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Contracts & Projects Tracke...

Contracts & Projects Tracker - May 2012

13 Jun 2012

PepsiCo is hiring 110 employees in Leicester, UK, as part of a major £15.2m investment in its Walkers manufacturing campus, covering its Bursom and Leycroft Road sites. The investment, said the company, will support the introduction of a new production line at Leicester, making kettle-fried potato crisps.

Shell has awarded Siemens Industry Automation Division a single-source, global contract to supply gas chromatography (GC) units and related systems such as analysis cabinets and shelters. The five-year deal also covers associated services such as front-end engineering and after-sales service. It covers Shell companies, subsidiaries and JVs around the world. GC is used to improve product quality and increase the yield and energy efficiency of processes.

Recent changes in ownership are enabling some long-delayed capital investment projects to begin in the UK petrochemical sector according to Protel, Takeovers such as those at Milford Haven, Pembroke and Stanlow refineries - by Murco, Valero Energy and Essar Energy, respectively - appear to have brought increased stability to the sector. (Read more)

Shell is reviewing the future of its last UK manufacturing site in Stanlow, Cheshire, according to trade union Unite. The move, it said, could mark the end of the group’s manufacturing effort in the UK. (Read more)

The UK’s Technology Strategy Board is to invest up to £1m in SME-led feasibility studies to stimulate innovation in the oil & gas sector and accelerate the development and deployment of new technologies. Study proposals should focus on the areas of increasing oil and gas recovery efficiencies, improving asset integrity and extending the life of offshore installations.

Eni and Rosneft have signed a strategic agreement for the joint development of licenses in the Black Sea and the Barents Sea on the Russian shelf, the exchange of technologies and personnel as well as Rosneft’s acquisition of a stake in Eni’s international projects. Eni and Rosneft will set up JVs, with Eni holding 33.33% in each, to develop the Fedynsky and Tsentralno-Barentsevsky licenses offshore of the Barents Sea, and Zapadno-Cernomorsky license in the Black sea. Eni will fund the exploration needed to confirm the commercial value of the deposits, which are estimated to hold total recoverable resources of 36bn boe.

Kiewit-Kvaerner Contractors, a 50/50 joint venture between Peter Kiewit Infrastructure and Kvaerner, has been authorised by ExxonMobil Canada Properties (EMCP) to proceed with work on the Hebron Project gravity based structure project in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. This follows substantial completion of Feed services and awards the next phase, which includes detailed EPC-related services. Kvaerner estimates its share of this work to be about $125-150m.

CB&I has reported first quarter net income of $59.5m on revenues of $1.2bn for the first quarter of 2012, compared with $50.5m on $954m in Q1/11. New awards totaled $1.7bn compared with $1.0bn a year ago, increasing the company’s backlog to $9.6bn. Included in these new awards were several oil sands opportunities, a FEED study for a US LNG export project, and a US petrochemical expansion project.

Total has announced first production from its Islay gas field in the northern North Sea, 440km NE of Aberdeen. Mainly located in the UK sector and partly in the Norwegian sector and lying in a water depth of 120m, the field has estimated reserves of nearly 17m boe. It has already reached its expected production of 15k boe per day. Islay’s single well is tied-back to the Alwyn North platform via existing subsea infrastructure. This project will help extend the life of Total’s Alwyn production hub.

Drax has recently entered into a contract with the Shepherd Group for biomass-related construction works at its Yorkshire power station. Drax is to invest £50 million this year in new biomass storage and handling facilities and other plant modifications to support its existing co-firing facilities. Shepherd is to assist in delivering the capability to produce up to 20% of the power station’s output from sustainable biomass. (Read more)

China National Petroleum Corp. and Shell China Exploration and Production Co. Ltd have signed a production sharing contract (PSC) for shale gas exploration, development and production in the Fushun-Yongchuan block in the Sichuan Basin – the first shale gas PSC ever signed in China. The contract area covers around 3,500 square km. Shell said it would apply its advanced technology and operational expertise in the project.

Andrew Palmer & Associates, part of the Penspen Group, is to provide detailed design services to EPC Offshore Ltd in support of Ithaca Energy’s Greater Stella Area (GSA) development. The contract follows on from Penspen’s recent work for EPC Offshore on the FEED for this development. It covers the phase 1 subsea structures and associated tie-in infrastructure, consisting of the Stella main drill centre manifold, northern drill centre manifold, export riser base, oil and gas export tee assemblies

Total and the partners of the Bongkot JV have started of production from the Greater Bongkot South (GBS) gas and condensate field in the Gulf of Thailand. The JV is operated by PTTEP (44.45%), alongside partners Total (33.33%) and BG Group (22.22%). The offshore GBS development consists of a central processing platform, a living quarter platform and 13 wellhead platforms. The processing platform has a capacity of 350m cubic feet of gas per day and 15k barrels of condensate per day.

