Control System World

Petrofac, the international oil & gas service provider, announces that it has acquired the entire share capital of KW Limited (KW). Based in Fetcham, near Woking, with an office in Aberdeen, KW is a high-end subsea pipeline consulting and engineering services business with an established reputation in the subsea pipeline market. As at 31 March 2011, KW had gross assets of £2.7 million. The business and its 56 employees will become part of Petrofac’s Engineering & Consulting Services business.

Kevin Williams, technical director of KW Limited, commented: “KW has built a strong reputation as a provider of high value subsea pipeline consulting and engineering and our strong technical and engineering capability provides a solid foundation for future growth. We are excited by the opportunities that being part of Petrofac brings and look forward to playing our part in the development of the business.”

Technip’s wholly owned subsidiary Global Offshore Pty Ltd. has been awarded a pipeline installation contract by Woodside Energy Limited for the Greater Western Flank Phase 1 Project located 130 kilometers North West of Karratha in Western Australia.

This pipeline will link the Goodwyn GH and Tidepole fields via a subsea tie-back to the existing Goodwyn A (GWA) platform and represents the next major development for the Woodside-operated North West Shelf Project.

The contract scope includes load out, transportation and installation of 16 kilometers of 16” gas flow line from the Tidepole manifold to the GWA platform.

Technip’s operating center in Perth, Australia will execute the contract, with the support from the Singapore office. Offshore installation will be carried out by the Global 1200 or the Global 1201, two flagship vessels that joined Technip’s fleet through the recent acquisition of Global Industries.

Columbia, SC, February 14, 2012 — Kontron today introduced the storage and networking server FS3100, a versatile, multi-function 3U NEBS-compliant platform that is ideal for mission critical streaming media, lawful interception and security/data storage applications. The Kontron FS3100 combines I/O capacity, storage adaptability, network port density and processor performance, all in a 3U, 20" depth platform. Kontron will present the FS3100 to equipment vendors at booth (2A28) during Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona, February 27 – March 1.

Packing more performance and versatility into a 20-inch, 3U commercial-off-the-shelf footprint solves many design and time-to-market issues for TEMs who need to deploy applications in space constraint networks. Designing applications on a single Kontron FS3100 – instead of multiple specialized servers – dramatically accelerates design cycles and reduces the overall cost of ownership.

Doha, Qatar • 13 February 2012 – His Excellency Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy & Industry and Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar Petroleum, today signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO) for the development of a new, mega-petrochemical complex in Ras Laffan Industrial City.

The complex includes a world-scale steam cracker, with the feedstock coming from natural gas plants in Ras Laffan. The project is scheduled for completion in 2018.

“This mega-project is yet another major step in our progress towards sustainable development of Qatar’s vast hydrocarbon resources as envisioned by His Highness the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani,” said H.E. Dr. Al-Sada. “It is an important milestone in the industrial development of the State of Qatar, especially for its petrochemical industry.”

Qatar Petroleum has an 80% equity interest in the project, with QAPCO taking up the remaining 20% stake. QP and QAPCO will jointly develop the petrochemical complex. QP and QAPCO have been working together for the past few months to plan the development of the project, which will contribute in meeting the continuously growing global demand for various petrochemical products.

The plant will produce 1.4 million metric tons per annum (MMTA) of ethylene, 850 thousand metric tons per annum (KMTA) of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), 430 KMTA of linear low-density polyethylene, 760 KMTA of polypropylene, 83 KMTA of butadiene. These products will be marketed primarily in high-growth markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Houston, Texas — February 15, 2012 — KBR (NYSE: KBR) today announced it was awarded a contract to provide construction services for a new 150 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) gas processing plant. KBR will provide pre-construction services and installation for the processing plant expansion at its existing 200 MMSCFD gas processing plant. The expansion will increase the cryogenic gas processing plant’s capacity by 150 MMSCFD, bringing the total processing capacity to 350 MMSCFD in the Woodford Shale.

“I am pleased that KBR has been selected to provide construction services for the execution of this plant expansion,” said David Zimmerman, Group President, KBR Services. “The shale gas expansion in the U.S. continues to provide KBR with opportunities to deliver projects such as this which meet our client’s highest standards of schedule, safety, and quality.”

Houston, Texas — February 14, 2012 — KBR (NYSE: KBR) today announced it was awarded a contract by TAIF Group to provide licensing and engineering services for the Veba Combi Cracker (VCC) to be implemented at the Nizhnikamsk refinery in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia.

Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide the License, Basic Engineering Package (LBEP), and other services for TAIF’s VCC-based Deep Conversion Complex. The complex will process 2.7 million tons per annum of refinery vacuum residues, and 1.6 million tons per annum of distillates into high value petrochemical feedstocks and Euro 5 diesel. This award marks the third VCC license, and KBR’s largest VCC project award since the acquisition of the rights to the technology in January 2010.

“KBR’s VCC technology is uniquely suited to process Russian crude derived residues and is an ideal solution for monetizing Russia’s large residue resource base,” said John Derbyshire, President, KBR Technology. “I look forward to our new partnership with TAIF as we embark on this large project.”

TAIF is a privately held, large production and investment company comprising of 67 subsidiaries and affiliates operating in the oil and gas processing, refining, petrochemicals, telecommunication, building and construction, banking and investments, and service sectors. For more information, visit www.en.taif.ru.

SAN RAMON, Calif., February 15, 2012 – Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) today reports that its affiliate Tengizchevroil LLP (TCO) expects to enter front-end engineering and design (FEED) in 2012 for an expansion project to increase total daily production between 250,000 and 300,000 barrels.

The Future Growth Project (FGP) will utilize sour gas injection technology used in existing operations. An early estimate of the total project cost is in the $6 - $8 billion range. The upcoming FEED work will refine the estimate range.

TCO is also undertaking an ongoing drilling program and has entered FEED on a well head pressure management project to support current operations.

An early estimate of the total project cost for the trio of projects is in the $20 - $25 billion range.Chevron has a 50 percent interest in Tengizchevroil. Other partners are KazMunaiGas, 20 percent; ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Ventures Inc., 25 percent; and LUKArco, 5 percent.

Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA (14 February 2012) – The International Society of Automation (ISA) announced today that it has added two new membership grades, Automation Community Member and Automation Affiliate Member.

“We think these new member grades are a great way for automation professionals to take advantage of the many technical and professional-development benefits that ISA offers. As our new members grow in their careers, we hope they will come to appreciate the contribution that the Society can make to their lives and their businesses, and that they might one day become volunteers and contributors to ISA,” said ISA President, Robert E. Lindeman.

Automation Community Member: ISA established this grade for professionals in the automation community who would like to be associated with the Society and learn more about it, while enjoying some popular benefits.

Automation Affiliate Member: This membership grade is offered to individual members of organizations that are members of the Automation Federation, of which ISA is the founding organization. Membership is also offered to employees of companies that are members of organizations that are members of the Automation Federation.

For details please click ISA.