Emerson selected as Main Automation Contractor by PDO - to automate Oman oil field

Petroleum Development Oman chooses Emerson and PlantWeb architecture with FOUNDATION fieldbus to boost production and assure safety

AUSTIN, TEXAS (October 27, 2003) - Emerson Process Management, a business of Emerson (NYSE:EMR), has been selected by Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) to automate a new gas/oil separation plant at Barik Gharif field.

Emerson won a competitive Main Automation Contractor (MAC) bidding tender, and will supply PlantWeb® digital plant architecture with FOUNDATION fieldbus technology for the approximately $3.4 million project that will increase safety and efficiency. This will be Emerson's ninth project to supply PlantWeb architecture for PDO projects in Oman.

PDO is the major exploration and production company in the Sultanate. It accounts for more than 90 percent of the Middle Eastern country's crude oil production and nearly all of its natural gas supply. PDO has committed to deliver a sustained 800,000 barrels a day for Oman by 2007, fulfilling the full potential of the Barik field for the Oman people.

In addition to automating the Barik Gharif Central Gathering Station, the project includes remote monitoring and control of eight gas injection wellheads into two remote manifold locations where the flowlines from the individual wellheads are combined. Front end engineering and design of the project is under way, and startup is scheduled for spring 2004. The crude oil produced at Barik will be transported to the coast via Saih Rawl Station.

"Safety and production efficiency are key drivers for our projects in Oman," said Rashid Bidwawi, Barik project engineer of PDO. "For this reason, the technology used for our automation projects is most important. We employ remote management of often unmanned facilities, and we view Emerson's PlantWeb with FOUNDATION fieldbus to be leading technology to deliver the functionality needed for our challenging process environment. The technology and the strong local support by Seven Seas Petroleum, Emerson's local business partner, have again competitively placed Emerson to provide the complete technical and commercially viable solution for this project in Oman."

The Barik Central Gathering Station will be operated remotely from Qarn Alam. Also, the facility will integrate production data into the Corporate PI server in Mina Al-Fahal, on the coast. PDO also requires the ability to do remote engineering and diagnostics of the system and field devices from the wellhead, manifolds, and central gathering station.

"PDO has established itself as an innovator that applies the latest, proven technology to deliver safe and effective operations, and we are very pleased to be selected for this repeat business," said John Berra, president of Emerson Process Management. "We are committed to delivering the operational excellence PDO seeks, and Emerson personnel are already hard at work locally in Oman, with coordinated engineering and integration efforts in Holland. We look forward to the 2004 commissioning and startup."

As MAC, Emerson's scope of supply includes engineering, project management, commissioning, and training. Front end objectives include executing quick start-up and commissioning to decrease loss of revenue and limit any deferred oil production from the existing facility. Increased safety will be realized by doing much engineering remotely from the coast.

Emerson's scope of technology supply includes control systems, all required/associated field instrumentation plus engineering services, and integration of emergency shutdown systems from subsupplier Hima. For control and automation, the PlantWeb architecture will include DeltaV - digital automation systems with AMS- Suite predictive maintenance software.