Balongan PressMon communication restoration

Maintenance & upgrade of PressMon Balongan converters

PT Pertamina Patra Niaga

Overview

The PressMon Balongan maintenance work restored the reliability of the communication network in the Pressure Monitoring and Emergency Shutdown (ESD) System on the Balongan-Plumpang fuel pipeline. The system uses a fiber optic network to connect pressure transmitters, RTU/PLC devices, field panels, and the SCADA system in the control room.

At the start, the system showed communication faults: intermittent loss, delayed data, and dropped connections between devices. These faults came mainly from degraded fiber optic converters and unstable network connectivity. The work focused on a system survey, replacing the old converters, restoring the communication network, installing new panels, and testing the monitoring and shutdown functions.

Challenges

The survey found several conditions that affected the reliability of the PressMon system:

• The fiber optic converter in the control room area had an error and could not receive signals from field devices.

• The pump status in SCADA read fault because communication was cut.

• The communication path to the booster pumps could not send the operating status or the shutdown trigger command.

• The damaged converter stopped the ESD function from working normally.

• The converter in the field panel did not receive signals from the control room.

• The replacement had to be done within a coordinated window time so that facility operations were not disturbed.

Solutions

The maintenance and upgrade work included:

1. Surveying and mapping the converter locations and the fiber optic communication paths in the control room and field panels.

2. Identifying the damaged converters and verifying the fault on the SCADA display.

3. Replacing the old fiber optic converters with new devices that perform more stably and give better protection against surge and noise.

4. Assembling the wiring and converter panels in the workshop to keep modifications during field installation to a minimum.

5. Assembling the converters, fiber optic terminals, power supply, I/O interface, and other panel components.

6. Installing the upgrade panel in the control room, including re-arranging the power and fiber optic cables with ducting and cable ties.

7. Carrying out a power-up test, checking the converter indicators, testing inputs and outputs, running a continuity test, and verifying communication together with operators.

8. Testing the alarm and shutdown functions against pressure changes to confirm the response of the PressMon and ESD systems.

Assembly and initial testing were done in the workshop before installation. This made the panels ready to install and reduced the risk of rework in the field.

Results

After the upgrade, fiber optic communication was connected again with a stable signal. All converter indicators were normal, the wiring responded according to the parameters, and the continuity test showed no short circuit.

Pressure data, device status, and alarms can be read again in real time in SCADA and the PressMon web application. Field tests also showed that the alarm and shutdown functions respond when pressure reaches the defined condition. Based on the test results in the report, the system was declared fit for use again for monitoring and control.

Lessons learned

The reliability of a pressure monitoring system does not depend only on the pressure transmitters, PLC, or SCADA application. It also depends heavily on the quality of the communication infrastructure. A damaged fiber optic converter can cause data loss, invalid pump status, and an ESD function that does not work as designed.

Assembling and testing the panels in the workshop reduced installation time and the risk of field modifications. Testing must also go beyond confirming that the network connection is active. It must verify real-time data, pump status, alarms, inputs and outputs, and the shutdown function.

To keep the system reliable over the long term, check the converters, power supply, fiber optic connectors, signal quality, communication alarms, and event logs regularly.