Remote operation of pipe-line pumping stations

HUNDREDS of installations have proved the reliability and economy of remote control on electric power systems and in large industrial plants. Although the initial application of supervisory control to pipe-line pumping was made 23 years ago,1 it is only recently that the costs of station attendance have risen to a level where management has taken active interest in its possibilities. At present there is a lively interest in the subject. Within the past 3 years installations have been made or equipment put into manufacture for at least 15 remote control projects on pipe lines transporting crude oil, refined petroleum products, or gas, with an unprecedented number of such projects now under active study. This paper is written to better acquaint pipe-line engineers with the principles of remote control and its application to pipe-line service. It concerns only remote-control systems which include indication of the condition of the remotely operated equipment.