ANR AUTOMATES EXISTING GAS COMPRESSOR STATIONS.

As part of its overall automation program, American Natural Resources Co. (ANR) previously had installed a supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA) at company headquarters to gather pertinent data, such as gas temperatures, flowrates and engine functions, from remote terminal units (RTU) at each station. In the automation project these station master RTUs handle the flow of data to, and orders received from, the Detroit control center. The RTUs govern station performances to meet changing demands for deliveries of gas to various customers. The computerized master RTU works with a smaller RTU controller at each compressor engine, using stored software programs to decide what combination of engines will provide the needed horsepower at the most efficient fuel usage. Details on how automated controls were installed on each of 38 engines in 5 compressor stations are given.