Sasol, an international energy and chemical company, has selected Emerson Process Management to help automate its $8.9 billion petrochemical complex in Lake Charles, Louisiana, designed to take advantage of abundant, low cost natural gas. The automation project is one of the largest in Emerson’s history.
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.
When completed sometime in 2018, the massive petrochemical complex will more than triple Sasol’s chemical production capacity in the United States. The complex includes an ethane cracker that will produce 1.5 million tons of ethylene annually, 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.