Integrated control and safety systems will help BP manage operations of two new platforms for the Clair Ridge project
AUSTIN, TEXAS (May 30, 2012) -- Emerson Process Management has been awarded a $23 million contract by BP to supply integrated control and safety systems for two new bridge-linked platforms for the Clair Ridge project. Clair Ridge is located in the North Sea to the west of the Shetland Islands, U.K. It is being developed by BP and its co-venturers ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Shell.
In addition to providing automation technology, Emerson will serve as the project’s main automation contractor (MAC) under its global agreement with BP. As MAC, Emerson will conduct front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the integrated control and safety system, as well as other services that include automation engineering, installation, acceptance testing, commissioning, configuration, and start-up support.
The integrated Emerson solution will use Emerson’s PlantWeb™ digital plant architecture, including its DeltaV™ digital automation system, DeltaV SIS™ process safety system, and AMS Suite predictive maintenance software. These digital automation technologies will support BP’s Field of the Future® program for enhancing operating efficiency and oil recovery.
The DeltaV digital automation system will control and monitor platform operations using FOUNDATION fieldbus and Emerson’s Smart Wireless communication technologies. The DeltaV SIS system will perform process and emergency shutdown functions, if needed, plus fire and gas detection to enable secure control of oil production on the platform. Emerson will also provide a high fidelity process model, an operator training system, and on-going support for the automation system.
The integrated control and safety systems will have embedded device management capabilities provided by AMS Suite to enable remote management and diagnostics of valves and instruments from an onshore location. The software’s asset performance capabilities will also give managers a unified interface to assess asset health and criticality, optimize maintenance expenditure, and view key performance indicators that help guide decision-making.
Wellhead monitoring and control functions will take advantage of Emerson’s Smart Wireless technology, which helps reduce engineering and cabling costs as well as installed weight on the offshore platforms. A separate wireless plant network will support applications such as mobile workers and video streaming for flame detection.
BP has also awarded Emerson additional contracts to supply its Micro Motion® Coriolis mass flowmeters; Rosemount®pressure, temperature, radar level, and vortex flow transmitters; Fisher® control valves and regulators; Rosemount Analytical gas chromatographs; and Roxar Watercut meters.
This is one of several offshore projects where customers have turned to Emerson for its automation expertise, which can help producers operate responsibly, get to first production more quickly and easily, improve operating efficiency, and optimize production and yield.
“BP and Emerson share the same ideals of using the latest technologies to improve performance and enhance safety,” said Steve Sonnenberg, president of Emerson Process Management. “We are delighted that BP recognizes the value that our automation technology, our experience in managing offshore projects, and our local support capabilities can add to this project.”
BP has described Clair Ridge as its most significant current project on the UK continental shelf. It will be developed around the latest technologies to enhance oil recovery and improve operating efficiency. The two new platforms are scheduled to be installed in 2015 with production expected to begin in 2016. The new development will have potential peak production of up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day.
The Clair Ridge project is one of four new oil and gas projects being developed by BP and its co-venturers. These BP projects involve a total investment of almost £10 billion in the UK’s oil industry over the next five years and will help to maintain BP’s production from the North Sea for decades to come.
