Gulf Construction Online - Emerson seals Aramco deal

Saudi Focus

Collaboration ... Farr and Nasser sign the agreement.

Emerson seals Aramco deal

01 July 2017

Emerson has signed an agreement with Saudi Aramco to collaborate on digital transformation of the global oil giant’s operations in the kingdom.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was inked by David Farr, Emerson’s chairman and chief executive officer, and Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco’s president and CEO, during the recently held Saudi-US CEO Forum in Riyadh.

It will help bring advanced digitisation and automation technologies to one of the leading energy and chemicals companies.

Emerson was one of several companies chosen by Saudi Aramco to promote bilateral trade and investment between Saudi Arabia and the US.

“This collaboration will aid in strengthening the digital transformation of Saudi Aramco,” said Farr. “More doors will be opened for developing talent and training our workforce across the kingdom.”

The agreement paves the way for Emerson to explore collaboration with Saudi Aramco in the following areas:

• Use of Emerson’s Plantweb digital ecosystem, which utilises the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), wireless, and smart instrumentation technologies;

• Training for Saudi Aramco employees;

• Digital oil field initiatives;

• Research and development of advanced applications for process automation;

• Consultancy services in the areas of reliability, energy conservation, and flow assurance; and

• Emerson’s Project Certainty initiative to help Saudi Aramco reduce costs and schedules for future projects.

As part of the agreement, Emerson will continue investing in the kingdom by training Saudi Aramco engineers and technicians through its educational facility and creating more jobs for Saudi locals.

The US engineering major will also provide Saudi Aramco with its operational certainty offerings which are designed to increase the reliability of existing facilities and get more value out of existing assets.

Emerson’s support for Saudi Aramco is reflected in the development of its own facility in Dhahran Techno Valley that is under construction and scheduled for completion in January 2018.