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December sees the completion of 2 x 175kVA Zone 2 Generators for an Offshore project in Africa, the equipment is being supplied to a major state owned company whose mission is the management of hydrocarbon resource exploration in Africa.

Ongoing development of the clients offshore fields had identified that several of their existing platform power generation modules were reaching the end of their operational lifespan.

Long term operation of the existing standard product generating equipment had highlighted several issues which had dramatically affected the reliability of this type of equipment when being used in a long term offshore application.

The low ingress protection levels of the existing generator enclosures and the main internal components had created increased levels of contamination and corrosion of key internal components, including the main alternator windings. These findings determined that any additional assets would have to be specifically designed for the operating environment.

Further development of the field and an increased awareness of the requirement to provide safe shutdown of electrical systems on gas platforms also focused the operators of the platform to source a higher specification package, which would be suitable for use in a Group II Cat 3 Gas Group B T3 environment.

Gen Ex Design were approached with an initial concept study to determine what type of equipment could be provided to ensure both safe operation in the Hazardous Area, and also provide a robust package with high ingress protection ratings which would provide for long term reliability in the field.

Several key operating criteria also impacted on the type of equipment that would be offered to the client as a system solution.

After several months of discussion, the scope of supply was defined and the project viability was determined, throughout the process Gen Ex were in direct contact with the operational staff to ensure that what the equipment that would be supplied fulfilled the correct operational criteria, as well as the safety and legislative requirements for the operator.

The solution required the design of a compact robust machine capable of continuous operation, while providing a safe system during start, and shutdown of the equipment in the event of a gas release in the area.

The Gen Ex Design solution required the interface of several key systems to fulfil the onerous operating criteria , and the result is a combination of proven reliable mechanical components integrated to a state of the art monitoring and safety system, ensuring that in the event of a gas release this machine will safely shutdown removing all potential ignition sources, furthermore the system will remain isolated until a gas free situation is proven to enable a clear start up.

The equipment has been extensively tested during a full factory acceptance test with the client in attendance, and the client has already indicated that following successful field trials, they would intend to introduce the product to their other fields in the region, furthermore they believe that this product will generate considerable interest in the Oil and Gas markets in Africa where considerable gas development work means that existing standard product generators could be exposed to gas release situations leading to critical failures.

Worldwide the number of incidents whereby standard product generators have been exposed to gas ingress has increased recently. The assumption that the installation of an engine air intake shut off valve can create a safe shutdown is misleading, as there are many other ignition sources present on a standard manufactured generator.

Only by a full assessment of the operating criteria and the required safety systems can a product be designed which will be suitable to provide a safe shutdown in the event of a gas release.

Gen Ex Design lead the field in the development and supply of power generation equipment for use in Hazardous Areas.