Rockwell Automation Announces Comprehensive Asset Performance

Allen-Bradley DataSite RTU, PlantPAx system and APM strategies and tools comprise offering

HOUSTON, May 4, 2009 — Rockwell Automation Inc. today announced it now offers a comprehensive portfolio of innovative Asset Performance Management solutions designed to meet the changing needs of today’s oil and gas companies.

“The bad news is that rising global demand, harsher exploration and production environments, declining production from older fields, a shrinking knowledge pool and economic pressures are causing complex and extensive challenges for today’s oil and gas producers,” said Eric Fidler, director of Oil & Gas Segment Marketing for Rockwell Automation. “The good news is that improvements in predictive technologies, especially asset performance management (APM) solutions, offer energy companies effective and efficient ways of improving reliability, reducing downtime and lowering costs.”

According to Fidler, energy companies require innovative methods to maximize existing assets, while achieving greater operational flexibility and scalability. He believes the Rockwell Automation APM portfolio exceeds typical control and safety functionality found elsewhere today.

Products included in the Rockwell Automation APM portfolio targeting oil and gas producers are:

• The Allen-Bradley DataSite RTU, a rugged, high-tech RTU for use in extreme environments and in remote locations powered by solar or wind technologies;
• The Rockwell Automation PlantPAx process automation system that includes systems integration and engineering solutions, control and Web-based visualization platforms, performance and process optimization, and process safety and critical control; and
• Asset Performance Management tools designed to boost reliability and profitability via automated analytics; process condition and asset monitoring; detailed network architecture planning; federated data strategies; tracking and trending software; collaborative dashboards; and automated production reporting.

According to a recent study on asset performance management conducted by Aberdeen Group, optimizing asset performance to maximize the economic value from oil and gas producers’ asset base offers the best path to increasing shareholder value. Best-in-class companies are approaching APM initiatives with a strategic focus that incorporates process, organizational and knowledge management capabilities in addition to their investment in advanced operational capabilities and technologies. Key in this technology mix is the investment in integration of core technologies to enable real-time, closed-loop decision processes.

Mehul Shah, research analyst with the Aberdeen Group, said, "An effective asset performance strategy will enable companies to improve asset utilization and availability resulting in quantifiable business benefits.”

For more information about the comprehensive Asset Performance Management portfolio from Rockwell Automation, please visit www.rockwellautomation.com/industries/oilgas.

Rockwell Automation, Inc., the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information, makes its customers more productive and the world more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., Rockwell Automation employs about 20,000 people serving customers in more than 80 countries.