Oil & Gas
The oil and gas industry is responsible for making petroleum resources available for use as fuel and gasoline to power the world. Its operations involve a network of facilities including oil rigs, maritime vessels, and pipelines. These can be extremely dangerous and volatile work environments, and they require vigilant maintenance to support operations and life onboard.
Delivering a continuous supply of power to equipment is a major challenge within the oil and gas industry. Technicians need a way to achieve constant visibility of all sites, including those that are difficult to access.
Monitoring
Considerations
Oil Rigs
UPS Systems & Generators
Oil rigs primarily draw power from diesel engines or gas generators. When these power sources are temporarily unavailable they rely on battery-based Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) systems and SLA generators to sustain essential functions.
DC Transformers
Some oil rigs incorporate motors that run on DC power from battery banks. These models use transformers to convert electrical energy from batteries into mechanical energy for critical mechanisms.
Maritime
Critical Generators
Most maritime vessels, including those used in the oil and gas industry, are sustained by onboard diesel generators. If these power sources fail, DC battery powered generators kick in to provide support for critical systems like navigation, communication, and safety equipment.
Pipelines
Pumps & Compression Systems
Oil and gas pipelines use a network of pumps and compression systems to carry oil upstream from wellheads. DC batteries provide a reliable source of backup power when these mechanisms fail, but because they are typically located remotely and difficult to access, they are challenging to maintain.
Battery Monitoring
The oil gas industry depends on reliable sources of battery power that must be available at all times, especially during primary power failures and other unexpected crises. These batteries are used to power essential technology and sustain life onboard off-shore vessels.
However, DC failures can happen suddenly, including between manual checks, and it takes just one failure to compromise an entire string. Since backup units are only deployed occasionally, technicians often don’t realize that a failure has occurred until it’s too late.
Oil and gas companies can ensure UPS and DC battery integrity by tracking battery performance in real time. Parameter’s Cellwatch Battery Monitoring platform automates all stages of the battery monitoring process to ensure constant power availability. The system is semi-permanently connected to provide live visibility by measuring multiple battery conditions, alerting to failures, and delivering essential data on critical units.
Benefits include:
- Real-time tracking of critical units
- Reduced risk of unexpected outages
- Streamlined repairs and deferred replacements
- Increased cost savings and maximum battery life
- Tailored solutions for oil and gas applications
Product Lines
As the core Cellwatch product, Cellwatch Battery Monitoring serves as a secure and flexible preemptive battery maintenance solution for UPS applications on oil rigs. Cellwatch Battery Monitoring utilizes advanced measurement techniques to continuously monitor entire systems and provide extremely accurate readings throughout charge, discharge, and float periods.
Comprehensive UPS Visibility
Cellwatch Battery Monitoring is tailored for UPS applications. In addition to functionality for alerting against and preventing thermal runaway, the platform tracks string voltage, cell level voltage, ohmic value, and current temperature to identify cell failures within a UPS string.
Easy Plug-and-Play Installation
To facilitate streamlined upfitting, all Cellwatch Battery Monitoring technology is designed for easy, fast, and safe plug-and-play installation with identical modular components for all configurations. Cellwatch Battery Monitoring also enables seamless Modbus SNMP integration.
Cellwatch Frontier is optimized for oil and gas corporations that need to manage DC distribution across autonomous facilities and stations. By testing remote DC units daily and reporting on performance, the Frontier platform reduces unexpected outages and strengthens continuous power availability.
Remote DC Monitoring
Unmanned pipeline stations need to run autonomously with minimal in-person supervision, but they still require 24/7 monitoring. Cellwatch Frontier features remote monitoring capabilities to limit onsite visits while ensuring smooth and secure operations.
Preemptive Maintenance
By providing real-time visibility into battery performance, Cellwatch Frontier streamlines preemptive maintenance to increase backup power reliability, achieve cost savings, and maximize useful battery life.
Oil and gas corporations often need to manage data across multiple separate facilities. Cellwatch Central is optimized for large organizations with multiple installation sites and complex data analysis needs.
Real-Time Visibility
Cellwatch Central is semi-permanently connected to deliver continuous passive monitoring that tracks performance proactively, allowing personnel to repair or replace battery units efficiently before they need to be deployed.
Complex Data Consolidation
By collecting data from multiple sites and consolidating it into a single system, Cellwatch Central enables oil and gas corporations to analyze battery performance across over 50,000 jars and manage battery types, installation data, and maintenance events via a unified system.
Discover Advanced Oil & Gas Monitoring Solutions From Parameter
Not only can the right monitoring system alert to failures, but it can also enable incident prevention, enhance efficiency, increase cost savings, and deliver peace of mind.
Contact Parameter to discover flexible battery monitoring solutions for oil and gas infrastructure that check all these boxes.
For custom capabilities and manufacturing, reach out to our OEM team directly to discuss how we can augment your application.