Fossil Fuel-fired Power Plants can be a Positive rather than A Negative Contributor to Water Quality

Operators of coal-fired power plants and gas turbine combined cycle power plants can utilize municipal wastewater for cooling and other needs. When they also eliminate discharges through zero liquid discharge (ZLD) technology they become positive rather than negative contributors to water quality.  Water lost through evaporation can be greatly reduced by heat extraction from the flue gas before it reaches the scrubber.  This also reduces total CO2/MW and makes the plant greener in every sense.

The markets and technology for this approach will be discussed in a free webinar on February 25th at 10:00 a.m. CST.

The various geographical markets will be analyzed.  China is embracing ZLD in its power plants as well as its coal-to-chemical facilities.  Gas turbine combined cycle power plant developers in the U.S. are selecting ZLD not only in arid areas but generally to avoid the need to obtain water discharge permits.  ZLD is the preferred option in Saudi Arabia and surrounding countries.

The availability and cost of treated municipal wastewater will be reviewed.  In general, power plants are near enough to municipal treatment plants to make the use practical.

Technologies to minimize evaporation losses will also be discussed.  The potential is being increased by new developments such as catalytic filtration at 850oF.

China is making the largest investment in ZLD.  Huaneng Group, China’s largest power producer, has constructed a 1.3 GW state-of-the-art ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant at the Changxing Power Station in Zhejiang Province.

•The plant uses Oasys’ technology to treat the wastewater from flue gas desulfurization (FGD).

•The system treats up to 650 cubic meters of wastewater a day. Startup was early 2015. The system uses forward osmosis separation technology.

Aquatech has supplied ZLD systems for a number of power plants and coal-to-chemicals plants.  Enel has purchased several systems from Aquatech for its Italian coal-fired power plants. Aquatech has a Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) plant in a coal-to-chemicals facility in Inner Mongolia. The ZLD plant incorporates HERO™ (High Efficiency Reverse Osmosis) and a Thermal Brine Concentrator. The plant will treat 2400 m3/day of wastewater and reuse 92.5 percent of it, producing 2000 m3/day of process water and 220 m3/day of distilled water for various end user applications.

China has some ZLD systems using evaporators but is leaning toward the cheaper route of using flue gas to evaporate liquid in the sludge. The spray drier approach is being offered by Mitsubishi, URS and other international companies.

The various approaches for evaporation of water from slurries will be analyzed.  One option is a falling film evaporator (inside the brine concentrator vessel) that is seeded with calcium sulfate to minimize scale formation.

Mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) is the method by which a blower, compressor or jet ejector is used to compress, and thus, increase the temperature of the vapor produced.  In this way, the vapor can serve as the heating medium for the ZLD solution being concentrated. The efficiency and feasibility of this process lies in the efficiency of the blower or compressor and the heat transfer co-efficient attained in the heat exchanger contacting the condensing vapor and the boiling ZLD liquid.  Several different blower and compressor options will be reviewed.

The discussion will also include the co-combustion of sewage sludge and the use of gasified sludges as reburn fuels in coal-fired boilers.

Click Here to Register

A full review of the options for coal-fired power plants is provided in 44I Power Plant Air Quality Decisions.  A full review of options for gas turbines is part of  Gas Turbine and Combined Cycle Decisions.  Both of these services are free of charge to power plants and by subscription for others.

Innovations Changing the Industrial Scrubber Industry

End users and suppliers are both challenged to keep up with the rapid developments in particulate scrubbing, gas absorption, gas adsorption, dry scrubbing, condensation separation and biofiltration in industrial processes such as iron and steel, cement, waste-to-energy, natural gas treatment and sewage sludge incineration (scrubbers in coal-fired power are analyzed separately).

The drivers behind this rapid pace are regulations and innovations. The regulations in one country soon are copied in others.  The innovations in one industry are eventually embraced by other industries but not as quickly as they should be.  It is highly desirable to continually determine how the successes in one application can be applied to others.

Regulations:

Foundry cupolas, BOF furnaces, and waste-to-energy plants can no longer rely on particulate scrubbers to meet the stringent emission standards.  Instead fabric filters are the leading choice.  This has led to the development of dry scrubbers which can be used in combination with fabric filters.  So the dry scrubber segment has grown robustly while the particulate scrubber segment has stagnated.

However, even newer regulations identifying condensibles as a component of total particulate has opened the door to the wet approach.  Regulations addressing liquid and solid waste have favored dry scrubbing.  However, some new wet approaches resulting in usable byproducts have caused growth in the wet scrubbing segment.

Condensation scrubbing is a growing segment thanks to the concern with greenhouse gases and the potential for extracting heat from exhaust gases.

Innovations:

The air pollution control systems in waste-to-energy plants in Europe incorporate a number of innovations.  Four stages of scrubbing result in hydrochloric acid, gypsum, precious metals, salable ash and capture of the exhaust gas heat.

The development of highly reactive lime particles coupled with catalytic filters allow acid gas, NOx and particulate removal at 850°F.  The heat from the clean gas is then easily extracted.  Glass furnaces, biomass combustors and other sources have embraced this technology.

There are innovative ways to remove mercury.  The non-ferrous smelting industry is using unique chemistry in wet absorbers.  A number of sewage sludge incinerator operators in the U.S. have incorporated mercury adsorber modules into their scrubbers.  The modules can handle the wet gas leaving the mist eliminators.

Membrane contactors are proving to be an improvement for separating gases such as CO2 and H2S.

The cutting edge technology is ionic liquids being used in mercury removal from natural gas.  This promises to have wider application for pollutant removal in many combustion sources.

A gas bubble encapsulation technology is still in the pilot stage but the conversion of the gas stream into bubbles one-thirtieth of one inch in diameter creates mass transfer surfaces thousands of times greater than packed towers on plate columns. The problem is the physical separation of the gas and liquid components after the absorption takes place.  The company which solves this problem will change not only pollution control but many chemical processes.

