Hassi Messaoud Peripheral Fields Development Front End Engineering and Design (Feed)

Project: 216W
Code: 216W-PHMD-TP-C-0000105
Rev: B Sheet 1 of 14
PROCESS ALARM PHILOSOPHY
HASSI MESSAOUD PERIPHERAL FIELDS DEVELOPMENT FRONT END

ENGINEERING AND DESIGN (FEED)
LOT 1 SOUTHERN PERIPHERY
B 19/05/15 APPROVED FOR DESIGN MAF EPP MIS VCB

A 04/05/15 ISSUE FOR CLIENT COMMENTS MAF EPP MIS EMLDC
APPR’D APPR’D
REV. DATE DESCRIPTION PREPARED CHECKED
DPTM. PROJ.
Project: 216W
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GLOSSARY ................................................................................................................................... 3
1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 4
1.1 Project Description ........................................................................................................... 4
1.2 Purpose of the Document ................................................................................................ 6
1.3 Order of Precedence ......................................................................................................... 6
1.4 Definitions ......................................................................................................................... 6
1.5 Terminology ...................................................................................................................... 7
2 GENERAL DESIGN PHILOSOPHY .......................................................................................... 8
3 ALARM MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES..................................................................................... 9

3.1 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ......................................................................................... 9
3.2 OPERATOR NOTIFICATIONS ........................................................................................... 9
3.2.1 DEFINITION OF ALARM ........................................................................................... 10
3.2.2 OTHER NOTIFICATION ALARMS ............................................................................ 11
3.2.3 ALARM DESIGN PRINCIPLES ................................................................................. 11
4 ALARM MANAGEMENT LIFECYCLE .................................................................................... 13
5 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................... 14

Project: 216W
GLOSSARY
BDV Blowdown Valve

CA Contracting Authority
CCR Central Control Room
CIS Centre Industriel Saharien
DCS Distributed Control System
EPC Engineering, Procurement and Construction
ESD Emergency Shutdown Down
ESDV Emergency Shutdown Valve
FEED Front End Engineering Design
F&G Fire and Gas
GOSP Gas Oil Separation Plant
GTP Gas Treatment Plant
HDZ Hassi D’zabat
HGA Hassi Guettar
HGAW Hassi Guettar Ouest
HKZ Hassi Khebiza
HP High Pressure
HTF Hassi Terfa
IA Instrument Air
ICSS Integrated Control and Safety System
LCP Local Control Panel
LP Low Pressure
MV Master Valve
PAHH High High Pressure Alarm
PCS Process Control System
PPL Pipelines
PSD Process Shutdown
SCSSV Subsurface safety valve (shall be considered as an ESDV)
SDV Shutdown Valves
TCS Total Complex Shutdown
UCP Unit Control Panel
UPS Uninterruptible Power Supply
USD Unit Shutdown
UTBS Unité de Traitement du Brut et Stabilisation (Crude oil stabilization & treatment unit)
WV Wing Valve (shall be considered as an SDV)
Project: 216W
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION
SONATRACH has decided to develop the Peripheral Fields of Hassi Messaoud, which include the
development of the following fields:
Lot Nº01 – it concerns the development of five (5) fields located at the SOUTHERN
PERIPHERY of Hassi Messaud, the fields are:
o Hassi Terfa (HTF)
o Hassi D’zbat (HDZ)
o Hassi Guettar (HGA)
o Hassi Guettar oust (HGAW)
o Hassi Khbiza (HKZ)
This PROJECT LOT covers the gathering, a new Gas and Oil separation plant (GOSP) at Hassi
Guettar (HGA) and the transfer of gas and oil effluents to the existing Hassi Messaoud plants
(UTBS and CIS) for further treatment and stabilization of the oil and associated gas.
Lot Nº02 – it concerns the development of the EASTERN PERIPHERY of Hassi
Messaoud, the fields are:
o Bhiret Aissa (BRA)

o Damrane
This PROJECT LOT covers the gathering network and the multiphasic pumps at BRA and
Damrane to transfer the crude oil to the existing Rhourde el Baguel Plant for further
treatment and stabilization of the oil and associated gas.
Lot Nº03 – it concerns the development of peripheral NORD of Hassi Messaoud located at
Rhourde Chegga (RDC).
This PROJECT LOT covers the gathering network and the multiphasic pumps at RDC to
transfer the crude oil to the existing CINA plant at Hassi Messaoud.
Lot Nº04 – it concerns the development of the UPSIDE NORTH fields of Hassi Messaoud.
This PROJECT LOT covers the gathering network and a new Gas and Oil separation plant
(GOSP) located at UN2-1, to transfer the separated oil to the existing CINA Plant and the
gas to the existing ZCINA plant at Hassi Messaoud through different oil & gas pipelines.
The geographic position of these fields is indicated on the map below.

