CUSTOMER: Proeco srl
SECTOR: Engineering
YEAR: 2024
Proeco srl is a multidisciplinary engineering company founded in 2001 that operates in the engineering and supply sectors with particular experience in the Oil & Gas, Chemical, Energy, and Environmental sectors. In particular they specialize in the construction of production, transportation, and transformation plants for hydrocarbons, the construction of power plants using renewable sources, decommissioning activities and energy efficiency evaluations. Proeco srl provides engineering services at increasing levels of detail, to carry out projects from the feasibility study phase to basic design up to construction design. These services include project management, procurement assistance, surveys, commissioning assistance, and all services that require specialized multidisciplinary engineering expertise.
Recently, Proeco srl was acquired by the Parlym Group, marking an important step for the Group as it is their first significant investment in Europe (outside of France) and symbolizing the beginning of their development on the continent. This expansion now creates two equivalent geographical hubs for the Group, in Africa and Europe, and strengthens its position as a leader in the engineering sector.
The target
Proeco grew rapidly, soon sensing the market’s need to entrust complete and therefore multidisciplinary engineering activities. Thus, in 2005, a new development model was born: Proeco built and strengthened its team by incorporating new resources and especially new specializations in Mechanical/Piping and Structural fields. From this new configuration arose the need to find a 3D modeling software suitable for the increasingly complex project requirements and the ever‑growing know-how that Proeco was acquiring.
The answer
“The analysis to identify the optimal product was long and thorough,” says Roberto Cicognani, Head of Engineering and Production at Proeco. “Various software were evaluated and tested thoroughly before making the final decision.” Finally, in 2019, the decision was made to purchase ESApro, which seemed to meet all the required flexibility and manageability needs. “Today, based on the results of the projects executed with this software,” continues Roberto Cicognani, “we can affirm that the choice to adopt ESApro was the right one, as well as economically advantageous both for Proeco and, above all, for our customers, who are fully satisfied with the results obtained.” After years of use, ESApro has proven to be user-friendly, comprehensive, and highly customizable. It allows for the rapid creation of new piping classes and component libraries, the three-dimensional layout of the plant, and the routing of pipelines, after which 2D drawings containing plans, views, and sections, isometric sketches, line lists, and component lists are automatically generated. Furthermore, additional modules allow for modeling pipe supports and cable trays.
The case
In 2023, Proeco acquired a contract from ENI SpA for the construction of a new natural gas compression station to be installed at the Casalborsetti Plant. The project became necessary to deal with the significant limitations on production efficiency that characterized the network connected to the Plant, mainly due to the oversizing of the compression unit compared to the residual production profile. This resulted in considerable management costs, low overall thermal efficiency, and continuous reliance on machine anti-surge systems.
The interventions essentially consisted of installing two new reciprocating compressors driven by an internal combustion engine with a power of 1.85 MW, replacing the original four turbo compressors, the construction of the necessary and auxiliary plant works for the compressors, such as suction KO drums, discharge coolers, interconnecting piping, a new pipe rack, and the construction of a new shed.
The project involves decommissioning the current compression station and the simultaneous installation of a new compression station consisting of two compression trains, one in 100% back up to the other, placed in parallel, each consisting of:
- A three-stage reciprocating compressor, including gear reducer and machine ancillaries.
- A 1.85 MW internal combustion engine, also including related machine auxiliaries.
- Three KO-DRUMs, one for each compression stage.
- Three air coolers, one for each compression stage.
In addition to the engineering of the new compression station (Green Field), the project also includes multidisciplinary modifications related to the existing plant (Brown Field).
The result
The complete engineering of the new natural gas compression station was carried out with ESApro; specifically, foundations and sub-foundations, metal structures and bases of the machine/compressor train, equipment, gas systems, fuel gas, compressed air, drains, fire-fighting water and cooling water. The project involved the 3D modeling of approximately 400 lines, mechanization of P&IDs, development of pipe assembly plans, MTO, line lists, TIE-IN lists, disassembly plans, isometrics, details, and support lists.
The main benefits observed,” concludes Roberto Cicognani, “were the ability to interface with point clouds for modeling in a brown field context and, in general, the simplicity and immediacy of interfacing with other software used for other disciplines, particularly the transfer of the piping lines geometry to the Stress Analysis software.
The technical support service has always been prompt and thorough, a crucial aspect to minimize downtime and optimize production.
The project involved 10-12 people on average for the entire project period.”
Currently, the project is in the execution phase, involving, in addition to the EPCI contractor, the equipment suppliers and all the entities responsible for the various authorizations for the execution of activities.
