Cables for Kazakhstan
Draka’s fiber optic cables can be found at physically challenging places in this world. Take Tengiz in Kazakhstan, an oil production field which has lots of aggressive chemicals present, such as sour gas. For this hostile environment, Draka was asked to design and supply a network with suitable fiber optic cables. That would be part of the over $4 billion production expansion ‘Sour Gas Injection / Second Generation Project (SGI/SGP)’.
The oil produced at the Tengiz oil field in Kazakhstan, contains a lot of sour gas. That is an aggressive substance and needs to be locally extracted prior to crude transport. Subsequently the gas is re-injected into the ground. That way it boosts the pressure and increases crude recovery. It’s a clever way of getting more black gold out of the ground than before. This technique is called ‘second generation recovery’. The ‘first generation’ refers to the period when the naturally occurring pressure was high enough.
Stringent
Because of the presence of highly aggressive chemicals, the requirements for the optic fiber cables were very stringent. Draka chose ALPA optical fiber cables. These are highly resistant to oil and chemicals. They are also guaranteed to function in a fire during at least 90 minutes. The company was in charge of many aspects: design, engineering, material production, providing necessary accessories, even installation supervision. In total some 400 km of optical fiber cable were put in.
Vital systems
In a processing plant like the Tengiz oil field, process control and emergency systems are vital. The Draka fiber optic system plays an important part in their safety and reliability. It is used in controlling and linking the processes to a central computer system. When contractor Parsons-Fluor Daniel brought Draka in to do the job, they knew they had taken on a reliable, technically competent partner, capable of dealing with extensive projects.
Are you interested in this project, the products or technologies mentioned in this article? Please contact us. We would be very happy to come to your offices to listen to your requirements and make your project just as successful!