicates, it is not a full control system, but rather focuses on the
supervisory level. It is a software package that is positioned on top of
hardware to which it is interfaced, in general via Programmable Logic
Controllers (PLCs), or other commercial hardware modules. Systems
similar to SCADA systems are routinely seen in factories, treatment
plants etc. These are often referred to as Distributed Control Systems
(DCS). They have similar functions to SCADA systems, but the field data
gathering or control units are usually located within a more confined
area. Communications may be via a local area network (LAN), and
will normally be reliable and high speed. Basically, SCADA is a
computer system for gathering and analyzing real time data.

Figure 1-SCADA System

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What is data acquisition?

Data acquisition is the process of retrieving control information from
the equipment which is out of order or may lead to some problem or
when decisions are need to be taken according to the situation in
the equipment. So this acquisition is done by continuous monitoring
of the equipment to which it is employed. The data accessed are
then forwarded onto a telemetry system ready for transfer to the
different sites. They can be analog and digital information gathered
by sensors, such as flow meter, ammeter, etc. It can also be data to
control equipment such as actuators, relays, valves, motors, etc.
SCADA hardware
A SCADA system consists of a number of remote terminal units (RTUs)
collecting field data and sending that data back to a master station,
via a communication system. The master station displays the acquired
data and allows the operator to perform remote control tasks.
The accurate and timely data allows for optimization of the plant
operation and process. Other benefits include more efficient, reliable
and most importantly, safer operations. This result in a lower cost of
operation compared to earlier non-automated systems.
On a more complex SCADA system there are essentially five levels or
hierarchies:
• Field level instrumentation and control devices
• Marshaling terminals and RTUs
• Communications system
• The master station(s)
• The commercial data processing department computer system
The RTU provides an interface to the field analog and digital sensors
situated at each remote site. The communications system provides
the pathway for communication between the master station and the
remote sites. This communication system can be wire, fiber optic,
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radio, telephone line, microwave and possibly even satellite. Specific

protocols and error detection philosophies are used for efficient and
optimum transfer of data.
The master station (or sub-masters) gather data from the various RTUs
and generally provide an operator interface for display of information
and control of the remote sites. In large telemetry systems, sub-master
sites gather information from remote sites and act as a relay back to
the control master station.
SCADA software
SCADA software can be divided into two types, proprietary or open.
Companies develop proprietary software to communicate to their
hardware.
These systems are sold as ‘turnkey’ solutions. The main problem with this
system is the overwhelming reliance on the supplier of the system.
Open software systems have gained popularity because of the
interoperability they bring to the system. Interoperability is the ability to
mix different manufacturers’ equipment on the same system.

Figure 2-Data Acquisition

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SCADA FUNCTIONS

MMI

The products support multiple screens, which can contain combinations of

synoptic diagrams and text. They also support the concept of a "generic"
graphical object with links to process variables. These objects can be "dragged
and dropped" from a library and included into a synoptic diagram. Most of the
SCADA products that were evaluated decompose the process in "atomic"
parameters (e.g. a power supply current, its maximum value, it’s on/off status,
etc.) to which a Tag-name is associated. The Tag-names used to link graphical
objects to devices can be edited as required. The products include a library of
standard graphical symbols, many of which would however not be applicable
to the type of applications encountered in the experimental physics community.
Standard windows editing facilities are provided: zooming, re-sizing, scrolling...
On-line configuration and customization of the MMI is possible for users with the
appropriate privileges. Links can be created between display pages to navigate
from one view to another.

Figure 3-MMI function

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Alarm Handling

Alarm handling is based on limit and status checking and performed in the data
servers. More complicated expressions (using arithmetic or logical expressions)
can be developed by creating derived parameters on which status or limit
checking is then performed. The alarms are logically handled centrally, i.e., the
information only exists in one place and all users see the same status (e.g., the
acknowledgement), and multiple alarm priority levels (in general many more
than 3 such levels) are supported.

It is generally possible to group alarms and to handle these as an entity (typically

filtering on group or acknowledgement of all alarms in a group).

