BP Awards Major Automation Contract For Upgrades At Three Largest U.S. Facilities

Austin, TX - Emerson Process Management, a business of Emerson, and BP International Ltd., one of the largest oil and gas producers in the United States, announced a contract naming Emerson as the main automation contractor for the replacement of aging process automation systems at BP's three largest U.S. refineries.

The contract covers 18 units at three BP U.S. refineries – Whiting, Ind., Texas City, Texas, and Carson, Calif. Combined, these facilities refine about 1 million barrels of crude per day, or about 7 percent of total U.S. refining capacity. The upgrades are part of BP's ongoing commitment to improving facilities in North America.

Under the contract, new DeltaV digital automation and control systems will be installed in 18 different production units at these refineries, resulting in improved efficiency and reliability in the refining process. Critical units to be upgraded include fluid catalytic cracker units, cokers, ultracrackers and alkylation units.

As the main automation contractor, Emerson will be responsible for the front-end engineering design, detailed design, and implementation of the new digital systems.

In addition to process automation, networking the systems with intelligent measurement instruments and digital valves will enable Emerson's PlantWeb® digital automation architecture, providing a platform that also supports asset management applications to help the refineries optimize performance.

Emerson will work with BP to set the standards, processes and implementation procedures for the upgrade projects. Other control system elements such as field measurement devices and control valves will be replaced as needed.

"Following an extensive evaluation of the supply market and available technologies, BP has taken a strategic decision to introduce Emerson digital control systems into its refining base," said Patrick E. Gower, Refining Vice President, U.S. Region for BP. "The powerful combination of Emerson's proven DeltaV systems, PlantWeb technology and a compelling value proposition positioned Emerson as the supplier of choice for this program and now resets the baseline for this sort of project."

Following are some additional details about the BP facilities undergoing digital automation upgrades:

• BP's Whiting refinery is located near Chicago. Operational since 1890, the refinery has more than 400,000 barrels a day of processing capacity. It is the fourth largest refinery in the United States, and produces enough gasoline to fill more than half a million automobiles daily.

• BP's Carson refinery, located near Los Angeles, has been operating since 1923. The Carson refinery processes 270,000 barrels of oil per day into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and petroleum coke. The refinery supplies about 25 percent of the Los Angeles gasoline market.

• BP's Texas City refinery, located south of Houston, began operation in 1934, and is BP's largest refinery worldwide, and the third-largest refinery in the United States. It has a crude capacity of about 450,000 barrels per day. The Texas City refinery, which makes about 2.5 percent of all gasoline sold in the United States, is capable of producing about 10 million gallons per day of premium and unleaded regular gasoline, 100,000 barrels a day of diesel fuel, and 40,000 barrels a day of jet fuel.

"We're excited that BP is continuing its commitment to developing its relationship with Emerson by upgrading these important refineries with our PlantWeb digital architecture," said John Berra, president of Emerson Process Management. "This contract highlights the combining of our main automation contracting expertise and digital technology to help BP upgrade the three sites to smart refineries, and gain the maximum value from our automation systems and asset management software. Emerson may well play a vital role in engineering other necessary instrumentation and control systems for BP as these projects get under way."

SOURCE: Emerson Process Management