(World Oil) — bp has awarded Emerson a multi-million-dollar contract to provide automation technologies for the $2.9 billion Shah Deniz Compression project offshore Azerbaijan, supporting increased gas recovery from the Caspian Sea field.
The project represents the next phase of development at Shah Deniz and is designed to access lower-pressure gas reserves as the field matures. It is expected to enable production and export of approximately 50 Bcm of additional natural gas and 25 MMbbl of condensate.
Under the contract, Emerson will provide integrated control and safety systems for a new electrically powered, normally unattended offshore compression platform. The systems will support process control, safety shutdown, fire and gas detection, and power management while enabling remote operation of the facility.
The platform will feature four 11-MW compressors and serve as the central compression hub for gas produced from the Shah Deniz Alpha and Bravo platforms. Operations will be controlled remotely from BP’s onshore Sangachal terminal, approximately 55 km south of Baku.
Emerson’s scope includes its DeltaV Distributed Control System and DeltaV Safety Instrumented System, along with cloud engineering and digital twin technologies for virtual testing, system integration and operator training.
“Emerson has served as the main automation contractor for the Shah Deniz development for over a decade,” said Ram Krishnan, chief operating officer of Emerson. “We are pleased to continue our collaboration with bp, deploying advanced systems to enable remote operations and significantly expand the production profile of Shah Deniz.”
The award extends Emerson’s work with bp in Azerbaijan, where it previously served as the main automation contractor for the Shah Deniz Stage 2 and Azeri Central East developments.
Construction of the Shah Deniz Compression project is scheduled for completion in 2029. First gas compression from the Shah Deniz Alpha platform is expected that year, followed by compression from Shah Deniz Bravo in 2030.
