UK-headquartered energy giant BP has tasked Emerson with the provision of automation and control systems for an unmanned offshore platform that will be part of the next development phase of a giant natural gas field in the Caspian Sea, described as one of the world’s largest gas-condensate fields and the company’s largest gas discovery.
The Shah Deniz consortium, consisting of BP (operator, 29.99%), Lukoil (19.99%), TPAO (19.00%), Southern Gas Corridor Upstream/SGC (16.02%), NICO (10.00%), and MVM (5.00%), has awarded an automation contract for the Shah Deniz Compression (SDC) project to Emerson.
This deal covers the supply of integrated control and safety systems for remote operations of the SDC platform, including process control, safety shutdown, fire and gas detection, and power management systems to enable real-time visibility and remote control of critical platform operations, helping to enhance safety, reliability, and operational efficiency, while reducing operating costs and supporting long-term performance.
BP describes the award of this contract as an important milestone in the delivery of the SDC project, as the automation and control systems will be a critical component of the unmanned SDC platform, supporting its safe and effective operation throughout its lifecycle.
Ilgar Mammadov, BP’s Project General Manager, commented: “This milestone comes as the overall project continues to make strong progress, with around 30% completion achieved to date and around 2,700 people currently mobilized.
“Engineering and fabrication activities are advancing as planned across multiple work fronts, drawing strongly on Azerbaijan’s resources, expertise and industrial capabilities as we continue to move the project forward.”
The $2.9 billion Shah Deniz Compression project is expected to play a key role in maximizing recovery from the Shah Deniz field, enabling access to additional gas resources and helping sustain production over the long term. This project is expected to enable around 50 billion cubic meters of additional gas and approximately 25 million barrels of additional condensate production and export from the field.
The SDC project, which involves installation of a new compression facility, an electrically powered unmanned compression platform, or normally unattended installation (eNUI), will be installed in 85 meters of water depth, approximately 3 kilometers from the existing Shah Deniz Bravo (SDB) platform.
With four 11-MW compressors onboard, the SDC platform is designed to serve as a host facility for gas compression from both the Shah Deniz Alpha (SDA) and SDB platforms; thus, before flowing to the Sangachal terminal onshore, export gas from the platforms will be compressed at SDC.
The project also includes several associated facilities to be installed offshore in the Shah Deniz contract area and additional brownfield works to be undertaken at SDA, SDB, and the Sangachal terminal. The construction activities are currently underway, with completion expected in 2029 to receive first gas for compression from the SDA platform in 2029 and the SDB platform in 2030.
BP is augmenting its oil and gas arsenal off the coast of Azerbaijan, as illustrated by the start-up of non-associated gas production from the Azeri–Chirag–Gunashli (ACG) field development in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea.
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