Trans-Alaska Pipeline System—Improved Safety and Reliability Via Main-Tie-Main, Arc-Flash, and Fast Bus Protection Schemes Using IEC 61850 Over a Software-Defined Network

An 800-mile long pipeline system transports North Slope crude oil from Prudhoe Bay across the State of Alaska to Valdez. The Valdez Marine Terminal is the northernmost ice-free port in North America, where tankers are loaded to deliver the critical crude oil supply to market. The operator of this pipeline system requires a reliable, safe, and redundant power supply for efficient and safe operation. Any electric power disruption and the associated downtime severely impacts the flow of oil through the pipeline and the loading of the tankers. The electric power reliability and safety is improved via a custom main-tie-main scheme, along with an arc-flash and fast bus protection scheme, using the high-speed IEC 61850 Generic Object-Oriented Substation Event protocol. This solution is also implemented with cybersecurity best practices that are resilient to external threats using a software-defined network supporting a zero-trust architecture and security gateways. This paper dives deeper into the objectives, design philosophy, communications architecture, and testing procedure for this solution. The scheme is standardized and successfully commissioned into service at Valdez Marine Terminal for one medium-voltage and two low-voltage switchgear facilities in 2019. This innovative solution is then scaled to include further switchgear facilities from 2019 to the present.