Project: 216W
Figure 1: Geographic position map of the Hassi Messaoud Fields
Figure 2: Global View – Hassi Messaoud Fields

Project: 216W

1.2 PURPOSE OF THE DOCUMENT
This document describes the Process Alarm Philosophy for the Hassi Messaoud. An alarm
philosophy is a document that establishes the basic definitions, principles, and processes to
design, implement, and maintain an alarm system. This document shall be updated during the
project to reflect any amendments/ alterations.
1.3 ORDER OF PRECEDENCE
In case of conflict between documents the ENGINEER shall take precedence in the following
order:
1. Algerian legal requirements (Algerian laws, edicts, regional or local regulations, etc.).
2. Sonatrach standards.
3. FEED documentation.
1.4 DEFINITIONS
For the purpose of this document, the following definitions apply:
CONTRACTING Sonatrach Activite Amont Division Engineering et
AUTHORITY OR “CA” Construction
ENGINEER FEED Contractor, TR
CONTRACTOR EPC Contractor
PURCHASER CA, ENGINEER or CONTRACTOR
The party(s) which manufactures and/or supplies

SUPPLIER/VENDOR materials, equipment, technical documents/drawings and
services to perform the duties specified by PURCHASER.
PROJECT Hassi Messaoud Peripheral Fields Development FEED
INDEPENDENT
Inspection Body or Authority appointed by the CA
VERIFICATION BODY
Direction des Patrimoines Energétiques et Miniers

DPEM
(Algerian Ministry of Energy and Mines)
Project: 216W
L’Agence Nationale de Contrôle et de Régulation des

ARH Activités dans le domaine des Hydrocarbures (Agency for
Regulation of Hydrocarbons)
CTC Contrôle Technique de la Construction
1.5 TERMINOLOGY
The words “shall” and “must” is to be understood as a mandatory requirement.
The word “should” is to be understood as strongly recommended.
The words “may” and “can” is to be understood as an action to be undertaken at the

Contractor’s discretion.
Project: 216W
2 GENERAL DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
The fundamental purpose of alarm annunciation (presentation to the operator) will be alert the
operator to deviations from normal operating conditions. The ultimate objective is to prevent, or
at least minimise, physical and economic loss by triggering operator intervention in response to
the alarm. A key factor in operator response effectiveness is the speed and accuracy with which
the operator can identify the alarms that require immediate action.
A written philosophy on alarm management is critical to creating and maintaining an effective

alarm system over time. A documented alarm philosophy promotes:
a) Consistency of alarm design and presentation
b) Agreement with corporate risk management goals/objectives
c) Agreement with good engineering practices
d) Efficient alarm rationalization and design activities
e) Effective operator response to alarms.
The philosophy provides a consistent and optimum basis for:
Identification and classification of alarms
Justification of alarms to confirm or establish that they are required
Prioritization of alarms
Specification of alarm conditions and settings
Design of alarms
Implementation and testing of alarms prior to service
Commissioning of alarms and alarm changes
Training in the use, maintenance, testing & modification of alarms
Operation and use of alarms during normal and abnormal conditions
Maintenance and testing of alarms during service
Management of change for alarm systems
Performance monitoring and assessment of alarm system performance

Project: 216W
3 ALARM MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
3.1 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
The advent of computer based control systems has created a situation where it is possible to
configure large numbers of alarms with minimal cost or consideration as to whether they are truly
necessary. Historically, alarms have also been created in an unstructured manner. This has
resulted in:
- Too many alarms being configured (e.g., alarms that do not have associated operator
actions).
- Alarms being ill defined (e.g., alarms given incorrect priorities).
- Poor alarm system performance (e.g., bad actors, increased potential for alarm floods).
- Increased potential for operator error (e.g., operator missing an important alarm during a
flood or taking incorrect action based on a received alarm).
- Significant demand on operator and engineer resources and additional costs to rectify
alarm performance problems.
3.2 OPERATOR NOTIFICATIONS
Alarm systems are often used to notify operators of events that do not meet the criteria for being
an alarm.
Operator notifications can represent abnormal that may not require an operator action.
Avoid nuisance alarms when change in process condition has not incurred or when alarm condition
comes and goes on a regular basis or intermittently.
During operation, an analysis of the alarm frequency will be carried out to detect nuisance alarms.
Nuisance alarms are alarms that indicate an abnormal condition when none exists.
This philosophy will define four types of notification:

Project: 216W
Event Operator action required No operator action required

(informational)
Abnormal Alarm Alert
Expected Prompt Message
Table 1 – Types of operator notifications
Alarms would be prioritized using the following structure:
- PRIORITY 1 Immediate operator action required to prevent injury or loss.
- PRIORITY 2 Operator action required to correct an abnormal situation.
- PRIORITY 3 Operator action required to avoid an abnormal situation.
- PRIORITY 4 Abnormal situation recorded but not annunciated.
- PRIORITY 5 System fault alarms.
3.2.1 DEFINITION OF ALARM
The alarm philosophy would follow the latest Instrument Society of America (ISA) guidelines on
process control system alarms. The alarm philosophy must be applied to the design and
configuration of all control logic. Alarms will meet the definition and specific criteria defined below:
- An alarm is an audible and/or visible means of indicating
- The indication must be targeted to the operator to be an alarm, not to provide information to
an engineer, maintenance technician, or manager.
- The alarm must indicate a problem, not a normal process condition or normal operational
event (e.g., pump stopped, valve closed).
- There must be a defined operator response to correct the condition and bring the process
back to a desired (safe and/or productive) state. If the operator does not need to respond,
then the condition should not be an alarm. A notification that has no associated operator
action should be defined as an alert or message. Acknowledging the alarm or logging a
measurement is not considered an operator response (does not correct the abnormal
situation). Typical operator responses to alarm include:
Request field operator to close a valve.
Change the set point or output of a controller.

