Leading Technologies Maximize Growth in the Energy-Rich Permian Basin 

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. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from the United States are set to experience the strongest year ever, following a record-breaking 2018. In fact, the U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that U.S. LNG export capacity will double by the end of 2019, making it the third-largest in the world behind Australia and Qatar. 

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 found the Permian holds nearly 50 years of fuel at current production rates. 

As the industry turns its eyes to the Permian, Emerson is taking a leadership role with a critical mission: helping companies leverage technologies to improve workforce productivity, optimize operations and maximize safe production in the energy-rich space. 

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 anywhere in 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 recently opened a new Permian Basin Service Center. 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.

Production efficiency and capacity is a significant issue for the fast-expanding region. 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 new 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 new, 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 the landscape of energy continues shifting, we see an opportunity to help the industry fuel its innovation – and put the latest digital transformation technologies to work.