OREANDA-NEWS. Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces that Yokogawa Solution Service Corporation, a subsidiary that oversees Yokogawa's IA and control business in Japan, has received an order from JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation (JXE) to execute the front end engineering design (FEED) for a project to consolidate the control rooms and systems at its Mizushima-A oil refinery.

To strengthen its global competitiveness, JXE is working hard to ensure the safe and stable operations at all of its refineries in Japan. One of the means to accomplish this is the consolidation of control rooms, which facilitates faster decision making and improves efficiency by allowing the different refinery units to share more information. Consolidation of the control systems will enable the refinery's various processing units to share more production data, thereby leading to more integrated operations and improved efficiency.

During the planning phase of this project, Yokogawa conducted a feasibility study of control systems. Upon signing the contract, Yokogawa will prepare a master plan to introduce a CENTUM® VP production control system that will integrate the monitoring and control functions for units throughout the refinery complex that are currently handled by multiple control systems. This master plan will also address the introduction of a ProSafe® -RS, a safety instrumented system to ensure the safety of processes throughout the refinery.

Yokogawa will also propose solutions to JXE such as software packages for remote monitoring and online diagnosis that improve maintenance efficiency, field wireless solutions that enable the installation of measuring instruments at previously difficult-to-install locations, advanced control rooms with designs that enhance operability and the visibility of data, and operator training systems. These solutions can thus enhance operational safety and stability.

In addition to helping Japanese energy and material companies improve their production efficiency and operational safety, Yokogawa also provides various high value-added solutions that will allow them to make full use of their existing facilities. Yokogawa believes that this approach will lead to the expansion of its solution service business.