Internship report

Summer Internship Program 2015

Abdul Hannan Alam

NED University of Engineering & Tech.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am grateful to “Al mighty ALLAH” who gave me all the strength, courage

preservation and patience to finish my Six weeks of Internship Program at SSGC

and in achieving my task fruitfully.

I would like to take this opportunity to formally thank Mr. Kazi Nasr Abbas

(Engineer in RM&DA), Mr. Muhammad Irshad(Senior Engineer), Mr. Saeed Khan

(DGM), Mr. Arshad Ahmed Kazi (Senior Engineer) and Mr.Abul Hassan for

providing their immense support and unwavering guidance during conduct and

completion of this internship report on SSGC and it became possible for me to

complete this work within short time.

I would specially like to thank Mr. Kazi Nasr Abbas, for his constant support and

guidance and for solving all my queries during the course of my internship. It was

because of his motivating & encouraging efforts that I have been able to explore

the practical world in a very professional manner and to understand different

legal ordinance beyond the requirement of my internship.

Last, but not the least, our fellow internees. They have been remarkable in

lending me support and encouraging me in my work.

Table of Contents

Personal Information

Introduction

History

Company’s Operations

Company’s Core Values

Internship Details

Remote Monitoring & Data Accquistion

Maintnence

Meter Repair Shop

CC & B

Transmission

Recommendations

Personal Information

Currently, I am studying at the NED University of Engineering & Technology, in the

Final Year. As of now, I have completed seven semesters of my studies and have

been sucessfully enrolled in the eighth semester. I had a keen interest in doing

internship in huge Government Organization such as SSGC as it would be

beneficial for me in future since it is the leading and well reputed company.

NIC # 42101-5047025-1

Date of Birth: September 26th, 1993

Father’s Name: Arshad Alam

Cell No.: +92313-8239376

Email Address: hannanalam@live.com

Education:

NED University of engineering & technology, BE

B.E. in Electronic Engineering

Adamjee government science college, Intermediate

Completed Intermediate (Pre-Engineering) with 80%.

Sir Syed Children’s Academy, matriculation

Completed Matriculation (Science) with 87

Introduction

Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) is Pakistan's leading integrated gas Company.

The company is engaged in the business of transmission and distribution of

natural gas besides construction of high pressure transmission and low pressure

distribution systems.

Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (the Company) is Pakistan’s leading integrated

gas company having an exclusive distribution and Sales license in the provinces of

Sindh and Balochistan. The Company’s core business is to buy natural gas in bulk

from E&P companies, transmit it to load centres over its high pressure

transmission system, distribute and sell it to its customers through its supply

network.

The transmission system of the Company extends from Sui in Balochistan to

Karachi in Sindh comprising 2,942 Km of high pressure pipeline ranging from 12” -

24" in diameter. The distribution network of over 30,000 Km covers 1200 towns

and 930 villages in Sindh and Balochistan. The Company sold 442,146,085 million

cubic feet (MCF) of natural gas during the year 2008-2009 to about 2.155 million

industrial, commercial and domestic consumers. The Company also owns and

operates the only gas meter manufacturing plant in the country, under an

agreement with Schlumberger Industries-France. The plant has an annual

production capacity of over 550,150 domestic meters. SSGC is also examining the

feasibility of installing a pilot project of 500 numbers of Radio Frequency type and

500 numbers of prepayment type meters manufactured by ACTARIS, a French

Company. Following the successful test launch of 1,000 imported prepaid meters

in 2004-05, the company is proceeding aggressively to set up more pilot projects

before rolling out these meters at a faster rate in 2005-06. The Company has

achieved another milestone at the meter plant. It has obtained ISO 9001: 2000

certification.

The Company is a public limited company listed on the Karachi, Lahore and

Islamabad Stock Exchanges with more than 70% direct shareholding by

Government of Pakistan (GOP). It has an authorised capital of Rs.10 billion, out of

which Rs. 6.7 billion is issued and fully paid up and is managed by an autonomous

Board of Directors having overall control. Presently, SSGC’s Board has 14

members drawn both from public and private sectors. The Managing

Director/Chief Executive is nominated by GOP and has been delegated with such

powers by the Board of Directors as are necessary to effectively conduct the

business of the Company.

History

SSGC in its present form was created on March 30, 1989, following a series of

mergers of three pioneering energy companies: Sui Gas Transmission Company,

Karachi Gas Company, and Indus Gas Company. Sui Gas Transmission Company

Limited was formed in 1954 with the primary responsibility of gas purification at

the Sui field in Baluchistan and its transmission to the consumption centres at

Karachi. Two distribution companies were established in 1955 and were

responsible for the distribution of gas to consumers in Karachi and in other towns

along the route of the transmission pipeline between Sui and Karachi. In 1985,

these two distribution companies were merged to form Southern Gas Company

Limited and later, in 1989, Southern Gas Company Limited and Sui Gas

Transmission Company Limited were merged to form the Sui Southern Gas

Company Limited.

