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ARAMCO Shaybah PI Upgrade

Engineering & Marketing International
Technology

Aveva

Industry

Oil and Gas

Client

ARAMCO

Country

KSA

Goals

Upgrade legacy PI Server to PI 2015. Implement High Availability (HA) system. Configure redundant OPC interfaces for four GOSPs. Develop 160+ customized ProcessBook displays.

Challenges

Live migration with minimal downtime. Ensuring failover and redundancy. Rapid development of numerous displays. Remote site coordination.

Solutions

Dedicated PI engineers collaborating with local engineers onsite. Configured redundant OPC interfaces. Established HA PI Server Collective. Developed tailored ProcessBook displays.

Results

Successful transition to modern, reliable PI System. Real-time, clear operator visualizations. Increased data integrity and system uptime. Strong collaboration ensured project success.

ARAMCO Shaybah PI System Upgrade

The Shaybah oil field, located deep within the Rub' al Khali desert, is one of Saudi Aramco’s most remote yet strategically vital upstream production sites. In 2015, EMI was hired to undertake a comprehensive upgrade of the PI System infrastructure that supports four Gas-Oil Separation Plants (GOSPs) at Shaybah. This upgrade was critical to ensure reliable, continuous data acquisition, storage, and visualization, which are fundamental to the safe and efficient operation of these complex facilities. The existing PI System was aging, and there was an urgent need to migrate to a more modern and robust platform to handle increasing data volumes and provide enhanced system reliability.

EMI’s role included not only the migration and upgrade of the PI Servers but also the implementation of a high-availability (HA) system architecture to eliminate single points of failure. This HA setup was designed to maintain system uptime even during hardware failures or maintenance, which is vital for uninterrupted plant monitoring and control. One of the major aspects of the project was configuring redundant OPC interfaces to connect with AIM OPC servers from each of the four GOSPs. This redundancy ensured that data would continue to flow smoothly even if one interface failed.
Alongside this, EMI was responsible for developing over 160 customized PI ProcessBook displays. These displays were tailored to the specific monitoring and operational requirements of the plants, providing operators with clear, actionable visualizations of real-time data. Despite the technical complexity, the upgrade had to be carried out with minimal downtime, as the PI System supports critical operations.EMI’s engineers worked closely with the local teams to coordinate remote and onsite activities, overcoming challenges related to the site’s extreme remoteness and logistical constraints.

Ultimately, this upgrade resulted in a resilient, modern PI infrastructure that improved data integrity, operational transparency, and system reliability—empowering operators with the tools needed for better decision-making and reducing operational risks. The success of this project has set a foundation for ongoing digital transformation and continuous improvement at the Shaybah facility.