Sasol picks Emerson to automate new Louisiana petrochemicals project

Sasol has selected Emerson Process Management to help automate its $8.9-billion petrochemicals project in Lake Charles, Louisiana, designed to take advantage of abundant, low cost natural gas in the US. 

The automation project is one of the largest in history awarded to Emerson.

When completed in 2018, the massive petrochemical complex will more than triple Sasol’s chemical production capacity in the US. The complex includes an ethane cracker that will produce 1.5 million tpy of ethylene, as well as six chemical manufacturing plants designed to convert the ethylene into a diverse range of chemicals. 

Ethylene is a key ingredient in the production of plastics, detergents, anti-freeze, and other petrochemical products.

A business of Emerson, Emerson Process Management implemented a detailed engineering and project execution plan designed to mitigate project risks, lower costs and reduce time to completion.

“For a project of this scale, managing budget and schedule risk is paramount,” said Jim Nyquist, group vice president of Emerson. “This is a great example of our Project Certainty initiative. Early engineering and design work is being used to identify opportunities for automation technology to reduce complexity, create project cost savings, and reduce schedule and cost risks. As the project moves into the execution phase, Emerson is well-positioned to implement the design, accommodate late changes and reduce on-site work – all of which speed execution without compromising quality, safety or reliability.” 

The integrated Emerson solution will include Emerson’s DeltaV distributed control system, DeltaV SIS process safety system, and AMS Suite predictive maintenance software to monitor and control the processes and equipment in each facility. 

Emerson will also provide its Micro Motion and Rosemount measurement and analytical instruments as well as Fisher control valves and regulators to carry out essential measurement and control functions.