Book excerpt: A practical treatment of power system design within the oil, gas, petrochemical and offshore industries. These have significantly different characteristics to large-scale power generation and long distance public utility industries. Developed from a series of lectures on electrical power systems given to oil company staff and university students, Sheldrake's work provides a careful balance between sufficient mathematical theory and comprehensive practical application knowledge. Features of the text include: Comprehensive handbook detailing the application of electrical engineering to the oil, gas and petrochemical industries Practical guidance to the electrical systems equipment used on off-shore production platforms, drilling rigs, pipelines, refineries and chemical plants Summaries of the necessary theories behind the design together with practical guidance on selecting the correct electrical equipment and systems required Presents numerous 'rule of thumb' examples enabling quick and accurate estimates to be made Provides worked examples to demonstrate the topic with practical parameters and data Each chapter contains initial revision and reference sections prior to concentrating on the practical aspects of power engineering including the use of computer modelling Offers numerous references to other texts, published papers and international standards for guidance and as sources of further reading material Presents over 35 years of experience in one self-contained reference Comprehensive appendices include lists of abbreviations in common use, relevant international standards and conversion factors for units of measure An essential reference for electrical engineering designers, operations and maintenance engineers and technicians.