Programmable controllers integrate oil field SCADA and automation

An examination is made of the benefits of oil production supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems which integrate remote terminal unit (RTU) functionality into programmable controller based control systems. This design concept was applied in a west Texas oil field automation project. The major benefits of this SCADA system include a reduction in operating costs due to an increase in the efficiency of operating personnel and a decrease in production downtime. Although the scope of this automation project included other items such as surveillance cameras and instrumentation, the authors focus entirely on the SCADA control system