The venturi scrubber which has been rejected for particulate scrubbing, may find a revival as a critical component of rare earth recovery from flyash.  It can capture both HCl and particulate and start the leaching process of the rare earths all in one step.  Additional particulate removal then takes place in wet precipitators.

McIlvaine is conducting cross pollination webinars.  Decision guides in a number of industries are displayed and discussions regarding wider use of innovations encouraged. These discussions are free to everyone.  The decision guides are included in the following two services:

2ABC Scrubber/Adsorber/Biofilter Knowledge Systems

N008 Scrubber/Adsorber/Biofilter World Markets

 

Daily Project Posting in McIlvaine Oil, Gas, Refining Supplier Program  February 2016

Oil/Gas/Shale/Refining E-Alert 

February 2016 – No. 1  

This alert is being issued twice per month for suppliers in flow control and treatment who are coordinating market research with targeted pursuit of the larger and longer term orders.

PROJECTS

The following projects each will result in millions of dollars of orders for flow control and treatment products. Each project has been rated. The opportunity size is rated from 1-10 with 1 being small and 10 being very large. The timing for flow and treatment orders has been provided by year e.g., T 16 = timing of order is 2016.

 Shell Offshore Awards Yokogawa Contract to Deliver Process Control and Safety Equipment for Appomattox Development

Yokogawa Corporation of America was recently awarded a contract by Shell Offshore Inc. to deliver the process control/process safety equipment and associated software for its Appomattox development located in the Mississippi Canyon in the deep water Gulf of Mexico. Yokogawa’s CENTUM VP DCS will be used for managing Topsides Process Control and Subsea Sequence of Operations, and the ProSafe-RS Logic Solver will be used to ensure Process Safety. This is Yokogawa’s second integrated Topsides/Subsea Kit delivered to support Shell’s Gulf of Mexico portfolio, and this kit will be developed and delivered from its North American Headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas. Yokogawa’s approach continues its position as an Integrated Team with its Oil and Gas customers. The project is located in the Gulf of Mexico’s deep Norphlet geologic trend, where Shell is currently the first to achieve commercial discoveries. The Appomattox project will consist of a semi-submersible, four-column production host platform, a subsea system featuring six drill centers, 15 producing wells, and five water injection wells.

 Jacobs Awarded Pre-FID Study Contract for Baltic Gas Project (T17)

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. announced February 2 it was awarded a contract to conduct a pre-final investment decision (Pre-FID) study for the onshore gas treatment plant of the Baltic Gas Project in the Polish sector of the Baltic Sea for Baltic Gas Sp. z o.o. i wspólnicy sp. k (“Baltic Gas”). The project is being undertaken on behalf of Baltic Gas by a partnership established specifically for the Baltic Gas Project between CalEnergy Resources Poland Sp. z o.o. (“CalEnergy”) and LOTOS Petrobaltic S.A. CalEnergy is the operator for the project development phase. The Baltic Gas Project involves the concurrent development of the B4 and B6 gas fields via offshore production facilities in the Baltic Sea; some 110 kilometers of subsea export pipelines to shore; and an onshore gas treatment plant. The gas is to be processed through the onshore gas treatment plant to remove LPGs and condensate and produce sales gas to the required sales specification. In conducting the Pre-FID study, Jacobs’ role includes developing the design for the onshore gas treatment plant and associated facilities and generating a robust capital cost estimate based on vendor quotations for high value and long lead items to underpin the final investment decision during the second half of 2016. The company is utilizing its workshare capabilities to complete the work, coordinating the project from its Melbourne office.

 Ahdi Field Gas Plant Starting in Pakistan with Additional Wells

Pakistani government officials have inaugurated a third natural gas processing plant at Adhi oil and gas field operated by Pakistan Petroleum Ltd. about 70 km south of Islamabad. The plant will support production from eight development wells planned after a reservoir study indicated further potential from the field. Six of the wells have been drilled. The plant has capacities of 25 MMscfd of gas, 150 tonnes/day of LPG, and 5,500 b/d of crude oil and condensate. Average Ahdi production from 16 wells is 50 MMscfd of gas, 2,000 b/d of NGL, 4,500 b/d of NGL, and 155 tonnes/day of LPG. Pakistan Petroleum’s partners in the field are Oil & Gas Development Co. Ltd. and Pakistan Oilfields Ltd.

Alaska’s Walker Presses ANS Producers for more Progress on LNG Export Project

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker (I) notified three Alaska North Slope oil and gas producers that he will consider other ways to generate revenue for the state if more progress is not made on reaching operating milestones for the Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas Project before the legislature completes its regular session.

 BHP Billiton Says Trinidad and Tobago Deep Water could Contain Top-tier Prospect (07)

The deep water offshore Trinidad and Tobago represents the possibility of a “Tier 1” prospect for BHP Billiton Petroleum (BHPB), David Rainey, president of exploration, told delegates at the annual Trinidad & Tobago Energy Conference hosted by the Energy Chamber of Trinidad & Tobago in Port of Spain. Rainey said BHPB defines a Tier 1 prospect as a petroleum system that has at least 5 billion bbl of oil in place and is able to deliver at least 100,000 boe/d to the company. Rainey said the company recently completed a seismic acquisition campaign in its deepwater acreage. He showed a cross-section of the seismic survey, calling attention to the first prospect—Le Clerc—which is a very large geological structure that BHPB suspects could be oil-prone based on the results of a piston core test. Rainey said, “That red patch at the top of the structure likely indicates the presence of hydrocarbons. It doesn’t say anything about the type of hydrocarbon, or the thickness or quality of the reservoir, but it is certainly an encouraging observation.” BHPB plans to drill two wildcats with the possibility of a third well, depending on results of the first two wells, Rainey said. Each well will cost $100-200 million to drill. Rainey explained that the decision to pursue seven deepwater blocks offshore Trinidad and Tobago is because the company believes it has a good chance of making Tier 1 finds. “We are not looking for one-off opportunities. We are looking for opportunities we can explore for a decade, and produce for half a century,” Rainey said.

