Light and fog warning systems for Saleh platforms

Paul Boughton

RAK Petroleum has chosen Syncrolan light and fog warning systems from Tideland Signal to mark its Saleh field platforms off the Ras Al Khaimah Emirate.

Since 1988, Saleh's five platforms have only produced small volumes of gas and condensate but RAK Petroleum took over the field in 2010 and has embarked on a programme to redevelop the field, initially by deepening an existing well.  

To warn shipping in the vicinity, both the Saleh 1 and Saleh 5 platforms are marked by four Tideland Syncrolan LED light stations, fog signal, fog detector and, Informer AIS AtoN which sends out AIS message 21 to vessels in the vicinity identifying itself as an offshore structure.

Tideland's Syncrolan light stations on Saleh-1 combine an MLED-300 LED main light with a range of 10 NM and a 3 NM MLED-155 red subsidiary light equipped with a 24v charger, which provides 96 hours back-up for the main and secondary lights.  

There is a similar arrangement on Saleh 5 platform, except that the charger only provides back-up for the main light in the event of the main power supply failing.  

The subsidiary light is a Tideland SolaMAX-155 self-contained LED lantern with integral solar panels charging a sealed lead acid battery via a solar regulator, which provides a range of 3 NM plus 96 hour back-up.  

The Syncrolan units on Saleh 1 are wired to an Exd monitoring/switching enclosure that provides a fail alarm to an existing central monitoring panel, while the systems on Saleh 5 operate as stand-alone units.  The light stations are ATEX certified for use in Zone 2 hazardous areas and UL listed for Class 1 Div 2 Grp D.

The MLED-300 and MLED-155 lanterns combine Tideland's proven MaxLumina lenses with advanced LED technology to provide an expected lifetime in excess of 50,000 hours. They are extremely reliable, rugged, provide high opto-electrical efficiency and require little maintenance, even under harsh operating conditions. The lanterns are equipped with Tideland’s MaxiHalo 60 LED EFF flasher with on-board GPS synchronisation, sunswitch and 256 pre-programmed flash characters.

The fog signal stations each comprise an AB-560 fog signal mounted on a galvanized steel frame which also incorporates an ECU 645 control unit. The AB-560 has an array of five driver-emitters that give a usual range of two nautical miles, audible through 360 degrees, although any driver in the array will produce a sound signal in excess of the required standby range of half a nautical mile.  The stations are also equipped with an optional visibility sensor that automatically switches on the fog signal whenever visibility falls below 3700 metres (2Nm).

The Saleh fields will also be equipped with V-03 Informer units, Tideland's AIS transmitter that is recognised by RAK Petroleum as major contributor to safety. Together with Tideland's compact TSD monitoring system which is already in place, RAK has ensured that it complies with all applicable safety standards.

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