Figure 4-Alarm Handling

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Trending

The products all provide trending facilities and one can summarize the common
capabilities as follows:

 The parameters to be trended in a specific chart can be predefined or

defined on-line
 A chart may contain more than 8 trended parameters or pens and an
unlimited number of charts can be displayed (restricted only by the
readability)
 Real-time and historical trending are possible, although generally not in the
same chart
 Historical trending is possible for any archived parameter
 Zooming and scrolling functions are provided
 Parameter values at the cursor position can be displayed

Figure 5-Trending
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Logging/Archiving

The terms logging and archiving are often used to describe the same
facility. However, logging can be thought of as medium-term storage
of data on disk, whereas archiving is long-term storage of data either
on disk or on another permanent storage medium.

Report Generation

One can produce reports using SQL type queries to the archive, RTDB
or logs. Although it is sometimes possible to embed EXCEL charts in the
report, a "cut and paste" capability is in general not provided. Facilities
exist to be able to automatically generate, print and archive reports.

Figure 6-Report Generation

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Automation

The majority of the products allow actions to be automatically

triggered by events. A scripting language provided by the SCADA
products allows these actions to be defined. In general, one can load
a particular display, send an Email, run a user defined application or
script and write to the RTDB.

The concept of recipes is supported, whereby a particular system

configuration can be saved to a file and then re-loaded at a later
date. Sequencing is also supported whereby, as the name indicates, it
is possible to execute a more complex sequence of actions on one or
more devices. Sequences may also react to external events. Some of
the products do support an expert system but none has the concept
of a Finite State Machine (FSM).

Evolution

SCADA vendors release one major version and one to two additional
minor versions once per year. These products evolve thus very rapidly
so as to take advantage of new market opportunities, to meet new
requirements of their customers and to take advantage of new
technologies.

As was already mentioned, most of the SCADA products that were

evaluated decompose the process in "atomic" parameters to which a
Tag-name is associated. This is impractical in the case of very large
processes when very large sets of Tags need to be configured. As the
industrial applications are increasing in size, new SCADA versions are
now being designed to handle devices and even entire systems as full
entities (classes) that encapsulate all their specific attributes and
Wisam sailawi 11

functionality. In addition, they will also support multi-team

development.

SCADA Classification

Traditional SCADA for pipelines, power distribution or anything that

spans great distances

 Typical
 Stand-Alone
 Networked

Figure 7-Typical SCADA

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Figure 8-Stand Alone SCADA

Figure 9-Network SCADA

Local control SCADA for

plant or unit operations or
any architecture that is
within a defined boundary

 DCS
 PC based
 HMI / PLC
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Wisam sailawi 14

Features and Benefits of SCADA Systems

Each SCADA system is unique. Some, particularly those operated by

small local utilities, may do little more than gather data and issue
reports. These simple systems may have no connection to any of the
other enterprise systems operated within the utility. Others, particularly
newer systems and those operated by larger entities, may include all
the bells and whistles that are currently available. Each operator must
decide the features that are appropriate and affordable for its system.
With a nod to the preceding differences, the more desirable features
of a SCADA system are as follows:

 A user-friendly (PC/X-windows/graphics) man/machine interface;

 Automatic monitor and control capability;
 Supply and demand load management;
 Off-line processing at designated work station(s);
 Integrated environments;
 Extensive historical data manipulation capability (trend analysis,
history matching, output vs. time, output vs. weather, etc.);
 Extensive processing power;
 Enhanced data throughput;
 Extremely quick response;
 Rapid scan frequency (scans/hour);
 Intelligent field units (PLCs, EIDs);
 On-line and off-line complex network analysis;
 Real time supply/demand-side economic calculations;
 Automatic system manipulation (e.g., voltage and power factor
correction, pressure/flow adjustment);
 Distributed processing power;
 Steady-state and transient flow analysis capability; and
 Training simulator.
 Wisam sailawi 15

The presence of a SCADA system provides both operational and

economic benefits. These benefits include:

Operational Considerations

 Geographic area of operation (size of service area). Without

SCADA capability, control equipment distributed over a large
geographic area dictates that key control points must be staffed
around the clock because of the need to make timely and
potentially frequent adjustments to the distribution system. A SCADA
system offers control of these remote facilities from a central control
facility without the need for on-site crews except for normal
maintenance.
 Size of company (number of customers). The complexity of
distribution system operations usually increases with the number of
customers, with a concomitant increase in the number of field
control actions required to maintain system stability. Without SCADA
capability, the number of employees required to complete these
actions also increases.
 Improved timeliness and frequency of operational data. SCADA
systems allow the real-time monitoring of many remote sites and the
immediate logging of associated data
 Integrated operational analysis. SCADA systems provide graphic schematics
of entire systems, including real-time physical data. This enables the operator
to observe at a glance the effect of a regional upset on the operation of the
system as a whole, and aids him in deciding the appropriate
countermeasures.