 Oman Reveals List of Approved Bidders for Proposed Refinery Project

Duqm Refinery & Petrochemical Industries Co. LLC (DRPIC), Muscat, a joint venture of state-owned Oman Oil Co. and the United Arab Emirates’ International Petroleum Investment Co. (IPIC), has revealed its shortlist of prequalified tenderers selected to bid on design and construction of a grassroots 230,000-b/d refinery to be built in Oman’s Duqm Special Economic Zone (SEZAD) in Duqm. Selected in November 2015, the list of preapproved entities includes a combination of seven joint ventures, alliances, and sole entities composed of 15 international companies that have been invited to submit bids for engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of the planned refinery, DRPIC said. The prequalified bidders, which were invited to a late-December 2015 open forum and briefing session in Duqm to clarify the tender process and tour the construction sites, include the following: • A JV of CB&I BV, The Hague, and Taiwan’s CTCI Corp., Taipei. • A JV of South Korean firms Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd., Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd., and Hyundai Engineering Co. Ltd., all of Seoul. • Fluor Corp. subsidiary Fluor Transworld Services Ltd., Hoofddorp, Netherlands. • A JV of JGC Corp., Yokohama; South Korea’s GS Engineering & Construction Corp., Seoul; and Italy’s Saipem SPA, Milan. • A JV of Petrofac International Ltd., Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; South Korea’s Samsung Engineering Co. Ltd., Seoul; and Chiyoda Corp., Yokohama. • South Korea’s SK Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd., Seoul. • A JV of Tecnicas Reunidas SA, Madrid, and South Korea’s Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd., Seoul. DRPIC plans to award a total of two EPC contracts for the project this year, including a larger package for all equipment and structures required for main crude oil processing units, as well as a second package to cover all supporting installations, utilities, tankage, and buildings. While the company has yet to reveal timelines for either construction or possible startup of the refinery, DRPIC last year awarded a contract to Galfar Engineering & Contracting SAOG, Muscat, to provide site preparation work for the project, which now under way, is due to be completed in this year’s second quarter. Primarily designed to produce and recover naphtha, jet fuel, diesel, and LPG, the refinery, once completed, will include units for hydrocracking, hydrotreating, delayed coking, sulfur recovery, hydrogen generation, and Merox treating.

 Colombia’s Ecopetrol Forms Offshore E&P Unit

Ecopetrol SA reported that its wholly owned subsidiary Hocol Petroleum Ltd. has formed a new company, Ecopetrol Costa Afuera Colombia SAS, which will be responsible for offshore exploration and production activities in Colombia. Currently, offshore E&P work is being carried out by Ecopetrol, both as operator and non-operator. The new unit will benefit from the tax, tariff, and other benefits of Decree 2682 of 2014, as recently modified by Decree 2129 of 2015, which establishes the conditions and requirements for forming permanent offshore free trade zones in Colombia, the company said. Ecopetrol Costa Afuera Colombia, which is an indirect subsidiary of Ecopetrol, will be based in Colombia.

 Norway Awards 56 Licenses Offshore Norway in APA 2015 Licensing Round

Norway's Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has offered 56 exploration licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) in the Awards in Pre-defined Areas 2015 (APA 2015) licensing round. 'Access to prospective exploration acreage is a central element in the Government's policies and vital for the long-term activity on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. It is a very positive sign that the oil companies show such high interest in our most well-known areas, this enables me to offer awards in 56 exploration licenses. This year's APA round is among the largest ever awarded on the NCS,' says Minister of Petroleum and Energy Tord Lien. The 56 exploration licenses are distributed over the North Sea (27), the Norwegian Sea (24) and the Barents Sea (5). 36 different oil companies, ranging from the international majors to small domestic exploration companies, are awarded ownership interests in one or more production license. 22 of these companies will be offered one or more operatorships. Every license awarded includes work-program commitments. The APA licensing rounds cover the most explored areas on the Norwegian shelf. One of the primary challenges in mature areas is the expected decline in discovery size. Minor discoveries will not be able to carry standalone developments, but may have good profitability when they can exploit existing and planned processing equipment and transportation systems, or be seen in context with other discoveries or planned developments. Timely discovery and exploitation of such resources is therefore important. Offer to 22 operators (operatorships in brackets): Bayerngas (1); BP (1); Capricorn (1); Centrica (1); ConocoPhillips (2); Det norske oljeselskap (6); Dong (2); Edison (3); ENI (2); Faroe (2); GdF SUEZ (1); Lundin (2); MOL (2); OMV (2); PGNiG (1); Pure (2); Shell (1); Statoil (13); Suncor (2); Total (2); Tullow (3); Wintershall (4). Offer to 36 licensees (number of shares (including operatorships) in brackets): Bayerngas (2); BP (1); Capricorn (5); Centrica (6); Concedo (6); ConocoPhillips (2); Core Energy (5); Det norske oljeselskap (10); Dong (4); Edison (5); E.ON (5); ENI (4); Faroe (6); Fortis (4); GdF SUEZ (1); KUFPEC (1); Lime (5); Lundin (4); MOL (5); OMV (6); Origo (3); Petrolia (1); PGNiG (4); Premier Oil (1); Pure (3); Repsol (4); Shell (3); Skagen44 (3); Spike (3); Statoil (24); Suncor (3); Total (3); Tullow (8); VNG (4); Wellesley (1); Wintershall (7).

