Multi-Million-Dollar Contract for North Sea Oil Production

Integrated control and safety systems will help BP manage operations of two new platforms for the Clair Ridge project.

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, UK. 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 programme 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, optimise maintenance expenditure, and view key performance indicators that help guide decision-making.

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.

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.