The Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) operates Kenya's petroleum products pipeline network, which consists of three lines with a total length of approximately 900 kilometres and capacity of 525,000 cubic meters. KPC was facing challenges from an evolving business environment and aging infrastructure. It upgraded its pipeline control system to Schneider Electric's OASyS DNA remote management solution to enable remote monitoring and control of its pipeline stations, automated leak detection, and improved system uptime and maintenance. The new system provides KPC benefits like reduced product theft, increased safety, and time and cost savings.

1. The Kenya Pipeline Company Limited (KPC) is wholly owned by the gov-
ernment of Kenya, operating as an agency of the Ministry of Energy and
regulated by legislation.
The current pipeline network consists of three lines: from the port of Mom-
basa to Nairobi; from Nairobi to Eldoret; and from Sinendet to Kisumu. This
network, with a total length of approximately 900 kilometres and a total
capacity of 525,000 cubic meters, includes eight pump stations and seven
storage depots. It is relied on by KPC clients such as Shell, BP (Kenya) Ltd.,
Caltex Oil (Kenya), Mobil, the National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK)
and Total Kenya for reliable, efficient and cost-effective petroleum products
transportation, storage and distribution from Mombasa to the country’s
interior.
Challenges
KPC was challenged by a rapidly evolving business environment driven by
changes in technology and government policy.
PROJECT AT A GLANCE
Project Type
Remote pipeline management solution
Location
Kenya
Applications
Remote pipeline operations and optimized
communication systems
Equipment Installed
OASyS®
DNA 7.4 platform
SimSuite Pipeline modules
CUSTOMER BENEFITS
• Theft prevention via automatic leak detection
• Improved safety with emergency shutdown
capability
• Better revenues from increased uptime
• Time and money savings from controlled
system access by local managers
Pipeline Support Solutions
Kenya Pipeline Company
Petroleum products pipeline control system improves business performance
and safety
Make the most of your energySM

2. ©2012SchneiderElectric.Allrightsreserved.
July 2012
The current pipeline
network has a total length
of approximately 900
kilometers, a total capacity
of 525,000 cubic meters, and
includes eight pump stations
and seven storage depots.
“The OASyS DNA system is much better in terms of data storage and
ease of maintenance, due to remote access. This has greatly reduced
system down time.”
Bramwell Wanyalikha, Chief Engineer
KPC looked for a solution to optimise communi-
cation from pipeline stations to the main control
centre in Nairobi.
“A big problem for KPC was frequent failure of the
earlier SCADA system due to huge communica-
tion outages,” emphasized Bramwell Wanyalikha,
Chief Engineer (IC).
Further, four new pump stations were being de-
veloped between Nairobi and Mombasa. A pipe-
line parallel to one of the three existing lines was
to be built to link with the Kenya-Uganda Pipeline.
A third mainline pump will be installed in every
existing pump station to act as a standby pump
when the other two existing pumps are running in
parallel. KPC needed a reliable centralized control
system that would remotely operate these assets.
The company wanted to provide users at all
levels of the corporate enterprise with real-time,
relevant information – particularly data that would
streamline product accountability and help detect
product loss through leaks.
Finally, KPC needed an advanced-technology
centralized system that would simplify vendor
support that was suffering from logistical road-
blocks and eliminate the frequent maintenance
that had caused costly operational downtime.
“The traffic jams in Nairobi cause maintenance
personnel responding to a system failure to waste
a lot of production time getting here to fix the
problem,” said Julius Alolo, Engineer I. “This lost
time produced a negative impact on the part of
our operations department in charge of running
the pipeline. The company loses revenue when
the SCADA is down and even more while we
wait for maintenance personnel to attend to what
sometimes is a very simple failure.”
Solution
KPC upgraded its legacy control system to an
extensible OASyS DNA 7.4 platform. The new
distributed system was enhanced with
Schneider Electric’s SimSuite Pipeline (SSP)
modules for Leak Detection, Profile Maps, and
Batch and Pig Tracking. The resulting solution is
one of the most advanced in Eastern Africa; new
and expanded functions include:
• A meter auto-prove function for automatic
accuracy validation
• Automated alerts for equipment maintenance
to prevent costly equipment failures
• Liquids Management System (LMS) to
optimise scheduling and measurement
• Polling of remote terminal units (RTUs) over
fibre optic cables using IP, for real-time field
data collection
The Bottom Line
The new system makes all operating parameters
from key network points available in real time to
the control centre, where all pipeline operations
are coordinated and from which point station
equipment can be operated remotely. At the
same time, pipeline flow and content character-
istics are transmitted to business processes for
timely accounting. KPC is benefiting from:
• Automated detection of leaks that prevents
costly product theft and improves safety
• Emergency shutdown capability for the entire
pipeline
• The ability to run station pumps in parallel to
increase throughput capacity
• Significantly increased system uptime and
associated revenues
• Controlled access to the system by
local managers, 24/7, for fast response
to problems – saving valuable time and
expense
“The OASyS DNA system is much better in terms
of data storage and ease of maintenance, due to
remote access. This has greatly reduced system
down time,” said Wanyalikha.
Remote system access also enables
Pipeline Support Solutions Kenya Pipeline Company
Schneider Electric USA, Inc.
10333 Southport Rd SW, Suite 200, Calgary, AB T2W3X6 Telephone: +001-403-212-2407 Fax: +001-403-259-2926 www.schneider-electric.com

3. ©2012SchneiderElectric.Allrightsreserved.
July 2012
Pipeline Support Solutions Kenya Pipeline Company
Schneider Electric USA, Inc.
10333 Southport Rd SW, Suite 200, Calgary, AB T2W3X6 Telephone: +001-403-212-2407 Fax: +001-403-259-2926 www.schneider-electric.com
Schneider Electric support personnel to monitor the
system from North America, tune the leak detec-
tion tool as needed for optimum performance, and
assure the full-time performance targeted by KPC
– without the logistical problems associated with
travel and on-site visits. Schneider Electric supports
the new SCADA through a four-year maintenance
agreement.
“The networking features of the DNA system have
made maintenance very easy, and
Schneider Electric online support is quite satisfac-
tory,” affirmed Alolo. “It is easy to work with and is
user friendly.”
KPC will realize even further returns from its invest-
ment because the extensible OASyS DNA system
will embrace the new Nairobi-to-Eldoret parallel line
and further network expansion.