 Tanzania Finalizes Land Deal for Delayed LNG Project (08, T18)

Tanzania said on January 29 it had finalized a land acquisition for the site of a planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant and was now working to compensate and resettle villagers to move forward on a long-delayed project. Tanzania's natural gas reserves are estimated at more than 55 trillion cubic feet (tcf) and the central bank believes 2 percentage points would be added to annual economic growth of 7 percent simply by starting work on the huge plant that would draw in billions of dollars of investment. BG Group, being acquired by Royal Dutch Shell, along with Statoil, Exxon Mobil and Ophir Energy plan to build the onshore LNG export terminal in partnership with the state-run Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC). They aim to start it up in the early 2020s. But their final investment decision has in part been held up by delays in finalizing issues related to the site. 'After securing the title deed, the law requires the owner to pay compensation to the relevant parties based on a valuation done by the chief government valuer,' TPDC said in a statement. TPDC now owns title deed for some 2,071.705 hectares of land that have been set aside for the construction of the planned two-train LNG terminal at Likong'o village in the southern Tanzanian town of Lindi, which is located close to large offshore gas finds. Another 17,000 hectares of land around the site for the proposed LNG terminal has been allocated for an industrial park. Oil companies were unable to gain access to the site until the land purchase, analysts say. East Africa is a new hotspot in hydrocarbon exploration after substantial deposits of crude oil were found in Uganda and major gas reserves discovered in Tanzania and Mozambique. Mozambique's plans to build an LNG plant have moved more swiftly. With other LNG projects moving ahead around the world, the best deals for long term gas sales contracts will likely be secured by those who come on stream first, analysts say.

Argentina’s Andes Energia Provides Chachahuen Operational Update

Andes Energia, the producer and explorer in Argentina and Colombia, has provided an update on current production, development and exploration operations in the Chachahuen block in the Province of Mendoza, Argentina based on the December 2015 sales and production reports, provided by YPF, the operator of the block.

 Sweden’s Preem Lets Contract for Lysekil Refinery (08, T17)

Swedish refiner Preem AB, a wholly owned subsidiary of Corral Petroleum Holdings AB, Stockholm, has let a contract to Amec Foster Wheeler (AFW) for the planned expansion of vacuum distillation capacity its 11 million-tonne/year refinery in Lysekil, Sweden. AFW will deliver engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) for a new vacuum distillation unit (VDU) at the refinery, the service provider said. The VDU, which will be in addition the refinery’s existing 64,600-b/d VDU, will be used to boost the plant’s production of vacuum gas oil (VGO) in order to help reduce Preem’s need for imported volumes, AFW said. While it revealed neither the value of the latest contract value nor the new unit’s proposed capacity, AFW confirmed it previously completed feasibility studies and front-end engineering design for the project in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Alongside enabling reductions to Preem’s current VGO imports of about 50,000 cu m/month, the planned VDU expansion at Lysekil also will position the refinery to maximize its current crude capacity, as well as upgrade residual oil from the company’s 7 million-tpy Gothenburg refinery, the Swedish operator told investors in April 2015. Preem said it expects to invest about 1.5 billion kronor (Swedish) for the VDU expansion, which is due to be completed by yearend 2018.

Rosneft, BP to Restructure German Refining JV

Russia’s OJSC Rosneft has entered a deal with BP PLC to dissolve their Ruhr Oel GMBH (ROG) joint venture as part of a plan by the companies to restructure their refining and petrochemical businesses in Germany.

 Kosmos Energy Makes Gas Discovery Offshore Senegal

Kosmos Energy has made a major gas discovery at its Guembeul-1 exploration well located in the northern part of the St Louis Offshore Profond license area in Senegal. The well, which is located about 5km south of the basin-opening Tortue-1 gas discovery in water depths of 2,700m, was drilled to a total depth of 5,245m using the Atwood Achiever drillship. The well encountered 101m of net gas pay in two quality reservoirs, including 56m in the Lower Cenomanian as well as 45m in the underlying Albian. Guembeul-1 has de-risked adjacent prospectivity and proved that quality reservoirs exist in the Albian. Kosmos Energy said that its mean gross resource estimate for the Tortue West structure has increased to 11 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) from 8 Tcf based on the integration of the Guembeul-1 well results. The gross resource estimate for the Greater Tortue Complex has also increased to 17 Tcf from 14 Tcf. Kosmos Energy chairman and CEO Andrew Inglis said: "Guembeul-1 confirms the presence of a world class gas resource that extends into both Senegal and Mauritania. "The Guembeul-1 well continues our 100% success rate in the outboard Cretaceous petroleum system offshore Senegal and Mauritania, which we believe is a strategically important new oil and gas province and we are focused on unlocking the basin's full potential." The drillship delivered by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering will now proceed to Mauritania and drill the Ahmeyim-2 delineation well in the southern part of Mauritania's Block C-8 to test the downdip limits of the field. Kosmos owns a 60% interest in the Guembeul-1 well, along with Timis (30%) and Petrosen (10%).

 Iran Plans New Drilling Campaign from Persian Gulf Platforms

Iranian Offshore Oil Co. plans to tender drilling of new wells at the Ilam and Nasr platforms over the Siri region of the Persian Gulf. According to news service Shana, operations will also include overhauls of the platforms. In the northern part of the Persian Gulf, Russian company Lukoil has started looking for oil and gas reserves, according to Hormoz Qalavand, director for exploration affairs at National Iranian Oil Co. As for South Pars, Iran’s biggest ongoing offshore field development, two platforms are expected to come onstream in the next two months at Phase 14, official Morteza Zarrin Gol told Shana. Platforms 14C and 14A will have 22 wells operational, with the gas exported to refineries onshore for treatment. Phase 14 is under development by a consortium of Iran’s Industrial Development and Renovation Organization, National Iranian Drilling Co., Iran Shipbuilding & Offshore Industries Complex Co., and IOEC. Facilities are designed to extract 56.5 MMcm/d of sour gas, 75,000 b/d of gas condensate, 1 MM tons/yr of liquefied gas, 1 MM tons/yr of ethane, and 400 tons/d of sulfur.

Hess to Focus on Deepwater Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Malaysia Projects

Hess Corp. has reported an exploration and production capital and exploratory budget of $2.4 billion for 2016, a 40% reduction from its 2015 actual spend of $4.0 billion. The $2.4-billion budget is allocated as follows: $610 million (25%) for production, $820 million (34%) for developments, $500 million (21%) for exploration and appraisal activities, and $470 million (20%) for unconventional shale resources.