PepsiCo has installed an integrated reuse solution from Siemens’ industry automation division at its snack food plant in Santiago, Chile. As part of a wastewater treatment plant upgrade, the plant is increasing its wastewater treatment capacity by 20% and incorporating environmental technologies. The Siemens system, which is expected to lower fresh water consumption by up to 70%, is due to start up this month. (Read more)

Anglian Water is employing a Börger pump to handle crude imported sludge at its Market Harborough STW. Supplied with a 5.5 kW motor, the Börger PL300 is fitted with long sealing line optimum rotors that increase longevity and volumetric efficiency. The rotary lobe pump replaced an old progressive cavity pump and macerator that kept allowing very stringy amounts of rags through, causing the unit to block up.

Aker Solutions is preparing for major growth in the subsea segment of the oil and gas industry. The company is investing $87m to double the capacity of its manufacturing plants in Tranby, Norway, and Port Klang, Malaysia. In addition, a new service base will also be established in Malaysia.

Emerson is to install its Ovation control system at a 660-MW power plant in Adipala, Indonesia. Due on stream in Q1/13, this is the first supercritical plant to be built by China National Technical Import and Export Corp. The technology will monitor and control the plant’s Babcock & Wilcox Beijing Co. Ltd boiler and Shanghai Electric Corp. turbine: managing some 11,000 I/O point, and the plant’s modulating-control, sequence-control, furnace-safety, feedwater turbine-control and electrical-control systems, as well as the supervisory and plant management system. Emerson will supply 19 Ovation controllers, nine workstations and its EDS enterprise visualisation technology.

CB&I has been awarded a $55m-plus contract for the design, fabrication and construction of storage tanks and associated works for Trans Mountain Pipeline ULC’s terminal located in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada. The project is scheduled for completion in 2013.

A/S Norske Shell has awarded Kvaerner an NOK6-billion, EPCM contract for modifications and projects at the Ormen Lange/Nyhamna onshore facilities on the west coast of Norway. The contract is a framework agreement with duration of six years, and options for additional two plus two years. The Nyhamna gas plant processes natural gas from the Ormen Lange gas field located in the Møre Basin in the southern part of the Norwegian Sea. (Read more)

Atlas Copco has received one of its largest orders ever in South Africa, to deliver Pit Viper 351 blasthole drilling rigs for a value of around SEK250m to Kumba Iron Ore, a unit of Anglo American (AA). They will go to the Sishen Mine in Kathu – one of the world’s largest open-pit mines, which already has ten 351s. Atlas Copco is one of AA’s two preferred suppliers of surface drills with a drill diameter of over 165mm.

Alfa Laval is to supply plate heat exchangers to a fertiliser producer in Morocco. The SEK75m order is due to be finalised in 2014. The heat exchangers will be used in a cooling process in the production of phosphate-based fertiliser.

Emerson has installed its Ovation control system at two new 1,000-MW, ultra-supercritical, coal-fired power-generating units at the Huaneng Qinbei power plant in China’s Henan Province. The addition of Units 5 and 6 is part of an expansion project at the existing 4X600-MW facility. When the new units become operational during the first half of 2012, the power plant will produce a total of 4,400MW.

Finesse Solutions, a maker of solutions for managing complex bioprocess applications, is standardising its third-party data comms on MatrikonOPC technology. Using OPC, Finesse can integrate both large and small numbers of Sartorius Biostat DCU controllers into customers’ DeltaV control network, said Matrikon. This, it added, also allows users to develop more sophisticated control strategies using legacy equipment in a master-slave configuration with TruBio-SCADA.

The Shah Deniz consortium is to commence FEED work on the estimated $25bn Shah Deniz Stage 2 project in Azerbaijan, BP has announced. The project will bring 16bn cubic metres of gas per year from the Caspian Sea to markets in Turkey and Europe, with first exports due around the end of 2017. The FEED work will include refining engineering studies, drilling further wells and initiating construction contracts. The consortium will also finalise its selection of export routes across Turkey and into Europe.

