Emerson has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Saudi Aramco during the recently held Saudi-US CEO Forum in Riyadh.
The agreement signed by David N Farr, chairman and CEO, Emerson, and Amin H Nasser, president and CEO, Saudi Aramco, 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 United States, and to further cement the strong historic relations between the Kingdom 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,” added Farr.
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, wireless, and smart instrumentation technologies; training for Saudi Aramco employees; digital oil field initiatives; research and development of advanced applications for process automation; and 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 Emerson’s educational facility and creating more jobs for Saudi locals.
Emerson 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 continued support for Saudi Aramco is reflected in the development of its own facility in Dhahran Techno Valley that is currently under construction. Emerson is investing US$25 million in this facility to provide support and services to the oil and gas, mining and other process industries across Saudi Arabia.
The Emerson facility will contain offices, training facilities for local talent development, a service and light manufacturing workshop, a technology and collaboration centre, as well as laboratories specialising in control systems, flow metering technologies, and research and development. The facility is scheduled for completion in January 2018.