 Aker Solutions to Conduct Johan Castberg FPSO Concept Study

Statoil has contracted Aker Solutions to provide a concept study for an FPSO facility for the Johan Castberg oil field development in the Barents Sea. The order is a call-off by Statoil on an engineering contract for the field development won by Aker Solutions in 2013. The value of the contract was not disclosed. The Johan Castberg field is located about 240 km (149 mi) northwest of Hammerfest, northern Norway. Per Harald Kongelf, head of Aker Solutions’ Norwegian operation, said: “We’ve worked with Statoil for two years on finding a cost-effective solution that will enable development of this strategically important oil field in northern Norway. The costs have been significantly reduced and we look forward to continuing to work with Statoil to optimize this development.”

Chevron Announces First Gas from the Chuandongbei Project in Southwest China

Chevron Corporation announced January 26 that its fully-owned subsidiary Unocal East China Sea, Ltd. began natural gas production from the first stage of the Chuandongbei Project in southwest China. Chuandongbei is one of the largest onshore gas projects developed by an international oil company and a national oil company in China.

 Total Lets Contract for Antwerp Refining Operations

France’s Total SA has let a long-term contract to Praxair Inc., Danbury, Conn., to supply industrial gases to its refining and petrochemical platform in Antwerp, Belgium. Praxair will deliver oxygen and nitrogen to Total’s operations at the Port of Antwerp to meet the company’s increased demand for industrial gases required for several applications and processes in its 338,000-b/d Antwerp refinery and adjoining petrochemical businesses, Praxair said. Praxair, which is expanding its recently built oxygen pipeline an additional 3 miles to connect with the Antwerp refinery, also plans to extend its nitrogen pipeline on the west bank of the Scheldt river to improve service to both new and existing petrochemical customers in the area, the service company said. Extension of the nitrogen pipeline comes alongside large capacity and infrastructure investments made at the port over the past several years, which has increased demand for nitrogen to be used for blanketing and inerting of chemicals in storage, Praxair said. The oxygen and nitrogen pipeline extensions are due to be operational in this year’s second half, Praxair said. While Praxair did not disclose a value of its contract with Total, the service company did confirm the oxygen and nitrogen supply agreement comes as part of the French operator’s more than €1-billion modernization project under way at its Antwerp production sites (OGJ Online, May 23, 2013). Since announcing the modernization program in 2013, Total has let a series of contracts for upgrading and integration projects, which include additions of a solvent deasphalting unit, a mild hydrocracking unit, as well as a plant to convert refinery fuel gases into petrochemical feedstock.

 Pipeline MoU signed between Saipem and National Iranian Gas Company

Saipem also has signed an MOU with National Iranian Gas Co. (NIGC) for possible cooperation on NIGC’s proposed Iran Gas Trunkline IX (IGAT 9) and Iran Gas Trunkline XI (IGAT 11) pipeline projects, which combined, would cover a distance of 1,800 km (OGJ, Feb. 2, 2015, p. 72), Saipem said. Saipem did not disclose details regarding timelines or estimated values for projects under the MOU. Signed during Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to Rome, the MOU follows the recent suspension of long-standing international sanctions on Iran that prohibited US and many European firms from participating in development of the country’s energy sector.

 Athabasca Oil and Murphy Oil Agree to Joint Development in Alberta (06)

Athabasca Oil Corp. has agreed with the Canadian unit of Murphy Oil Corp. to jointly develop the Duvernay and Montney in the Kaybob area in west-central Alberta. The transaction is valued at $475 million (Can.)

 Subsea Engineering Associates to Design Pipelines for Baltic Gas Project

Baltic Gas has contracted Subsea Engineering Associates (SEA) to provide detailed design, procurement, and construction management for the Baltic gas project in the Polish sector of the Baltic Sea. Baltic Gas is a partnership established specifically for the Baltic gas project between CalEnergy Resources Poland (CalEnergy) and LOTOS Petrobaltic. CalEnergy is the operator for the project development phase. The SEA scope of work includes more than 110 km (68.5 mi) of subsea pipelines, HDD shore crossing, pre- and post-lay trenching, risers and platform tie-ins, as well as system engineering including reservoir to gas plant flow assurance. The work will be executed from the company’s Perth office. Adam Czajko, director at SEA, said: “Our focus this year is to lock-in the value generated during FEED by completing the design and going out to the market with tender packages for the main scopes. We expect significant interest from contractors and suppliers given the current state of the market. With tendered costs, the project should be in a strong position for final investment decision during second half of 2016.” The company recently opened an office in Gdansk, Poland, to support the Baltic gas project.

Oil Giants Start Losing Safety Net as Refining Margins Squeezed

Refining profits that buttressed earnings for Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc as crude prices plunged are now slumping, further pressuring all of the world’s biggest oil companies as they move into 2016.

 Praxair Signs Long-Term Contract with Total to Expand Pipeline Network in Port of Antwerp (08, T16)

Praxair, Inc. announced January 26 it has signed a 15-year contract to supply oxygen and nitrogen to Total in the Port of Antwerp. Total is currently investing one billion euro in the port to upgrade its largest refining and petrochemicals platform in Europe. As a result, the company will require increased quantities of industrial gases for several applications in its refinery and petrochemical processes. Praxair is expanding its recently built oxygen pipeline an additional three miles to connect with Total’s refinery. Praxair will also extend its nitrogen pipeline on the west bank of the river to efficiently serve existing and new petrochemical customers. Given the significant capacity and infrastructure investments made in the port over the past several years, there is growing demand in this region for nitrogen for blanketing and inerting of chemicals in storage. Praxair expects the oxygen and nitrogen pipeline supply to be operational in the second half of 2016. “Our pipeline network expansion provides us the enhanced ability to efficiently and effectively meet the nitrogen and oxygen needs of companies in this growing chemical park,” said Frank Wegmann, managing director of Praxair Germany and Benelux. “Integrated petrochemical ports such as Antwerp remain highly competitive, continue to attract billions of dollars of investment and are positioned for growth for years to come.”