Tata Steel is drawing up plans to invest £800m in its plants in Wales over the next five years, according to a BBC report. The proposed spend is said to be further to the £185m already earmarked for refurbishing the no. 4 blast furnace at Port Talbot.

Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI) has restarted the blast furnace at Redcar on Teesside, which it acquired from Tata Steel in a £290m deal. The former owner mothballed the Teesside Cast Products facility just over two years ago following the loss of major long-term orders. SSI has invested around £700 million in the 3,600ktpa faciilty. (Read more)

BP has awarded Jacobs Engineering Group a contract to provide engineering and procurement services, as well as engineering assistance during construction, commissioning and startup for a major shutdown of the fluid catalytic cracker unit (FCCU) at the 400,000 bpd Rotterdam refinery – Europe’s second largest refinery. Jacobs is currently executing a multi-year programme of micro, mid-sized and large projects at the refinery. For the FCCU shutdown, Jacobs is to replace the end-of-life power recovery train and regenerator ballistic separator and cyclones.

Jacobs Engineering Group is to provide engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) services for the upgrade of the Olefins 4 plant at SABIC’s petrochemical production complex in Geleen, The Netherlands. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2013 as part of the scheduled plant turnaround. The project involve modifications to the existing Olefins 4 naphtha cracker to increase its energy efficiency and ethylene production capacity.

Alfa Laval is to supply fresh water generators to an oil platform in the North Sea. The SEK50m order is due for delivery this year. The units will convert seawater into potable water, for consumption onboard an oil platform in the Norwegian part of the North Sea. The fresh water produced will also be used as process water onboard the platform. The oil platform is one of many operating the Greater Ekofisk area and this particular platform is being upgraded to prolong the “lifetime” with another 40 years.

Aker Solutions has entered a long-term agreement with Statoil to provide a full range of heavy well intervention and light drilling services on the Norwegian continental shelf. The $1.9bn contract period is for eight years, with options for three further two-year periods. Work will be performed from a new build category B well intervention rig, owned by Aker Oilfield Services.

INEOS has engaged KBR to design and construct an ethylene furnace for one of its its US operations. Upon commissioning the unit is expected to provide the highest achievable ethylene yields in the industry. The furnace design will add 465 million pounds per year of furnace production capacity to the INEOS Chocolate Bayou works olefins complex in Alvin, Texas. (More details

Aker Solutions has won a contract from Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore Ltd to supply a complete drilling equipment package for a new jack-up drilling rig, being built by the Chinese yard. The contract value is undisclosed. The new rig is of the 2000E jack-up design, and the contract includes options for a further three jack-up rigs of the same design. Aker Solutions will provide drilling equipment from its production units in Kristiansand and Asker in Norway as well as Houston, US and Erkelenz in Germany.

BASF has chosen Fluor Corp. as its engineering partner for chemicals capital projects across North America. The umbrella services agreement covers conceptual and FEED projects, detailed engineering, procurement, project management and construction management services. Fluor, which is already by BASF’s engineering partner in Asia and Europe, has multiple projects active for BASF including the FEED phase for its TDI project in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

Smurfit Kappa has saved nearly £70,000 by using ABB motion control products in a refurbishment project on a cardboard sheet stacking machine at its facility in Mold, North Wales. The stacker is designed to allow the continuous stacking and discharging of cardboard sheets. It consists of two hydraulic lift tables, each fed via five conveyor sections. (More details)

The UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) has awarded Virtalis a £2.2m contract to provide multiple virtual reality (VR) facilities for its Daresbury and Rutherford Appleton Laboratories. The VR systems will include a quad channel, blended ActiveWall, two dual channel ActiveWalls, and an eight-channel ActiveWall featuring a 10.25m curved screen with both blending and warping. All the systems will feature tracking to give users a greater sense of immersion, as well as powerful 3D interaction capabilities.

DSME and STX, two of the world’s largest shipbuilders, have chosen to install Honeywell automation systems in five vessels commissioned by ship owners in Norway, Russia and the US for transporting LNG. The technology will manage the machinery and cargo areas of the vessels, including the cargo emergency shutdown system. The projects are valued at more than $8m.

Contracts & Projects April 2012

Contracts & Projects March 2012

Contracts & Projects February 2012

Contracts & Projects Dec 11 / Jan 12

Contracts & Projects November 2011

Contracts & Projects October 2011

Contracts & Projects September 2011

Contracts & Projects August 2011

Contracts & Projects July 2011

Contracts & Projects June 2011

Contracts & Projects May 2011

Contracts & Projects April 2011