OREANDA-NEWS.    ABB has been awarded a contract to provide an enterprise-wide mobile plant operations management solution for Sadara Chemical Company (Sadara), a joint venture developed by Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) and The Dow Chemical Company (Dow).

Under the scope of the contract, ABB will deliver its shift operations management software solution, eSOMS. The software, which is part of ABB’s Ventyx portfolio, will be implemented across the entire Sadara complex. It will help to ensure the safe, efficient and reliable operation and maintenance of the facility’s assets.

The solution will also enable plant personnel performing maintenance inspections, operator and quality rounds, to capture information in the field with mobile devices and synchronize it with the plant-status database.

“Software is playing an increasingly important role in the management of operations in a range of industries,” said Jens Birgersson, Head of ABB’s Network Management business unit, a part of the company’s Power Systems division. “By automating complex processes and centralizing data facilities, the system for Sadara will help to improve both safety and productivity.”

ABB was also selected as the Main Automation Contractor (MAC) at the beginning of the Sadara project in 2011.

The Sadara complex now being built in Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabia, will be one of the world’s largest integrated chemical facilities, and the largest ever built in a single phase. Its first products are expected to come on line in 2015, with full operations in 2016.