PCIC Middle-East Conference

14 September 2012

The first PCIC Middle East Conference will be held in Abu Dhabi on 12 and 13 November, in conjunction with the ADIPEC exhibition and conference. Event sponsors include 2B1Stconsulting, GE Energy, Schneider Electric, Eaton, Total and Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories. Hazardous Area International is the media partner.

PCIC Europe organises an annual conference in Europe to share expertise and best practice amongst electrical and instrumentation engineers working in the oil and gas and petrochemical industries.
Many engineers working in the Middle East said they would like to attend these conferences but cannot for a number of reasons, so the PCIC executive decided to bring the event to them.
The set up will be similar to PCIC Europe where authors present their papers and reply to questions. The main difference is that there are only plenary sessions, no parallel sessions. PCIC Middle-East is a unique opportunity to share experience and network with key local figures.
The PCIC Middle East preliminary technical program consists of 16 papers written and presented by senior engineers working in end-user companies (such as Shell, ExxonMobil and Hess), engineering companies (such as Technip and KBR), and equipment manufacturers (such as ABB, Eaton, Schneider Electric and Thermon). The papers will be presented in single sessions thus ensuring that no paper need be missed.
The main topics of the PCIC Middle-East conference are:
1. Energy efficiency and sustainable development
2. Safety in the Workplace
3. Experiences from Users with Regulations and Standards
4. Electrical and Instrumentation (E&I) Engineering Practices
5. Equipment, Systems and Components
6. Operation, Maintenance, Repair, Asset Management and Qualification of Personnel
The following are the confirmed papers to date:
Power Transformers:
* Increasing reliability and availability with on site overhaul and repair
* Improved safety and performance with natural ester dielectric insulating fluids
On-site Generation:
* Suitability of low NOx turbines for industrial sites
* Avoiding mistakes in defining essential / emergency Diesel generator power systems
* Making sure that your essential power system performs in crisis situations
High-voltage Switchgear and MCCs:
* How to correctly specify circuit-breakers close to gas turbine generators
* Basic design criteria for personnel safety while also enchancing availability
Low-voltage Switchgear and MCCs:
* Optimizing the design for operations and maintenance
* The State of the Art for internal arc withstand testing
Electromagnetic Compatibility:
* How to achieve excellent performance in close proximity to high interference
Safety:
* The User's dilemma of setting protection relays
* The big picture of arc-flash mitigation
System Design:
* How to design, test, commission and maintain intelligent power distribution systems
* How to design heat tracing systems in difficult situations
In addition to the above, papers on Large Drives will also be presented.