Siemens has been selected by Orica Ltd (ASX: ORI) to implement its integrated control and safety solution, SIMATIC PCS 7, throughout the Ammonium Nitrate plant being constructed in Bontang, Indonesia by PT Kaltim Nitrate Indonesia (KNI), a joint venture involving the Orica group.

When fully operational in 2011, the Siemens SIMATIC PCS 7 will enable KNI to produce up to 300,000 tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate per annum, a chemical used for high quality commercial explosives for the resources market. 

“KNI has already committed more than US$200 million to the design and construction of the plant,” said Siemens Executive Manager Marketing, Ashish Bhat. “SIMATIC PCS 7 is world renowned as a superior automation system as it guarantees a high performing plant with the added benefit of unparalleled safety, security and reliability.

“The SIMATIC PCS7 offers excellent diagnostic visibility, reduced lifecycle costs, migration solutions and seamless integration to the existing plant or future modifications.

“Due to our demonstrated success in automation across many industries, we are confident that our proven process control solution, along with our global expertise and experience in this area, can be capitalised on by the hydrocarbon processing industries.

Siemens’ extensive experience in the automation area as well as our local presence in Indonesia was instrumental to our successful appointment as a supplier of the process control system for the project.

The PCS7 was the ideal choice for integrating all of the existing plant components due to its modular design which allowed for seamless integration. Furthermore, the system can easily be scaled up in order to meet rising demands in the future.

Safety was also a critical component of the new plant development and the PCS7 offers smooth integration between the operational and safety processes.

As the project is being managed from Australia, Siemens was able to provide local support on and off site, both during and after the project’s completion which was an important criteria for KNI

Siemens is excited to be supporting KNI. Our technologies achieve production superiority without jeopardising the quality and safety of products, people, machinery and environments,” Mr Bhat said.

To execute the project across multiple locations, Siemens has the local support of PT Siemens Indonesia and the Siemens Centre of Competence in Singapore.