ExxonMobil: Pioneering Open Automation Technology

Summary

Did you know that at every large manufacturing site there are tens of thousands of individual instruments–things like pumps, valves and pressure gauges that monitor and control the operation?

They’re the nervous system that keeps everything humming. Cool, right?

You know what’s even cooler? ExxonMobil thinks it’s high time for a revolution in the technology used to control all these instruments. That’s why we’ve helped lead the development of a new control system architecture that uses the same types of technologies that power the internet and smartphones.

This new technology is called Open Process Automation (OPA), and we’re proud to be the first company in the world to deploy it at scale at a commercial operation—at our Resin Finishing Plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Figure 1). The plant makes high-quality adhesive resins used in products like tapes, sealants and medical adhesives.

Lower costs, more innovation

What’s so special about OPA? The key word is “open.”

Just like technologies that let you easily download an app, or plug new hardware into a USB, OPA’s modular, plug-and-play design lets manufacturers quickly install upgrades and deploy new technologies from different vendors. It’s a big change from the closed, proprietary systems used at most industrial sites today.

OPA can deliver a range of benefits, but the big two are:

• Reduced costs: We estimate OPA will cost at least 20% less over its lifespan compared to traditional industrial control systems.
• More innovation: With OPA, we can quickly implement new applications that optimize the performance and output of our refining and chemical sites. Such optimization can result in improved efficiency and better products for customers (Figure 2).

OPA: Not just for the energy industry

We aim to deploy this new automation technology at more of our sites around the world. And by sharing what we’re learning in Baton Rouge, we hope to encourage OPA’s adoption across other manufacturing industries, such as food and beverages, metals and mining, automotive and pharmaceuticals.

Still, we recognize that changing the industry standard for process control system technology will take time, and more than just ExxonMobil. That’s why we’ve been working with other companies across a range of industries.

We’re a founding member of Open Process Automation Forum, the information-sharing arm of The Open Group, a global consortium of more than 100 companies promoting vendor-neutral technologies like OPA.
 

A decade-long effort pays off

ExxonMobil has been leading the push toward OPA for more than 10 years. It started when a group led by ExxonMobil engineers began advancing what was then a novel concept: applying standards-based, open architecture technology to an industrial control system.

In 2018, these innovators were awarded a U.S. patent, which ExxonMobil later donated to The Open Group to help accelerate the development of OPA systems across industries. In 2020, a prototype at our research facility in Clinton, N.J. became the first OPA system to control a hydrocarbon process under high pressure and temperature. The success of that project—and extensive test-bed development—paved the way for the installation in Baton Rouge.

David DeBari, a veteran ExxonMobil process control engineer whose name is on that 2018 patent, sees OPA as a “quantum leap forward” in technology – akin to when industries shifted away from pneumatic controls in the early 1980s. “I’ve been doing automation and process control work my whole career and it’s great to see ExxonMobil leading the way.”

Whit McConnell, chief automation and process control engineer, said, “Moving to an open, secure, standards-based system will help promote innovation and increase the return on automation investments. By demonstrating the technology at scale, we’re making it easier for industry. We’re paving the way.”

All photos courtesy ExxonMobil.

_{This feature originally appeared in the May 2025 edition of Automation.com Monthly.}