During the design phase of a new oil field development project, a dynamic model of a compressor station was constructed to test the operability of the station when experiencing upset conditions. The compression system, piping, vessels, air-coolers and valves were modelled rigorously and in detail using a commercial simulator; the compressor control is based on traditional SISO/PI controllers with added control features. Several scenarios were modelled and the results of the simulations indicate that this control system will protect the compressor from surging for medium and major upsets by using the DCS programmable controllers. This is a low cost, simple solution and does not require additional complex control systems. The simulations demonstrated that these are not required. The resulting control system simplifications reduce the control system cost to one twentieth of the original cost.
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