Azernews.Az

The U.S. Emerson Process Management signed a contract with the Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC) to automate a new offshore platform in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, within the Chirag Oil Project, the U.S. company reported.

The Chirag Oil Project, to be completed in 2013 and operated by BP Azerbaijan, will enable additional oil to be recovered from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field.

The Project assumes construction of new oilfield platform Western Chirag to be installed at sea depth of 170 meters between production wells Chirag and Gunashli, which have already been in operation. The Chirag Oil Project requires $6 billion in investments.

According to the report, in addition to providing measurement instruments and asset management and automation systems to help BP operate the platform safely and efficiently, as Main Automation Contractor Emerson will deliver project-management services to ensure the equipment is properly installed and integrated to meet technical, budget, and schedule requirements.

The company will be responsible for all automation engineering, acceptance testing, commissioning and configuration, startup and will also provide ongoing support of the automation system.

The President of Emerson Process Management Steve Sonnenberg welcomed the opportunity to work with BP Azerbaijan on this project.

"We look forward to applying our automation technology, our experience managing offshore projects, and our local support capabilities to help make the Chirag Oil Project a success," Sonnenberg said.