Company’s Operations

GAS TRANSMISSION AND PURIFICATION:

SSGC operates a train of 10 purification banks with a total gas processing capacity of 790 MMSCFD Millions of Standard Cubic Feet per Day (measure of gas produced in a reservoir) .

High Pressure Gas Transmission Pipeline System comprises of 1888 kilometer high pressure pipelines and 53200 horsepower compression.

DISTRIBUTION:

The Company's franchise for distribution of gas covers the Provinces of Sindh and Balochistan. To maintain close contact with the consumers the distribution operations have been classified into four regions. These regions are named after major cities i.e. Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and Quetta. The total distribution network of over 10,108 Km. in terms of length has been laid until June, 2010. This expanded network has enabled the Company to cater for the gas requirement of 809105 consumers located in 52 towns and cities.

The Company has provided 66,173 new connections during 1995-2008. The Company's operations are being further geared to provide gas supply to new areas and it is planned to connect about 1, 10,358 new connections in the current financial year 2009-2010.

MANUFACTURING OF DOMESTIC METERS:

The Company started manufacturing domestic gas meters at its plant in Karachi in June 1976 at a total cost of Rs. 4.980 million with an initial annual capacity of 60,000 meters which was enhanced to 120,000 meters in 2008-2009. During 2009-2010 the Company manufactured 238,230 gas meters. During the current financial year, it is planned to manufacture 300,000 large and small meters which should meet the country's total requirement for these items thus saving precious foreign exchange.

COMPANY’s CORE VALUE:

CHALLENGES: The challenges of transporting energy from the supply sources to the load centre. The Company is meeting the challenges head on to bring these supplies to the load centre in its franchise areas through most cost effective and sustainable means. OPPORTUNITIES: Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging. Pakistan has enjoyed the supply of natural gas as a premium fuel both in the domestic and commercial sectors, as well as in general industry.

COMMITMENT: Desire is the key to motivation, but determination and commitment is an unrelenting pursuit of your goal. SSGC is contributing towards adoption of modern technology that would conserve energy, save on operating costs, bring overall production efficiency and improve customer service on the continuing basis.

TEAMWORK:

It builds strong relationships within across functions. Works well with all type of

peoples and corporate with others. Solicits and share ideas/best practice with

others, supports the achievements of Company/team goals, demonstrates

sensitivity contributes to team effectiveness using people's different skills and

styles, arrives at constructive solutions while maintaining positive working

relationships.

TRANSPARENCY:

It promotes open environment, displays openness and consistency in applying

policies & procedures; respects dissent and resolve conflicts fairly.

RESPONSIBILITY TO STAKEHOLDERS:

SSGCL stays abreast of change in operating environment that impacts their

business (i.e. markets, competitors, technology, customers and suppliers,

employees, regulatory, political and public).

GAS PURCHASE

The Sui Southern Gas Company Limited is engaged in the business of gas

transmission and distribution in Sindh and Balochistan. The company receives gas

from different oil and gas fields located in Sindh and Balochistan. The natural gas

received from these fields is transmitted to different cities and towns of Sindh and

Balochistan and then the gas is distributed to consumers. There are total 15 fields

and 4 towns controlled by Gas Purchase section. Each field has an operator and

under that operator there are several other joint ventures who supply the gas

according to a certain limit allowed to them. The operator has direct contact with

SSGC whereas other joint ventures contact to the company through the operator

and their invoices also come under the letter head of the operator.

My Internship Period in Different Sections of Measurement Department

Duration Department Incharge

1 week Remote Monitoring &

Data Acquisition Amir Kazi

2 weeks Maintenance Saeed Khan

1 week Meter Repair Shop Arshad Ahmed Kazi

1 week CC & B Abul Hassan

1 week Measurement Transmission

Muhammad Taj

Week #1

Remote Monitoring & Data Acquisition

SSGC has an extensive pipeline network deployed over vast stretches of land

spanning both urban and remote areas. The company’s main priority is to deliver

natural gas with no adverse effects on the public, its customers, employees, or the

environment, and its high environmental safety and performance standards aim to

meet or exceed all requirements set by the industry.

SSGC was relying on a manual data acquisition (DAQ) model that required

engineers to travel from site to site to visually record gas levels, which were

documented in logs. This manual effort posed many challenges to SSGC’s purchase,

distribution, and billing processes, as well as to the company’s bottom line.

• Extensive time and human resources were required for the monthly manual

readings of electronic volume correctors (EVC) and fl ow computers (FC), costing

SSGC around US$1M per year for 5000 installations.

