Wärtsilä, Emerson sign global offshore pact

Wärtsilä and Emerson Process Management Tuesday extended their offshore partnership by inking a global alliance pact at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston.
As a part of the expansion, the companies will further integrate energy and automation systems for Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels and semi submersible oil and gas drilling rigs.
“This alliance offers a comprehensive range of control technologies,” said Magnus Miemois, vice president, offshore, at Wärtsilä Ship Power. “The core is two major industrial players in the field getting together. Products are the starting point, but the knowledge is also key to take it to market.”
“The good part of the alliance is we are there at the beginning design phase to the end. Truly cradle to grave,” said David Reif, vice president, Global Hydrocarbon Business Development at Emerson Process Management.
The companies partnered a few years ago and it seemed like a good fit.
“We started working with Wärtsilä years ago mainly in Europe. Now it is a global alliance,” Reif said.
“Our relationship with Emerson has been around for a while,” said Jaakko Eskola, group vice president, Wärtsilä Ship Power. “We feel it has performed extremely well. That is why we want to expand it.
The alliance will take Emerson’s process knowledge with the power-generation, power-distribution and vessel-automation systems Wärtsilä. The two companies will combine a single point for serving FPSO arena.
“With oil prices the way they are know, time to first oil is critical,” said Tom Snead, president of Emerson's process systems and solutions division. “Also, like many other companies, there is a labor shortage and this alliance can help with that. In a global environment, we try to help our customers from global to local.”