 FMC Technologies Awarded $180 Mln Subsea Systems Contract from Woodside (T16)

FMC Technologies, Inc. (FTI) announced January 25 that it signed an agreement with Woodside for the design, manufacture and supply of subsea production systems for the Greater Western Flank Phase 2 (GWF-2) Project as part of the North West Shelf (NWS) Project in Western Australia. The contract is valued at approximately $180 million for FMC Technologies and includes: subsea production trees, wellheads, manifolds, subsea and topside controls, and flowline connection systems. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2016 and continue through 2018. The GWF-2 Project is the fourth major gas development for the NWS Project in the last seven years and is expected to develop 1.6 trillion cubic feet of raw gas from its combined six fields using subsea infrastructure and 21.7 miles (35 kilometers) of 16 inch pipeline connecting to the existing Goodwyn A platform.

Trudeau Set to Tack Extra Review onto Kinder Morgan Pipeline

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet is preparing to detail “transition plans” for existing pipeline proposals as it moves to strengthen environmental review laws and give new marching orders to the National Energy Board.

 BP to Spend $150 Mln on Baku-Supsa Pipeline Upgrade from Azerbaijan to Georgia (06, T16)

British oil company BP plans to spend $150 million to upgrade some parts of the Baku-Supsa oil pipeline which runs from Azerbaijan to Georgia, the Georgian government said on January 21. The issue was discussed during the Georgian Prime Minister's meeting with BP's CEO Bob Dudley at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Georgian government's press service said in a statement. Dudley said the Baku-Supsa pipeline upgrading works would be completed in 2018. "BP will spend $150 million on modernization of some stretches of the pipeline and improvement of ecological standards," it said, without providing any other details. The Baku–Supsa Pipeline is an 833 km long oil pipeline which runs from the Sangachal Terminal near Baku, Azerbaijan to the Supsa terminal in Georgia. It has been in operation since January 1999 and the first tanker was loaded in April 1999. The total cost of the construction of the pipeline and terminal was $556 million USD. Azerbaijan exports oil via the Baku-Supsa pipeline from the Chirag oilfield operated by BP. Exports through the Baku-Supsa pipeline rose to 3.9 million tonnes in January-November 2015 from 3.8 million tonnes in the same period a year earlier.

 Magellan Midstream, TransCanada to Link Houston Oil Terminals (T16)

Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. and TransCanada Corporation announced January 13 definitive plans to connect TransCanada’s Houston tank terminal to Magellan’s East Houston terminal. HoustonLink Pipeline Company, LLC (“HoustonLink”), a new company owned 50/50 by Magellan and TransCanada, will construct, own and operate a nine-mile, 24-inch diameter crude oil pipeline connecting the terminals. The new pipeline will provide TransCanada’s Keystone and Marketlink customers access to Magellan’s Houston and Texas City crude oil distribution system. The joint project, first announced in April 2015, is estimated to cost approximately US$50 million. In addition, Magellan and TransCanada plan to develop additional infrastructure at their respective Houston-area terminals to accommodate shipments from the new pipeline. Magellan will serve as construction manager and operator for HoustonLink. The HoustonLink pipeline is expected to be operational during the first half of 2017, subject to the receipt of all necessary rights-of-way, permits and regulatory approvals.

 Westlake Chemical to Expand Calvert City Ethylene Capacity (T16)

Westlake Chemical Partners LP, a Westlake company, announced that it has approved plans to expand ethylene capacity at the Calvert City, Kentucky facility owned by its affiliate, Westlake Chemical OpCo LP. This expansion will add 70 million pounds of stated annual ethylene capacity to the Calvert City facility during the first half of 2017. "We are pleased about the ethylene expansion at the Calvert City, Kentucky facility. This expansion, which combined with incremental capacity increases will total 100 million pounds of annual capacity, is in addition to the 250 million pound ethylene expansion at the Petro 1 facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana, which is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2016. The additional production of ethylene at both facilities will be sold under the terms of the long-term, fixed-margin ethylene sales agreement in which 95% of OpCo's production is sold to our sponsor, Westlake Chemical Corporation, at a price designed to generate a margin of ten cents per pound. We believe the incremental earnings from these expansions will allow us to continue to grow our distributions at a low double-digit rate," said Albert Chao, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Canada Expects to Announce Environmental Pipeline Review Process Soon

The Canadian government expects to announce "very soon" the new transitional rules that will apply to the environmental review of pipeline projects that are currently being evaluated, Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr said on January 25.

 Saudi Aramco in Advanced Talks to Buy China Refinery Stakes (08)

Saudi Aramco is in advanced talks to invest in refineries in China and the company was also in talks with CNPC and Sinopec for investment opportunities in refining, marketing and petrochemicals, the chairman of the state oil company said. Saudi Aramco Chairman Khalid al-Falih also told reporters on the sidelines of the official inauguration of Yasref, a 400,000 barrels per day oil refinery, that there may be opportunities for further expansion of the plant. The refinery, which began operations at full capacity in July, is a joint venture between Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest oil company, and China's Sinopec. "Aramco would like to invest more in China ... We look forward to have other projects with Sinopec in China specifically, so that Aramco expands in its investments in refining, marketing and petrochemicals in China," he said. Aramco and Sinopec on January 19 signed a framework agreement for strategic cooperation. The agreement was one of 14 deals and memoranda of understanding signed between Saudi Arabia and China on the first day of a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Riyadh. Aramco had been in talks to acquire a stake in a CNPC refinery and retail assets, people familiar with the matter said last October - a deal that would help it sell more of its output to China amid growing competition. The deal is estimated to be worth around $1-$1.5 billion, although final valuations, assets and stakes were subject to change, they said.

