P&ID or Piping and Instrumentation Diagram is a crucial knowledge in the Oil and Gas industry! Here is why…
P&ID in short, is a schematic illustration of a functional relationship between piping, instrumentation and system components in other words, the P&ID shows the piping and related components of a physical process flow. It’s most commonly used in the engineering field. When it comes to the Oil and Gas industry you will see P&ID’s in refineries, chemical plants, production facilities offshore and much more.
The piping and instrumentation diagram has a close relation to the process flow diagram (PFD) that explains a rather typical flow of plant processes concerning major equipment of a plant facility.
P&ID’s are used in order to maintain or modify a process effectively. It also aids in the design of schemes for control and shutdown, requirements for safety and regulation, operational details and understanding, sequences for start-up.
P&ID’s are usually created by the engineers in charge of designing the facilities that require complex chemical or mechanical processes that are mapped out with P&ID’s. Then other engineers such as field techs, engineers and operators use them to better understand the process, maintain the facility and to ensure that the instrumentation is what is it’s supposed to be by design when it comes to the management of change for example. The P&ID’s are also a great tool for training and onboarding of new team members.
In order to be able to understand P&ID’s, engineers must learn the many P&ID’s symbols that make up the diagram. A great start to learn about P&ID’s and P&ID symbols is this video course available right here on Petrolessons: INTRODUCTION TO P&IDs.