• No real-time data was available to compare actual sales, supply, and

consumption data and, combined with human error, this made it impossible to

detect theft or leakage points and determine unaccounted gas values.

• Once gas chromatograph (GC) data was collected from transmission hubs, the

data had to be uploaded to the remote EVCs to adjust volume levels. In order to

save time and money and increase safety levels for both employees and customers,

SSGC realized it needed a DAQ management solution that would allow it to

remotely extract readings from remote sites and transmission hubs in real-time.

SIERRA WIRELESS AIRLINK® SOLUTION

SSGC implemented a wireless DAQ solution from Sierra Wireless partner Mazik

Global. The solution features a Sierra Wireless AirLink® rugged, intelligent gateway

specifically designed to handle complex mobile data and remote asset

management applications for utility management.

The coverage was critical for a deployment in Pakistan, as the country was in the

process of upgrading its networks. Offering a rugged design, Class I Div 2

compliance, and a vast library of telemetry protocols, the AirLink gateway is an

ideal solution for energy management applications. Its sleek, compact form factor

allows for integration within existing infrastructure and enclosures. The serial

interface is compatible with legacy equipment, while a USB port increases flexibility

and eases troubleshooting.

In addition to the AirLink gateways, the DAQ solution is also equipped with a solar

panel for power, battery, intelligent charge controller, and an IP66 Enclosure. The

system provides realtime data from each install location, covering over 42

parameters, and successfully interfaces with various models of EVC, FC, and GC

units. Customized mobile device management software that comes standard with

AirLink gateways provides all necessary data monitoring and analysis tools required

for troubleshooting and reporting features such as solar and battery voltage and

enclosure temperature.

All remote data is now communicated to a main server, and over-the-air

configuration allows pre-defined access authorization to users for full data security.

SSGC can now pull hourly sales and purchase reports, providing deep insight and

actionable business information to the company.

Week # 2&3

Maintenance

The operations of Measurement Maintenance department is to maintain Customer Meter

Stations of CNG Stations, Industries and Commercial units. It also manages Sub Meter Stations.

Maintenance department deals with two types of maintenance i.e. EVC maintenance and CMS

maintenance.

Week # 4

Meter Repair Shop

The meter repair shop is located in the Karachi

Terminal of SSGC.The concept behind the

establishment of the meter repair shop was to

fulfil the increasing future demand. The

responsibility of Meter repair shop is to manage

complaints regarding meters either domestic or

commercial or industrial, to test defaulted

meters, to repair complaints. Meter Repair Shop

has several sub-sections i.e. R&D (receive and

dispatch), Testing Section, Paint shop and

Maintenance section. In testing section, it has

two testing machines i.e. bell prover and SNAP.

There are three type of gas meters that are

dealing in meter repair shop.

Domestic Meter

Commercial Meter

Industrial Meter

Providing quality service to ensure the flow/availability of utilities such as water,

gas, electricity, telephone and pneumatic pressure also to maintain the good and

sound condition of machines and equipment through effective maintenance

system.

Week #5

CC&B (Customer Care & Billing)

Oracle Customer Care and Billing (SPL Customer Care & Billing) handles every aspect of customer information-service connection, meter reads, rating, billing, and more-while also undertaking associated functions like payment processing, collections, field service, and meter management. The product evolves with business demands, minimizing cost and risk. It helps utilities in any market maximize revenue, create cost efficiencies, and respond to market change. It scales from a few thousand to many millions of customers. Upgrades are quick and easy. CUSTOMER CARE AND BILLING SYSTEM (CC&B SYSTEM):

With the completion of the implementation of Oracle Utilities Customer Care and

Billing, SSGCL will be able to better maintain customer records, handle credit and

collection activities, track service orders and interface better with our customers,".

"This system will reduce billing errors and help us resolve customer queries faster

through real-time tracking of these queries. The information technology

department has been at the forefront for the deployment and effort to change the

people's mindset around a cost-conscious and performance-based culture. SSGCL

have now set clarity of vision, having created willingness to change, and established

commitment at all levels, developed skills for change agents, empowered people

to manage change resistance, realigned organization culture, managed the

environment, embedded change element in the project plans and ensured open

and honest communication."

"Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing will also enable greater compliance with

country regulatory guidelines,"

Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing has led to complete automation of SSGC's

customer-facing processes with well-defined accountabilities leading to greater

efficiency, productivity and quality of customer operations. The new

implementation will allow SSGC to embrace industry best practices. Through a

state-of-the-art call center, SSGC staff will use Oracle Utilities Customer Care and

Billing and Oracle E-Business Suite to track customer complaints on a real-time

basis and efficiently manage and resolve customer queries. Oracle Utilities

Customer Care and Billing will also allow customer self-service over the Internet.