 Pertamina Scraps JX Nippon Refinery Deal on Cost, Timing Concerns

Indonesia's state-owned energy company Pertamina has cancelled a deal with JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp to upgrade its Balikpapan refinery because of concerns of high costs and the length of the project, Pertamina's chief executive said. Pertamina's planned upgrade to the 220,000-barrel-a-day Balikpapan facility, Indonesia's second-largest, was expected to increase its capacity by about one-third. The expansion is part of efforts ramp up the country's fuel output, process more domestic crude and reduce expensive imports. "We cancelled our cooperation with JX Nippon because there was no deal on the investment target," Pertamina CEO Dwi Soetjipto told reporters, noting that now Pertamina will complete the first stage of the project by itself. Pertamina expects the $2.6 billion first stage of the upgrade to be completed in 2019, Soetjipto said, without elaborating on the details. The company will later review whether to form another joint venture to complete the $2 billion second stage to meet Euro IV emission standards, he said. Under its Refinery Development Master Plan, Pertamina aims to roughly double Indonesia's crude processing capacity to 1.68 million barrels per day, part of sweeping energy reforms launched by Indonesian President Joko Widodo. JX Nippon was among three international energy companies that signed memoranda of understanding (MOU) with Pertamina to upgrade Indonesia's refineries in late 2014. Late last year, Pertamina and another of its refinery development partners, Saudi Aramco, formed a joint venture for a $5 billion upgrade to Indonesia's largest refinery complex at Cilacap.

 Kuwait Petroleum Borrowing $10 Bln for Refineries (08)

Kuwait Petroleum Corp. expects to arrange a $10 billion loan to expand refineries to produce cleaner burning fuel. The loan is expected by the end of January, Nizar Al- Adsani, chief executive officer of the state-run company, said January 19. He didn’t say which banks are involved. The refineries will produce fuel that produces less pollution than diesel and gasoline currently made in Kuwait. KPC is expanding its use of renewable energy even though the technology isn’t economical for the time being because of subsidies in the nation, the CEO said. Kuwait will show “some action” early this year in cutting fuel and power subsidies, he said. Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates have already cut some subsidies. Kuwait is evaluating subsidy policy as one option to reduce the government deficit, and has no firm plans to cut subsidies according to KPC spokesman Talal Khaled. Kuwait wants 15 percent of its total energy production to come from renewable energy by 2030, Adsani said. KPC is investing in solar panels and “energy efficiencies” to help meet the target, he said. Kuwait is upgrading two of its three refineries to produce clean fuel while planning to shut the third, its smallest, next year. The nation will again have three refineries by 2019, with the opening of the Al Zour refinery.

Egyptian Refining to Start Output at Country's Largest Refinery in Q1 2017

The Egyptian Refining Company, a subsidiary of one of Egypt's largest investment companies Qalaa Holdings, will start production at its $3.7 billion oil refinery in the first quarter of 2017.

Hefty Maintenance Schedule Looms for Canada Oil Sands Producers

Canada's biggest oil sands producers, which have stubbornly resisted halting output even as the price of their crude hits record lows, are planning a higher-than-normal maintenance schedule this year.

Once in High Demand, N.Dakota Oil-by-rail Shunned on East Coast

Shale production from North Dakota has been shrinking and those refiners have resumed buying imported crude. The 140,000 barrel-per-day rail terminal at Yorktown, Virginia has been sitting idle, according to two sources familiar with its operations.

 Saipem Might Work on Revamp, Upgrade Projects in Iran

Parsian Oil & Gas Development Co. (POGDC), Iran’s largest nongovernmental petrochemical holding, has entered an agreement with Italy’s Saipem SPA, Milan, to collaborate on future projects involving major overhauls designed to modernize two Iranian refineries under POGDC’s management. POGDC and Saipem on Jan. 25 signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) under which the companies have agreed to maintain an ongoing dialogue regarding Saipem’s potential cooperation in the revamp and upgrade of Tabriz Oil Refining Co.’s 110,000-b/d refinery, southwest of Tabriz City, and Shiraz Oil Refining Co.’s 60,000-b/d refinery on the outskirts of Zarghan province, about 22 km from Shiraz City, the service company said. Established in 2008 as a specialized holding company, POGDC manages a portfolio of subsidiaries that make it the Middle East’s largest producer of ammonia (2.5 million tpy) and urea (3.9 million tpy), according to the company’s web site. POGDC also manages Iran’s Zagros Petrochemical Co., which produces 3.3 million tpy of methanol at its petrochemical complex in Pars Special Economic Energy Zone from feedstock supplied by Phases 1, 2, and 3 of South Pars gas field.

 Shell to Deploy KBR Tech at Netherlands Refinery (T16)

KBR, Inc. announced January 25 it has been selected by Shell to utilize KBR's ROSE® solvent deasphalting technology for use at their Pernis refinery in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The ROSE® unit is expected to remove heavier fractions from crude oil, allowing the refinery to upgrade a larger proportion of its oil intake into lighter, high-grade products and significantly enhance Pernis' refinery performance and competitiveness. Construction work is planned to start next year, subject to permit approvals, with completion expected by 2018. The ROSE® technology will split residue from a mix of crude oils into deasphalted oil (DAO) and asphaltene. The new unit will not change the refinery's total processing capacity, but will allow a different product mix and will give the refinery more flexibility to respond to market developments and reduce the environmental footprint of its products. KBR has licensed over 55 ROSE® units globally, with a combined capacity of nearly 1.3 million barrels per day.

 Sudan Offers Three Oil and Gas Blocks to ONGC Videsh

Sudan has offered three oil and gas blocks for exploration and development to India's ONGC Videsh as part of efforts to increase the country's oil revenue, oil minister Mohamed Zayed Awad said. The African nation lost three quarters of its oil revenue when South Sudan seceded in 2011 and currently produces about 100,000 barrels per day (bpd). Three areas have been offered to the Indian company, comprising blocks 8, 15 and 24, the last of which is in the development stage, Awad told Reuters after meeting his Indian counterpart Dharmendra Pradhan ahead of a two-day India-Africa Hydrocarbon summit. Awad also asked ONGC to consider buying a stake in Sudan's Block 17, which is producing about 7,000 bpd oil. Block 17 is operated by Star Oil, in which Yemen's Ansan Wikfs owns a 66 percent stake and Sudan's Sudapet holds the remainder. Awad said the Yemen company wants to sell its stake in the venture. ONGC Videsh, the overseas investment arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corp, already has a 25 percent stake in onland blocks 1, 2, and 4, which together produce about 50,000 bpd.

