EMERSON Project Management Expertise drafted in for Brazil’s largest Petrochemical Facility

Here at PIF we were intrigued to hear that Emerson had been commissioned by Brazil’s state-run energy company, Petrobras, to project manage the country’s largest ever petrochemical complex, in the development of the multi-billion-dollar Comperj complex. That’s quite the assignment.

Comperj petrobras

Forty miles (65 km) from the beaches and sugarloafs of downtown Rio de Janeiro a barren expanse of wasteland is being transformed into an energy and petrochemical production centre by Brazil’s state-run energy company, Petrobras.
The new Comperj (Complexo Petroquimico do Rio de Janeiro) complex marks the company’s return to petrochemical production after a twenty-year hiatus. The multi-billion-dollar project will become the largest petrochemical complex in Brazil and Petrobras’ single-largest undertaking in their history.

Comperj is a vital step towards meeting Brazil’s rapidly expanding energy needs as the tenth largest energy consumer in the world and the third largest in the Western Hemisphere (behind the United States and Canada).
In a clear statement of ambition, Petrobras has turned to Emerson Process Management to deliver engineering services and technologies for the process automation and systems integration at Comperj.

This is one of the first industrial projects in Brazil to use the Main Automation Contractor approach. As such, Emerson is not only in charge of engineering and implementing the automation and control systems but is also tasked with managing multiple international and local suppliers throughout the construction and startup phases of the facility.
Helping Petrobras bring the Comperj complex online, on time, and within a set budget, is the clear mandate; not an unfamiliar challenge for Emerson, well versed as they are in assisting leading energy companies on large-scale projects.
The next four years will see Emerson drawing on its local and global expertise to provide systems at the Comperj complex for process control, safety, fire and gas detection, machinery monitoring, and management of process and maintenance information. Measurement instruments, control valves, pressure regulators, and other related products, will also be supplied.

Comperj will be amongst the first installations to utilise Emerson’s new human-centered digital automation system, which enables personnel to carry out tasks with greater ease and efficiently. These state-of-the-art process control and automation technologies will also help to support key priority environmental and worker safety goals.
Emerson teams based in Rio de Janeiro and Sorocaba, São Paulo (their Brazil headquarters) will lead the project work. In 2009, a US$35 million expansion of the Sorocaba manufacturing and operations facility, was unveiled as part of a commitment to help build a more prosperous Brazil, taking their Brazilian employee figures to 1,200 personnel.

Of course with the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games hurtling ever closer, it’s hoped that Brazil’s economic growth will continue apace. Predictions of increased domestic demand for gasoline and diesel fuels as a consequence suggest that Petrobras’ vision and investment, coupled with Emerson’s technology and know-how, on the Comperj project could not have been more timely.

For more information about Emerson visit www.emerson.com.

Story link: Emerson partner with Petrobras to build the Comperj

Video: Steve Sonnenberg Discusses How Emerson Helped Petrobras Build Brazil's Largest Petrochemical Complex

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