BP has awarded Emerson a multi-million-dollar contract to supply automation technology for the $2.9 billion Shah Deniz Compression project off the coast of Azerbaijan in the Caspian Sea, Emerson said in an Aug. 13, 2026 announcement.
The award extends a collaboration that goes back more than a decade. Emerson was previously the main automation contractor on BP's Azeri Central East and Shah Deniz Stage 2 developments.
Scope and platform detail
Under the new contract, Emerson will supply integrated control and safety systems for a new offshore compression platform, the next stage in developing the Shah Deniz field. The platform will be electrically powered and normally unattended, operating remotely from BP's onshore Sangachal terminal, 55 km south of Baku.
The platform is designed to access low-pressure gas reserves and lift overall recovery from the field. It will carry four 11MW compressors and be the central compression hub for gas piped in from the Shah Deniz Alpha and Bravo platforms.
Emerson's package centers on its DeltaV Distributed Control System and DeltaV Safety Instrumented System. Together they cover process control, safety shutdown, fire and gas detection, and power management, giving operators real-time visibility and remote control of the platform. The companies said the systems are meant to cut operating costs while improving efficiency, safety and platform availability.
The contract also covers cloud engineering services and digital twin technology, which the companies said bring virtual testing, system integration and operator training into one workflow.
Rationale
Emerson said its role spans the full project lifecycle rather than just the initial build, an approach the company said improves schedule predictability and reduces cost and complexity as the project changes over time.
Ram Krishnan, Emerson's chief operating officer, said the company's "proven, end-to-end execution model delivers well beyond the initial build," pointing to more than a decade as the main automation contractor on Shah Deniz.
Output and timeline
BP and Emerson said the compression project is expected to enable about 50 billion cubic meters of additional gas and around 25 million barrels of condensate production and export. Construction is scheduled to finish in 2029. First gas compression is expected from the Shah Deniz Alpha platform in 2029 and from the Shah Deniz Bravo platform in 2030.
