Contracts & Projects: Sept 2012

Shell Global Solutions International BV has awarded Foster Wheeler the contract to develop a basic engineering package (BEP) for a world-scale mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) facility at Ras Laffan, Qatar. The MEG facility will be part of a new petrochemicals complex in Ras Laffan Industrial City being developed by a JV between Qatar Petroleum and Shell. The two-train MEG facility, based on Shell’s OMEGA technology, is planned to produce 1,500ktpa of MEG. (Read more)

AGR has recently joined forces with Statoil to develop new ‘managed pressure drilling’ systems for floating rigs. The $5.1m development project will build on two technologies. The first is AGR’s EC-Drill system, which has been used on two deep-water wells in the Gulf of Mexico since its introduction earlier this year. EC-Drill is designed to meet a challenge commonly encountered in deep-water wells: drilling close to the fracture pressure. This is achieved by manipulating the bottom-hole pressure by changing the level of drilling mud in the riser. The second technology is the ‘low riser return system’ developed by Ocean Riser Systems.

Alfa Laval has won an SEK85m order to supply fresh water generators and diesel oil purifiers to major offshore platforms in Brazil. Delivery is due to start 2013 and be finalised in 2015. The equipment will be installed onboard the platforms being built for the major oil fields recently discovered offshore Brazil. The generators will convert sea water into fresh water to be used for process water and potable water onboard the platforms. The purifiers will control the quality of the diesel oil being used mainly for power generation.

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has received a 36-month contract from RSPL Ltd to provide engineering services for a new greenfield soda ash plant in Gujarat, India. Under the terms of the contract, Jacobs is providing detailed engineering, project management, procurement and construction supervision services for RSPL Limited’s greenfield project. The capacity of the facility is estimated at 500,000 tons of light soda ash per year, approximately half of which can be converted in the production of dense soda ash.

BOC has won a Euro1.5m contract over 10 years for the provision of gases and technology to Irish pharma company MSD’s Rathdrum site in Co. Wicklow. The plant develops and produces APIs for MSD products manufactured at other sites across the globe. The contract involves constructing a pressure swing adsorption plant for nitrogen generation at the Rathdrum site. The nitrogen is used for blanketing and purging within MSD’s operations.

Under a circa £1.75m contract Hima-Sella has started work on a site-wide PLC upgrade programme for a major UK refinery. This follows the customer’s formal acceptance of Hima-Sella’s remote I/O and network box designs, to be used for the programme. At the site, a HIMA HIMax unit will act as a combined data concentrator and large PLC, communicating with around 100 network boxes distributed over three fibre-optic control loops. Each network box will then interface with up to 12 Remote I/O boxes, which in turn will have 25 channels for physically interfacing with motorised valves, switches, sensors and other hardware.

Petrobras has awarded Foster Wheeler a contract for a world-scale grassroots gas-to-chemicals complex in Linhares, southeast Brazil, called Complexo Gás-Químico UFN-IV. FW will provide basic engineering design (BED), FEED, and technical assistance and training during the EPC phase through to completion of the plant performances tests. It will act as integrator for the entire complex, managing the overall BED and FEED, including managing the process licensors and Brazilian subcontractors. The BED/FEED phase is due for completion in Q4/13. The complex will produce over 1000ktpa of ammonia and urea fertilisers, methanol, acetic acid, plus formic acid and melamine.

Yokogawa Electric Corp. has won an order from Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. Ltd in South Korea to supply control systems for the Mong Duong 2 coal-fired power plant, which is being constructed in Quang Ninh Province in Vietnam. The Mong Duong 2 coal-fired power plant, one of the largest power plants in Vietnam with a total output of 1200 MW (two 600 MW units, is being constructed by AES-VCM Mong Duong Power Co. Ltd, and its first unit is to start operation in August 2014.

ABB has won an order from Statoil to install high voltage subsea cables to supply power to the Troll A gas platform on the western coast of Norway. The Troll A concrete deep water structure is the world’s largest natural gas production platform, 473 metres tall and weighs 1.2 million tons; it is the tallest structure ever to be moved by mankind. The platform can produce as much as 120 million cubic metres per day; it contains approximately 40 percent of the natural gas reserves on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and is a cornerstone of the gas supply to the European Continent.

