How Emerson Automation Accelerates Oil and Gas Production in the Permian Basin
The Permian Basin: A Critical Growth Engine
Even a cursory glance at oil and gas headlines coming out of the Permian Basin makes it abundantly clear: the aptly named energy industry is experiencing a resurgence. The United States is now the largest exporter of liquified natural gas in the world with continued growth expected in the coming years. In fact, the U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that the United States’ export capacity of liquified natural gas (LNG) will double by 2029.
The Permian Basin – which takes up 86,000 square miles in Texas – has a significant role in driving this momentum. The U.S. Geological Survey recently found additional reserves in the Permian, including enough natural gas to supply the nation for 10 months and oil for 10 weeks at current production rates.
Emerson's Role in the Permian Basin: Automation Driving Operational Excellence
As the industry keeps its focus on the Permian Basin, Emerson continues to help companies leverage automation technologies to improve workforce productivity, optimize operations and maximize safe production across the region.
Emerson provides comprehensive solutions to help oil and gas companies in the Permian leverage automation technologies to overcome resource and infrastructure constraints. Our advanced technology solutions make it possible for companies to monitor production and the health of assets from all over the world. In the last three years alone, Emerson has installed more than 600 wireless networks and 11,000 wireless measurement devices in the Permian boosting capabilities for customers eager to realize the benefits of digital transformation technologies.
To bring enhanced oil and gas technologies and services to the region, Emerson opened the Permian Basin Service Center in 2019. The center builds on Emerson’s longtime local Permian Basin presence to help meet the growing demand for leading technologies that provide more insight into customer operations than ever before, as well as software and systems that allow customers to use data to optimize and control their operations. It also serves as a training and education center for the Permian Basin workforce, to provide upskilling necessary to keep pace with changing technologies.
Meeting Capacity Needs: LNG Processing and Safe Expansion
Production efficiency and capacity is a significant issue for this strategic oilfield. Amidst the growing demand for energy, the Permian has a critical need to expand its pipeline capacity for U.S. consumption and export. At its center, Emerson is connecting pipeline operators with local experts and advanced technologies to help safely expand capacity.
One way to address capacity issues is to turn natural gas extracted from the Permian into LNG that can be exported and sold to other areas. LNG processing is highly complex, but Emerson technologies and experts work with companies every day to implement and monitor solutions that make it possible to safely process and transport LNG to centralized production hubs. This includes , advanced monitoring solutions to reduce corrosion in pipelines, detect potential leaks and increase the accuracy of fiscal accounting.
The reliability of this process and the efficiency of experts managing it is key to safely optimizing production. Emerson sensors and remote monitoring capabilities give experts constant, real-time access to diagnostics to ensure that assets continue running smoothly. For a busy industry that is only getting busier, this confidence is critical to maintaining strong operations.
As energy demand and export needs continue to grow, Emerson’s automation technologies and industry expertise help Permian Basin operators scale production safely, efficiently and sustainably. By combining advanced monitoring, remote operations and digital transformation solutions, Emerson is helping the industry improve reliability, optimize performance and support the future of energy production.