Mubadala & PEMEX Sign Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation

Mubadala Petroleum, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala), and Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) have signed an agreement, to provide the basis for discussions between the two companies and their affiliates about potential opportunities in Mexico’s energy sector.

 Egypt to Hold International Tender for 11 Oil & Gas Blocks

Egypt will hold an international tender for 11 oil and natural gas exploration blocks in the Mediterranean Sea and Nile Delta during the second half of fiscal year 2015-2016, the oil ministry said. Egypt has been seeking to boost domestic production, as increased consumption and declines in production have transformed the country from a net exporter to an importer of energy.

 India Oil Refiners Plan One of World’s Largest Oil-processing Plants on Country’s West Coast

Indian Oil Corp., the nation’s biggest refiner will build a 60 million-metric-ton-a-year (1.2 million-barrel-a-day) oil refinery in Maharashtra together with Bharat Petroleum Corp., Hindustan Petroleum Corp. and Engineers India Ltd., Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in a Twitter post January 25. The companies will develop the project in two phases, with the first 800,000 barrel-a-day facility costing more than 1 trillion rupees ($14.7 billion), according to Pradhan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pushing for new investment while energy companies around the world cut spending to protect their balance sheets from oil’s collapse. India will drive global energy demand in the next quarter century, with oil consumption over that period growing faster than any other country, according to the International Energy Agency. India will account for a quarter of global energy demand growth by 2040, the IEA forecast in November in its annual energy outlook. The country’s oil demand is expected to reach 10 million barrels a day over that period, marking the fastest growth in the world, the Paris-based agency said. India’s consumption will average almost 4 million barrels a day this year, the IEA said last month. The country has 4.3 million barrels a day of refining capacity, according to the oil ministry. The planned refinery will produce gasoline, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, jet fuel and supply feed stock for petrochemical plants in Maharashtra, Pradhan said. Reliance Industries’ twin refineries at Jamnagar in neighboring Gujarat state have a combined capacity of 1.24 million barrels a day, making it the world’s biggest refining complex. Pradhan didn’t provide a time line for the refinery. The project may take six to 10 years for design, land acquisitions and construction, according to Mahurkar.

 Linde Selected by Gazprom for Major Gas Processing Project in Russia (T17)

The technology company The Linde Group has been selected by Gazprom, Gazprom Pererabotka Blagoveshchensk and its general contractor NIPIgas as the licenser for cryogenic gas separation technology at the Amur Gas Processing Plant (Amur GPP), located in the far east of Russia. Linde will engineer and supply units for ethane and natural gas liquids (NGL) extraction and nitrogen rejection, as well as for helium purification, liquefaction and storage. The plant is part of Gazprom’s project for the supply of Russian gas to China via the ‘Power of Siberia’ pipeline from eastern Siberian gas fields and will be built in five phases ending in 2024. In late December 2015, Linde and NIPIgas entered into a binding engineering and supply contract in respect of the above-mentioned units for all five construction phases of the Amur GPP. Phase one will consist of two ethane and NGL (propane, butane, pentane, hexane) extraction and nitrogen rejection units, as well as one helium production unit. Related engineering works are in progress. When completed, the Amur GPP will be one of the largest gas processing plants in the world with a capacity of up to 49 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year. Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom, and Dr Wolfgang Büchele, Chief Executive Officer of Linde AG, also recently signed a strategic cooperation agreement stipulating the intention to cooperate and jointly carry out existing and future projects related to the natural gas value chain. The cooperation agreement covers process technologies, engineering and services related to the treatment and liquefaction of natural gas, as well as localization of the respective equipment production in Russia. Furthermore, the agreement also addresses the field of helium production, including the investment in, production and operation of helium plants.

Gazprom Neft Successfully Tests New Russian Technology for Processing Associated Petroleum Gas

Gazpromneft-Vostok has successfully completed pilot testing of an innovative new domestic mild steam reforming technology for processing associated petroleum gas (APG).

 CPP Wins Front End Consultancy Service in Ghana

On November 11, CPP West Africa Company received letter of award for front end design consultancy service for Waterway tanks project in Tema, Ghana. The project locates in Tema, a port and heavy industry city, and includes six product oil tanks with total capacity of 100000 cubic meters complete with pipelines and loading system. The front end design firm for this project is Chemietech of India.

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Utility E-Alert Tracks Billions of Dollars of New Coal-fired Power Plants on a Weekly Basis

Here are some headlines from the Utility E-Alert.

UTILITY E-ALERT

#1262 – March 4, 2016

Table of Contents

COAL – US

§  Supreme Court bars Coal Industry Petition for unlimited Mercury Emissions

COAL – WORLD

§  POSCO Energy to build Coal-fired Power Plant in Vietnam

§  China and Pakistan sign Contract to build a Coal-fired Power Plant in Pakistan

§  Edenville Energy to invest in Coal-fired Power Plant and Coal Mine in Tanzania

§  Marubeni may build a Coal-fired Power Plant in Egypt

§  Meubolah Coal-fired Power Station Two Unit expansion in Aceh Province, Indonesia

§  Proposed 625 MW Unit 9 planned for Banten Suralaya Power Station in Banten Province, Indonesia

§  300 MW Unit 3 Kaltim Teluk Balikpapan Power Station expansion announced in East Kalimantan Province, Indonesia

§  PLN to build $2 Billion Coal-fired Power Plant in Banten, Indonesia Next Year

§  BHEL wins $822.9 Million Contract to build thermal power plant in Tamil Nadu, India

The 41F Utility E-Alert is issued weekly and covers the coal-fired projects, regulations and other information important to the suppliers. It is $950/yr. but is included in the $3020 42EI Utility Tracking System which has data on every plant and project plus networking directories and many other features.

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Bob McIlvaine
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847-784-0012 ext 112

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