"Our Customer Information System combines the right blend of IT infrastructure,

well-trained personnel, customer-centric business processes and software

applications. It also provides a technology platform integrating business processes

that are aligned with leading industry benchmarks to enable more accurate billing,

improved customer service and business practices that enhance customer value,"

SSGCL has addresses the unique needs of the utility industry, integrating

demographic and geographic variations that permit our 'Service with a Smile'

objective to become even more a reality,".

Week # 6

SCADA OPERATION AND TRANSMISSION CONTROL ROOM FUNCTION

Company import SCADA system and maintain SCADA control room to provide best

gas quality to its customers. In Karachi, Gas is distributed through different

channels such as SCTPS, KGTPS, BQASIM, PASMIC, CMS, FJFC, and KCTPS. The

system which monitors the whole process is imported from Canada and it is known

as “Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition” (commonly SCADA).SSGCL form

through the merger of three companies and basic function of SSGCL is distribution

of gas, SSGCL transmission control room control the transmission of gas and work

on 24/7 basis, control room check the quality gas that received from different fields

because SSGCL purchase 10% gas from sui field and 90% from other fields.

Transmission control room check:

Temperature of gas

Pressure of gas

Trend of gas

Control check the input and output of gas and in case of gas pipe line damage control room stop the supply of gas within 20 seconds.

Control room collect data through two sources:

Telecommunication

Another way to collect data is SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) (on line system).

SSGCL is using microwave networking, for the transmission of data (relay of data) repeater must be used to boost the signal at the distance of 40 km SSGCL place 23 repeater for the relay of data from distribution location to control room. First repeater is place at Khadeji. Gas supply to Karachi through 5 stations. To become ISO 9001 certified company SSGCL properly follows the OGRA rule and regulations OGRA is an oil and gas regularity authority and control all oil and gas exploration and distribution companies.

SSGC is widely acknowledged for its world-class expertise in the engineering, design, construction, operation and maintenance of an extensive gas supply

infrastructure and is fully capable of providing innovative gas technology solutions to other companies in the region.

The optimal use of technology across all functions has earned the company the

reputation of Pakistan's most technology-enabled utility. A Geographic

Information System (GIS) that creates seamlessly integrated intelligent drawings

of the pipeline network based on satellite images is currently under

implementation. By end-2006, GIS will be integrated with the company's

Customer Information System (CIS) based on SPL World Group's software and

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system based on Oracle e Business Suite. The

advanced SCADA system provides on-line, real-time monitoring of the entire

transmission network as well key customer locations. SSGC launched Pakistan's

first integrated LNG import project which is making good progress. The company

has already advertised for interested firms, JVs and consortia to participate in the

_Expression of Interest process. SSGC's LNG project is perfectly timed to meet the

anticipated energy gap, resulting from an accelerated rate of economic growth in

the country over the next 3-4 years. The first imported LNG landing is expected in

Quarter 1, 2010.Meanwhile, in order to provide customers professional help and

support in optimizing the use of natural gas and bringing about substantial

reduction in energy and fuel costs, SSGC has taken a bold new initiative by

launching its Technical Advisory Services (TAS).

RECOMMENDATIONS

UFG should be controlled, and should be taken as 1st priority for SSGC to

resolve. Reward should be granted to employees or anyone pointing out

the area of leakage or theft.

Electronic Valve should be implemented in CMS, so that Employee can

control any CMS remotely. It will reduce fuel cost which consumes when

teams go for CMS shut down.

Job description should match to employees’ field of work

Motivation and encouragement is not seen, management should conduct

seminars or lectures that can boost employees moral and self-esteem to

work in a loyal way towards company

Overtime work should be discouraged, in my opinion overtime policy

should be abolished or the overtime incentive given per each extra hour

worked should be reduced by 50%. Which will discourage employees to do

work in evening or night and sitting idle in morning, instead they would in

standard timings, which will result in fast processing of data in timely

manner

Corporate culture should be implemented, with strict following of rules and

regulations

In the Gas Purchases section, the current practice for recording of the gas

purchases from foreign companies is to use the exchange rate as of the last

working day of the month and for the payment purpose, the exchange rate

used is the exchange rate at the day of payment. As such, huge exchange

gain/loss is recorded. Considering the current situation of devaluation of

rupee against the dollar, the exchange loss would increase in future, if

some kind of hedging is not done. Therefore, it is suggested that to use

hedging process in order to avoid heavy losses due to exchange rate

changes

Section’s staff should be seated in one area, so that communication among

them is facilitated. Currently, there are some sections in which the staff is

dispersed around the floor, which hinders the free flow of communication

There is no balance between the numbers of employees in each section.

Where the number of employees should be more to share the work burden

but there are fewer employees then the required need. And where there is

no work burden there are more employees than the required need. The

need for employees should be analyze properly to allocate employees on

right place to completely avail their skills

Corporate culture should be implemented in SSGC.