Project: 216W

Start a backup pump.
Initiate a manual shutdown of equipment or an area
3.2.2 OTHER NOTIFICATION ALARMS
Notifications that do not meet the criteria for being an alarm fall into several categories:
Alert - An audible and/or visible means of indicating to the operator an abnormal equipment or
process condition that requires awareness. An alert will be indicated separately (segregated) from
an alarm indication.
Prompt - A notification which requires an action to be taken by the operator as part of normal
operation (e.g., start sequence when ready, take a sample, add material).
Message - Provides information about the status of normal operations that does not require the
operator to act. As an example, when a process or piece of equipment has moved from one mode
of operation to another, it may be desirable to inform the operator of this progress with a message
Events - Used for automated logging of discrete changes to the system or process (e.g., plant
equipment state changes, trips, alarm activation, and acknowledge). They are used primarily for
review and analysis (e.g., for post incident analysis). Equipment and process events should be
elevated to an alarm if there is an associated operator action(s).
3.2.3 ALARM DESIGN PRINCIPLES
The following basic alarm principles should be applied to alarm design and configuration:
- Each alarm should alert, inform and guide: The information presented to the operator
should not simply be the tag number of the measuring or sensing instrument but shall
(where possible) offer an indication of what has gone wrong and also why it has occurred.
- The alarm system should be designed to meet user needs and operate within ergonomic
requirements Ref.(2). This means that the support information alarm should:
o Be relevant to the user's role at the time,
o Indicate clearly what response is required,
o Be presented at a rate that the user can deal with particularly when the plant system
is upset or in an unusual condition.
Project: 216W

o Be easy to understand.
- Every alarm presented to the operator should be relevant and unique: Alarms should be
designed so that they are worthy of operator action in all plant states and operating
conditions in which they are displayed. Each configured alarm shall be unambiguous and
not duplicated by other alarms. Multiple alarms should not be annunciated for a single
problem / event such as those requiring the same operator action.
- Every alarm should have a defined response: If there is no associated operator action then
the condition should not be configured as an alarm. Adequate time should be allowed for
the operator to analyze the situation and carry out a defined response.
- Alarms should be explicitly designed to take into account human limitations.
- Adequate time should be allowed for the operator to carry out a defined response
- The consequence if the alarm is not treated properly by the operator should be explicit.
- Monitoring performance of the alarm system should be assessed during design and
commissioning to ensure that it is usable and effective under all operating conditions.
Regular auditing should be continued throughout the plant system life to confirm that good
performance is maintained.
- Engineering should follow structured methodology in which every alarm should be justified,
documented and properly engineered. This initial investment in the design should be
sufficient to avoid the operational problems which result at the end in overall higher lifetime
costs.
- Some of the characteristics of Alarm System are summarized here below:
o Relevant: Not should be spurious or of low operational value.
o Unique: Not duplicating another alarm.
o Timely: Not long before any response is needed or too late to do anything.
o Prioritized: Indicating the importance that the operator deals with the problem.
o Understandable: Having a message which is clear and easy to understand.
o Diagnostic: Identifying the problem that has occurred.
o Advisory: Indicative of the action to be taken.
o Focusing: Drawing attention to the most important issues.

Project: 216W
4 ALARM MANAGEMENT LIFECYCLE
Alarm management is an ongoing process that is never completed. The work process for effective
alarm management is defined by an alarm management lifecycle as described in the ISA-18.2
standard.
Figure 1 - Alarm Management Lifecycle per ISA-18.2
A & B steps during FEED stage.
C, D, E steps during EPC stage.

Project: 216W

Philosophy: Define processes for alarm management and alarm system requirement specification.
Output: Design Alarm Philosophy.
Identification: Determine potential alarms. Output: List of alarms.
Rationalization: Rationalization, classification, prioritization, and documentation. Output: Master

alarm database.
Detailed Design: Alarm design and HMI design. Output: Completed alarm design.
Implementation: Install alarms, initial testing, and initial training. Output: Alarm response
procedures
Operation: Operator responds to alarms, refresher training. Output: Alarm event data.
Maintenance: Inspection, repair and replacement, periodic testing. Output: Alarm reliability data.
Monitoring & Assessment: Monitor alarm data and report performance. Output: Alarm monitoring
reports, proposed changes.
Management of Change: Process to authorize additions, modifications, and deletions of alarms.

Output: Alarm changes.
Audit: Periodic audit of alarm management processes. Output: Recommendations for improvement
5 REFERENCES
1. ANSI/ISA 18.2 Alarm Management Standard.
2. 216W-PHMD-TP-X-0000001 - HSE design philosophy

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Project: 216W

PROCESS ALARM PHILOSOPHY