Foster Wheeler has signed a three-year framework agreement with Apache Khalda Corp. LDC (Apache Khalda) for the provision of consultancy services. Apache Khalda, part of Apache Corp., is one of the leading liquid hydrocarbons and natural gas producers in Egypt. The services to be provided by Foster Wheeler under the framework agreement include design, engineering and project management to assist Apache Khalda in the development and implementation of upstream projects in Egypt.

Wood Group GTS has secured a contract with Pasadena Water & Power for repair and restoration of the GT-1 generating unit at its Glenarm Power Plant in Pasadena, California. The scope of work involves refurbishment of a Pratt & Whitney FT-4 gas turbine generator, including overhaul of the gas generator, supply of a refurbished power turbine and related ancillaries, and turnkey installation of all equipment.

Petrofac is to provide offshore operations and maintenance services for the Iraq Crude Oil Expansion Project. Awarded by Iraq’s South Oil Co, the $100m, 12-month contract covers operations and maintenance services for the new oil export facilities situated approximately 60km offshore the Al Fao Peninsula in Southern Iraq. The facilities include: an offshore platform, metering station, single point moorings, subsea pipelines and tanker operations.

KBR and Shell Global Solutions International BV have expanded their hydroprocessing technology alliance. In addition to hydrocracking and hydrotreating, KBR will also market, sell and provide technology and design packages for Shell Global Solutions deep-flash, high-vacuum unit distillation and thermal conversion technologies worldwide.

SNC-Lavalin has been awarded a $135m, 10-year contract to operate and maintain the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) project located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The KAPSARC project includes a central utility plant with a 5-MW photovoltaic array, water storage tanks, a chilled water plant, a site operations and maintenance building, and transportation operations.

Petrofac has secured a contract with the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) to enhance IADC’s existing system of competence for the drilling community. In addition to generic rig positions, the new project will identify knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) for highly specialised occupations, such as subsea engineers, as well as create formal evaluation process guidelines based on the KSA position requirements

Methanex Corp., the world’s largest methanol supplier, has awarded Jacobs Engineering Group a $550m contract to provide engineering, procurement and construction services for a methanol production facility in Louisiana.

BASF has awarded CB&I a $50m+ EPCM contract for its butadiene extraction plant in Antwerp, Belgium. The plant is scheduled to start up during 2014. This award builds on CB&I’s existing relationship with BASF as licensor of its butadiene technology.

Atlas Copco has won a $17m order for turbocompressors to be installed at an onshore LNG facility in Northern Territory, Australia. The project, operated by INPEX Corp. with partner Total SA will produce LNG using natural gas from the Ichthys Field. The order was issued by the JKC Australia LNG and consists of turboexpanders and air compressors. The machines are scheduled for delivery in 2013.

Wood Group PSN has been awarded an AU$10 million contract by Shell to build the CMMS (computerised maintenance management system) for its Prelude FLNG facility, off the coast of Western Australia. The contract will combine the expertise of WGPSN’s ODL business and its sister company Wood Group Integrity Management (WGIM). It will be delivered by contract teams in Perth, Australia and Aberdeen, UK.

Jacobs Engineering Group has won a five-year enterprise frame agreement to provide engineering and project management services to Shell’s European downstream assets. The contract includes the options to be renewed for an extra five years and/or to be extended to other Shell businesses such as upstream, and to the Middle East and Africa. Services covered range from feasibility studies and small plant modifications to discrete projects for Shell’s refining and chemical sites in Pernis, The Netherlands, and Rhineland, Germany

Sheffield Forgemasters has won a $3m contract to supply pressure vessel components to a large global chemicals manufacturer, based in the US. Forgemasters is to produce forged shells, liners and heads for large-scale pressure vessels, designed to operate under highly stressed conditions in the manufacture of polyethylene.

Mott MacDonald has been appointed by Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Co. to provide contract administration and site overview services for the development of one of the world’s largest underground pumping stations. The pumping station will be over 100 metres deep and will have a peak pumping capacity of about 3.3m cubic metres per day. The £232m project will create 40 jobs and safeguard 10 existing jobs in the UK.

Subterra, a UK developer of utility pipeline rehabilitation systems, has won a Euro180k contract for the sale of 20,000 litres of its Fast-Line Plus resin to Slovakia. The resin allows the in-situ lining of potable water pipelines. Subterra is currently planning to expand its UK production, including recruiting several more staff.