AST Turbo successfully completed comprehensive reliability upgrades on four major steam turbine compressor trains at the OMV Ethylene Plant in Schwechat, Austria. Besides upgrades of various subsystem components, the project included the engineering, manufacturing, testing, installation and commissioning of hydraulic racks to control steam admission valves and trip valves, as well as substantial modification of the main compressor anti-surge control systems. The control logics were implemented using a virtual modeling software to verify and tune the upgraded system before start-up.

All racks are built with complex redundancies. They serve different makes and vintages of turbines and are standardized to simplify both operations and maintenance. The smooth implementation of the upgrade during a planned shutdown window was ensured by meticulous project planning, professional execution and last but not least transparent collaboration with the OMV project team. The special focus on reducing critical interfaces and moving the installation activities ahead of the actual shutdown window paid back in an on-time completion.

Paul Rettich, Senior Expert Instrumentation and Automation at OMV accents: "AST Turbo was supporting OMV by planning and executing complex brownfield projects within our petrochemical plant. As our engineering and construction partner, AST Turbo was able to support us, improving process safety and reliability of our main steam turbines and compressor trains. Besides the seamless project execution and timely implementation, this project success led to substantial reductions in operating costs and CO2 emissions, marking a commendable achievement in improving our plants efficiency and sustainability."

We would like to thank OMV for entrusting us with this complex and high-profile project and the entire OMV project team for the pleasant and professional collaboration.