Oil and Gas Control, Safety, and Connectivity | Q&A

• The shift from LNG import to export drove major infrastructure changes in the US that increased demand for safer, more automated measurement systems
• Hazardous oil and gas environments require strict protection methods, with intrinsic safety now being the preferred approach
• Digital, multi-variate devices that provide actionable data are driving the future of the oil and gas industry

Early on, we were building LNG import facilities—heating gas from overseas and pushing it into U.S. pipelines. Then fracking changed everything. Suddenly, we were producing so much natural gas domestically that we had to redesign import terminals to become export terminals.

That shift rippled across the whole industry. The new infrastructure required updated measurement and control systems, and that’s really where safety, accuracy, and automation started to overlap in a big way.

Right, most analyzer shelters in oil and gas are in Class I, Div 1 zones, so you assume flammable gas is present.

There are three main ways to protect the equipment: purge and pressurization systems that push clean air through the enclosure, explosion-proof housings that contain any internal ignition, and intrinsic safety. The first two work, but they’re heavy, expensive, and not easy to maintain.

Intrinsic safety has become the go-to method. You limit the circuit energy so even if there’s a fault, there’s not enough power to cause ignition. Instruments like Alicat’s IS‑Max™ and IS‑Pro™ series are good examples—they’re designed for use directly in hazardous zones without needing purge panels or explosion-proof boxes. That saves space, reduces the number of leak paths, and simplifies compliance.

And that’s where the human factor comes in. A maintenance tech might be responsible for 20 or 30 square miles of analyzer stations. They drive by, glance at that rotameter through the glass, and think, “Looks good.” Meanwhile, the analyzer’s getting no sample and drifting out of spec.

With an integrated digital flow controller, or a digital pressure meter, you can see the actual flow and pressure values on screen or in the DCS. Because these devices have measurement and control are in the same body, the feedback is instantaneous and accurate. Multivariate devices that report parameters like flow, pressure, temperature, and totalizer give a lot of visibility in a sampling loop running every few milliseconds.

Modern intrinsically safe instruments can sample hundreds or even a thousand times per second, so they catch transient changes before they reach the analyzer. You can monitor or adjust setpoints remotely through MODBUS RTU or a simple analog 4 – 20 mA signal and that’s what operators expect now—fast, stable control with lots of visibility.

With regards to these [intrinsically safe] devices, you’ve got fewer moving parts and no glass tubes or floats to clean. They hold calibration longer and are usually rated to IP 66 or higher, so dust and moisture aren’t a problem. The added diagnostics help too, because you can often spot a developing issue remotely on your system before needing to actually go out to the device and troubleshoot.

Integrated intrinsically safe [electronic] controllers simplify that. You’re mounting one instrument instead of three, pulling one set of wires instead of several. For large sites, that can mean the difference between a multi-day installation and one that’s done in hours. And since the control signal can be digital or analog, they fit into existing DCS architectures without re-engineering the system.

For flow and pressure stability, fluctuating pressure or inconsistent flow will throw off readings and calibration. In systems that do flaring, backpressure spikes can push gas back into the analyzer and corrupt your data. If you have fast, closed-loop digital control, you can maintain steady flow and pressure so the analyzer always sees the same conditions and that consistency is what keeps you compliant and avoids penalties.

Now we’ve got digital options, like intrinsically safe devices and IS‑series instruments, that can sit directly in the hazardous zone without all that extra infrastructure, you can still interact with them during operation if needed, but maintenance becomes far easier—no specialized enclosures to open, no purging routines, and far fewer site visits just to check basic readings.

The next step is intelligence, using all this new data for predictive operation instead of of reactive. If you know when something is going to go wrong before it does, you can save uptime and cost.

At the end of the day, the goals haven’t really changed, the industry still wants to keep people safe, keep analyzers accurate, and keep uptime high. What’s changed is that we finally have the tools that make all three of those things easier, while being remote.

I believe the future is data, and the only question now is how far we can push what we do with it.

Of course, thanks for having me!

Bobby Singh has worked in process automation and instrumentation since 2007, building a career that spans industrial and energy markets. He began with a manufacturer’s representative firm supporting mechanical, instrumentation, and analyzer products, then joined Emerson Process Management in 2011. There, he focused on MicroMotion Coriolis, Rosemount Magmeters, and Vortex Meters, serving major producers such as Exxon, Shell, Dow, Monsanto, Chevron, and Marathon to enhance process reliability and efficiency.

He later became Regional Sales Manager for AMETEK Process Instruments, supporting channel partners throughout the Southeastern U.S. and expanding his expertise in process analyzers and integrated systems. In 2021, he founded Kaizen Controls & Automation, an independent manufacturer’s representative firm dedicated to providing innovative analyzer, instrumentation, and control solutions for process industries—reflecting his ongoing commitment to continuous improvement and practical, results-driven engineering support.

The views expressed by Bobby Singh are his own and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of Alicat Scientific.

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