 Improved precision and accuracy of operational data. SCADA

systems enable system operators to obtain precise measurement
data from remote sites, providing them with the ability to maintain
accurate throughput information and make appropriate and timely
Wisam sailawi 16

adjustments, reducing the likelihood of overtake or undertake

penalties.
 Documentation of measurement equipment accuracy. A SCADA
system provides a continuous record of each variable used in
calculating delivered energy units, as well as any constants the
system assumes that may be used in meeting regulatory
requirements such as U.S Environmental Protection Agency
environmental compliance requirements.
 Rapid response to emergencies or upsets. SCADA systems provide
audible alarms whenever an operating parameter moves beyond a
preset range, or even when data is not received. This allows the
operator to take prompt action to correct the problem.

Economic Considerations

 Reduced personnel requirements. A SCADA system allows oversight

and control of the entire delivery system, including the most remote
points, without having personnel stationed at or visiting the sites
other than for maintenance purposes.
 Decreased cost of operation. Decreased operational costs are
derived primarily from the reduction in personnel and associated
physical facilities and equipment required to monitor and control
the distribution system.
 Improved operational efficiency. The ability of a SCADA system to
deliver real-time data on the operation of the energy delivery
systems allows operators to more precisely adjust the systems to
optimal conditions and to run them close to operational limits. Such
operations can reduce costs by delaying the need for expansions.
Wisam sailawi 17

SCADA impacts and benefits to the energy infrastructures. The

majority of these impacts provide positive benefits, either operational
or economic in nature. See Fig (6)

Reduced Personnel
• Reduced cost
requirements

Better management of • ncreased efficiency, reduced or delayed expansion

commodity movements needs

Real-time information,
which provides operational
flexibility that can be used • Increase income
to meet market demands
not previously accessible

Earlier knowledge of
problems, facilitating earlier
• IImproving supervision reliability and robustness.
decision-making and
problem-solving

• Improved ability to analyze and predict system

Availability of timely and operations on a real-time basis
precise data on system • Improved ability to maximize system deliverability by
operation permitting operations closer to its operational limits
(maximum and minimum

Figure 10 - SCADA Impacts and Benefits

 Wisam sailawi 18

Conclusions

 SCADA systems have become crucial to the operations of the

energy infrastructures because they provide valuable and timely
data, promote efficient operations and are cost-effective. For these
reasons the use of SCADA technology continues to increase in all
facets of the energy industry. Additionally, the water, wastewater
and railroad infrastructures utilize SCADA technology as well.
Systems similar to SCADA systems are routinely seen in factories,
treatment plants etc. These are often referred to as Distributed
Control Systems (DCS). They have similar functions to SCADA
systems, but the field data gathering or control units are usually
located within a more confined area. Communications may be via
a local area network (LAN), and will normally be reliable and high
speed. However, many municipally operated water and
wastewater SCADA systems connect with facilities several miles
distant, and utilize the public Internet for telecommunications. Such
systems are more vulnerable to outside intrusion than are those using
LANs ore other local communication systems.

 SCADA systems are subject to all the vulnerabilities inherent in

information systems. These include vulnerabilities built into its RTUs, its
MTUs, its software and hardware
 A SCADA operator can reduce its exposure to communications
shutdown if it can add redundant communications paths to its
SCADA system.

 As SCADA systems continue to replace field personnel and meet the

needs of real-time market requirements, the operational security of
SCADA systems will continue to grow in importance.
Wisam sailawi 19

References

 Practical SCADA for Industry ,David Bailey, Edwin Wrigh

 Practical Modern SCADA Protocols: DNP3, 60870.5 and Related Systems By
Gordon Clarke, Deon Reynders.

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