Emerson Process Management has recently acquired Norwegian company Yggdrasil, a provider of flow assurance and production optimization software. Emerson will incorporate Yggdrasil’s METTE production optimization solution into the Roxar reservoir management software portfolio, providing operators with an integrated workflow from seismic interpretation and reservoir modeling to reservoir simulation and production optimization.

The combination of data from predictive reservoir models, production modeling and field instrumentation will enable operators to monitor production continuously and use information from the field when forecasting future reservoir performance and making operational decisions.

“This integration will help our customers align their modeling, uncertainty quantification and simulation data with production; optimize their field development and production plans; and increase oil and gas recovery in today’s challenging environment,” said Kjetil Fagervik, managing director of Emerson’s Roxar Software Solutions. “With this acquisition, Emerson is widening our software portfolio to ensure better decisions and better asset returns.”

METTE is an integrated flow assurance and production modeling solution that provides operators with flow performance calculations for wells and flow lines, integrated field modeling for life of field simulation and optimization, and virtual metering for the allocation of production to wells. Key benefits to operators include flexible production performance calculations, fast network simulation and improved life of field integrated flow assurance.

The hardware descriptions and outputs generated through METTE can also be easily linked with leading reservoir simulators in the market, including Emerson’s Tempest MORE simulator. The result is a completely integrated production modeling system that can be used to refine and develop production strategies and field development concepts.

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won an order from offshore services provider Bumi Armada Berhad to supply electrification and automation systems for a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for a recently discovered oilfield off the coast of Angola. The order was booked in the first quarter.

Bumi Armada, an international offshore services provider based in Malaysia, is building the FPSO by reconfiguring the former Armada Ali supertanker (now renamed the Armada Olombendo FPSO), which has a storage capacity of 1.8 million barrels. The Italian energy company Eni is chartering the vessel.

It will be positioned over the Cabaça North and Cabaça Southeast fields, about 350 kilometers northeast of Luanda, and producing up to 80,000 barrels a day by the end of 2016. With fields so far off shore and 500 meters below the ocean’s surface, the vessel will control the entire extraction process, storing oil and gas until they can be offloaded to shuttle tankers.

To enable and monitor safe and reliable operations, ABB will deliver complete e-house solutions - which house medium voltage and low voltage switchgear - and systems for integrated electrical distribution, control, safety and power management, including ABB’s 800xA distributed control system.

“FPSO vessels offer a competitive solution for the development of deep water and remote oil and gas fields, such as those in the West of Africa. We are pleased to contribute to Bumi Armada Berhad’s latest FPSO project to ensure safe and reliable floating production,” said Stein Guldbrandsoy, ABB’s Global Market Segment Manager for Floating Production Units.

“We aim for long-term partnerships with customers through successful project execution, innovative offshore technology and an extensive service footprint," said Per Erik Holsten, Managing Director for ABB's Oil, Gas and Chemicals business.

ABB’s systems will distribute and manage power necessary to inject 120,000 barrels of water a day into the reservoir and to compress up toDocument Link Icon 120,000 million cubic feet of natural gas.

This order is the fourth collaboration between ABB and Bumi Armada, the fifth largest FPSO supplier in the world. Past projects include a modular e-house package for FPSO vessels operating off India’s west coast, the Kraken oil field in the North Sea and a complete automation package for an FPSO vessel operating in the Balnaves oil field off western Australia.

Eni is the concessionaire of the Cabaça fields, which were discovered in 2009. They’re estimated to have a capacity of some 230 million barrels. The total value of Bumi Armada Berhad’s contract to supply, operate and maintain the FPSO is about $2.9 billion.

Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) recently announced that its automation and security systems will help Freeport LNG Development, L.P. (Freeport LNG) expand its southeast Texas liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal into a world-class liquefaction and export operation.

This expansion will give Freeport LNG 13.9 million tons a year of export capacity. Startup is expected in 2018. Freeport LNG's is one of 10 new or expanded import or export LNG terminals that have been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. HPS will be the integrated main automation contractor (I-MAC) for the expansion project. In this role, HPS will be responsible for designing, delivering and installing the automation, instrumentation, controls, and safety and security systems. The unified approach will be critical in helping the project meet operational and business readiness goals on day-one of startup.

"The expanded I-MAC capabilities that Honeywell brings to this project – and specifically our new LEAP™ project services – will help Freeport LNG start up this terminal expansion faster and within budget," said Pieter Krynauw, vice president for HPS's Projects and Automation Solutions business. "Honeywell's latest technologies, project delivery capabilities and expert services will create a highly integrated infrastructure to boost the plant's profitability."

The terminal, located on Quintana Island near Freeport, Texas, will build three new processing units, or trains, as part of a more than $13 billion expansion, adding gas pretreatment and liquefaction capabilities. Honeywell will supply its automation and control expertise and a unique approach to project consulting and execution to support Freeport LNG's move to exporting LNG in the wake of newly-exploited domestic natural gas resources.

"Such a significant expansion of our business requires us to leverage our strategic partners to ensure we develop the safest, most efficient world-class asset," said Michael Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of Freeport LNG.

Honeywell will go beyond the traditional main automation contractor role to include a broader scope of products, services, and consulting capabilities that add value over the entire project and operating lifecycle of the venture. Specific key deliverables include a number of Honeywell's innovative and patented technologies including LEAP, Honeywell's lean project execution services, Experion® PKS Orion with Distributed Systems Architecture (DSA), Experion Security Integrator, Fault Tolerant Ethernet (FTE), Universal process and safety I/O, virtualization, advanced control, Safety Manager, Fire and gas systems, OneWireless™ Network, Digital Video Manager™ (DVM), UniSim operator training simulator, advanced alarm management software, and PHD data historian.

By leveraging these integrated solutions, Honeywell will reduce risks and minimize potential schedule delays for both Freeport LNG and its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor during the facility expansion's startup. Honeywell has partnered with principals at Freeport LNG for almost a decade to drive supply chain optimization aimed at achieving production and cargo deliveries that meet or exceed Freeport LNG's Annual Delivery Plan.

In a recent move, Emerson announced it has acquired Energy Solutions International Holdings, Inc. (ESI), a leading global supplier of decision support software and services that enhance operational efficiency, commercial profitability and safety across the oil and gas pipeline, storage, marketing and distribution functions.

The acquisition of ESI expands Emerson’s capability to provide complete solutions for automation and operations management throughout the oil and gas transportation industry. ESI’s integrated suite of operational management applications for pipeline modeling, leak detection, and scheduling together with their commercial applications for transactional accounting and inventory management are recognized for improving both operational efficiency and financial profitability. ESI will join Emerson Process Management and become part of the Remote Automation Solutions​ group, a leading global provider of oil and gas supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and fiscal measurement solutions.

“Energy Solutions International’s leading position in these industries is a great strategic fit for Emerson Process Management’s oil and gas SCADA business,” said Craig Llewellyn, president of Emerson Process Management’s Remote Automation Solutions. “Our pipeline and terminal customers are facing increasing challenges to maintain safe operations and achieve financial success, and ESI together with Emerson allows us to offer a complete spectrum of automation and application solutions to help them achieve their goals.”

TengBeng Koid, ESI’s CEO, added “Joining a recognized technology leader with a global presence like Emerson represents a great opportunity for ESI to expand our business growth. ESI together with Emerson is a powerful combination and together will enable us to solve our oil and gas transportation customers’ most difficult automation and operational challenges.”