Heater Controls Upgrade Improves Safety and Resilience of Arctic Pipeline Pump Stations
The client engaged aeSolutions to evaluate and modernize their aging heater and heater control systems supporting critical pipeline pump station operations in an Arctic environment. These heaters provide essential building heat, ensuring pump stations remain operational during extreme cold conditions. Through a phased, lifecycle-based approach, aeSolutions supported the client from initial hazard identification through front-end loading, detailed engineering, and control system design, delivering a compliant and future-ready heater and combustion control solution aligned with current NFPA compliance requirements and operational needs.
Challenge
The client’s existing heater burner management and combustion control systems were outdated and no longer aligned with current safety and compliance requirements. Previous installations from another provider did not fully account for applicable NFPA standards, appropriate Safety Integrity Levels (SIL), or the true number of required safety functions. Compounding the challenge, these heaters operate in remote, difficult-to-access pump stations where failure is not an option. In an Arctic environment, loss of building heat can quickly lead to frozen equipment, operational downtime, and elevated safety risks. A clear understanding of system gaps and a defensible path to compliance were required before any physical upgrades could proceed.
Solution
aeSolutions began by facilitating a structured PHA/LOPA focused on the heater systems at multiple pump stations, leveraging our process safety facilitators and burner management subject matter experts. This collaborative discovery effort revealed that the heaters required significantly more safety instrumented functions than previously identified.
Building on these findings, aeSolutions executed a heater controls front-end loading effort to translate risk insights into a clear, code-compliant design basis. From there, the team engineered replacement burner management and combustion control systems designed to close identified gaps, meet current NFPA requirements, and improve operational robustness. By maintaining continuity between risk assessment, engineering, and system design, aeSolutions’ project delivery team ensured that critical context from the hazard studies was preserved and correctly implemented in the final solution.
Results
The project delivered a fully engineered heater control solution positioned to provide safe, compliant, and reliable operation once installed. The upgraded design addresses previously unrecognized safety gaps, aligns the heater systems with modern codes and SIL requirements, and establishes a consistent standard that can be replicated across additional pump stations in the future.
Equally important, the client benefited from a single, accountable partner managing the full lifecycle from risk identification through system delivery. This integrated approach reduced handoff risk, minimized rework, and provided confidence that safety intent identified during early studies was properly carried out through design and execution. The success of this effort has directly informed subsequent evaluations at the client’s other pump stations, reinforcing a long-term partnership focused on resilience in one of the most demanding operating environments in North America.
Industry: Oil & Gas
Geography: Pacific Northwest
Unit Operation: Customized Safety Instrumented Burner Management System (SI-BMS)