By CHIKA IZUORA,
Wednesday, October 5, 2005.

THE Central Production Coordinating Centre (CPCC), based in Port Harcourt is now fully operational, enabling SPDC to coordinate oil and gas export from its various gas supply nodes and ensuring optimum gas supply to NLNG.

The CPCC1 which started out with a skeletal crew monitoring only supplies from Soku and B-NAG gas plants to NLNG now cordinates gas supplies from both East and West.

There are 80 f lowstations and five gas supply nodes being monitored and coordinated from the centre through an on-line tool CAO-PI, with two staff at any point in time, manning workstations on a 24/7 work cycle. Head Central Production Coordination Centre Joseph Essien said:

“We have steadi1y progressed over the months and now we have a stable team, coordinating the supplies sleeplessly. We also have progressed a lot on the deployment of enhancement tools, timing them to be ready just as they get needed. These include Yokogawa based Pipeline Control and Management System (PCMS) which has the leak detection tool (PIMS) coupled to it. The online predictive trasient Management tool (LAGOSA) deployed by Shell Global Solutions is also underway.
“Overall, it’s been a chanllenge but quite valuable to have the central Production Coordination Centre which is gradually pulling to be the nerve centre in production with greater collaboration with the assets.”

‘The CPCC monitors oil production and gas availability by interpreting process information data from the flow stations and gas supply nodes. Through these data, it could also trigger early response mechanism during emergencies. The centre generates a preliminary report on daily production and supply of oil and gas to terminals and gas customers, culminating in a monthly statement.

CPCC team leader Mike Dahunsl said: “The centre was conceived with the Offshore Gas Gathering System project to export associated gas from floating production and storage offshore FPSO facilities, such as Sea Eagle and Bonga, and from the west via Forcados Yorkri.

CPCC kicked off in Soku, but the scope was expanded to include the Bonny non-associated gas project, Soku and Cawthorne Channel nodes, whose gas availability and supplies are linked to Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).
“The CPCC today is fully implemented as a corporate department integrating Eastern and Western operations Services management team. The centre has continued to play its role not only as a production coordination hub but also an early warning system in emergencies.