Technical note · Wellhead Electrical & Automation
Wellhead control and SCADA integration: a layer-by-layer approach
How Fennec engineers the path from downhole gauges and safety valves to the control room, so data flows up and shutdown commands flow down.
01One signal path
A modern well has five layers: downhole equipment, the wellhead, the power system, wellsite control and the control room. Each is often supplied separately. Integration problems appear at the boundaries between them, so Fennec engineers the layers as one system.
02The five layers
- Downhole: pressure and temperature gauges, the ESP and the subsurface safety valve (SCSSV).
- Wellhead: the surface safety valve (SSV), the wellhead control panel (WHCP) and ESD/HIPPS logic.
- Power: the wellsite transformer, the variable frequency drive (VFD) and the downhole power cable.
- Wellsite control: RTU and PLC units for monitoring, alarms and control logic.
- Control room: the central SCADA system.
03Safety first
Emergency shutdown must work regardless of the state of communications. We design WHCP and ESD/HIPPS logic so the well shuts in safely and locally, while SCADA gets full visibility of the trip and its cause.
04Integrating existing wells
Connecting existing wells to SCADA follows four steps:
- Survey the existing panels, drives and instruments.
- Specify RTU/PLC hardware, I/O and communications.
- Define tags, alarms and control permissions with operations.
- Install, commission and test, including shutdown tests.