Technip has been awarded by NOVA Chemicals Corporation the detail engineering, and procurement services contract for the Polyethylene 1 expansion project located at their Joffre site* near Red Deer in Alberta, Canada.  The project includes the installation of a world-scale 431-kiloton per annum (950 MM lbs/yr) single-train linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) unit. NOVA Chemicals will expand its total Joffre site polyethylene capacity by approximately 40% and will utilize existing site ethylene capacity.

Technip, in addition to detail engineering and procurement of the new reaction section, extrusion section, and railcar loading section, will modify the existing purifications systems. Technip will also design the plant off-sites, utilities, interconnections, and other supporting units for the facility.  Technip’s operating centers in Houston, Texas, Calgary, Canada and Chennai, India will execute the work under this contract. Work for this phase of the project began at the end of 2012, with completion of engineering in 2014, and systems start up in late 2015.

Dow Chemical Co. let an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract to Fluor Corp. for a propane dehydrogenation unit, an ethane cracker, and associated power, utilities, and infrastructure upgrades at its Oyster Creek complex in Freeport, Tex. The upgrades are focused on processing hydrocarbons from domestic shale formations, the companies said.

In April 2012, Dow reported it would build an ethylene plant at Oyster Creek, Light Hydrocarbon 9 (LHC 9). The company’s greenhouse gas permit application with the US Environmental Protection Agency estimated LHC 9’s maximum ethylene output at 1.95 million tonnes/year. Dow expects the unit to enter service in 2017.

Oyster Creek is part of Dow’s integrated Texas Operations site in Freeport, along with Plant A, Plant B, and Salt Dome. Dow’s Texas Operations produce more than 21% of the company’s global sales volumes. Dow is adding a propylene plant to Texas Operations which it expects to begin operations in 2015. Dow licensed UOP LLC’s C3 Oleflex process technology for manufacturing on-purpose propylene from propane for the project.

Fluor’s office in Sugar Land, Tex., will lead the EPC and self-perform construction phases of the project with additional support provided by its Asia Pacific operations. Fluor booked the undisclosed contract value into backlog in this year’s first quarter.

Siemens has signed 15-year contract extensions with RES Americas to continue providing service and maintenance at two wind projects in North America. Siemens will provide long-term service for the 26 SWT-2.3-93 wind turbines operating at RES Americas' Whirlwind Energy Center. Long-term service will also be provided by Siemens for the 72 SWT-2.3-93 units in operation at RES Americas' Hackberry Wind Farm. Both projects are located in Texas, U.S.A. This is Siemens' first wind service contract signed with a duration of 15 years in North America.

Siemens currently has an existing five-year agreement with RES Americas for both sites. Under the new agreements, Siemens will provide 15 additional years of service, maintenance, and warranty along with an availability guarantee. The extensions will help both projects perform at high levels of efficiency and availability for years to come, and most notably, over the entire estimated 20-year lifecycle of the units. Siemens' advanced remote monitoring and diagnostics are included along with the company's Advanced Grid Performance (AGP) upgrade at both sites. Siemens' AGP upgrade comprises a series of tailored solutions that enable the wind park operator to comply with constantly evolving grid requirements.

With a combined output of approximately 226 megawatts (MW), the Whirlwind and Hackberry wind projects, located in West Texas, produce enough electricity to power an estimated 68,000 Texas households annually.

ABB, a global leader in electric power and automation, announced today that it has agreed to acquire Los Gatos Research (LGR) of Mountain View, California, to add a new line of high-performance gas analyzers to ABB’s leading measurement business.

The 19-year-old, nearly 40-person LGR provides analyzers and services to a wide range of customers needing real-time measurement of trace gases and isotopes for research and environmental monitoring. LGR's novel and innovative laser-based measurement strategies allow for non-destructive analysis of gases and liquids. The company’s analyzer technology is based on Off-Axis Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy (OA-ICOS) that has a substantially higher sensitivity, precision and accuracy than other traditional sampling and laser-based technologies. LGR’s employees will join the global Measurement Products business unit in ABB’s Process Automation Division. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but it is expected to close in 3rd quarter 2013, subject to customary regulatory approvals. LGR’s revenues in 2013 are expected to be around $14 Million.

“LGR fills a gap in our technology portfolio and brings a host of new solutions that are vital to industrial customers, such as oil & gas production and transportation, combustion, emissions, power generation and environmental monitoring,” said Kishore Sundararajan, global business unit manager in Measurement Products. “This technology has tremendous promise, and we look forward to combining it with our product development and channels to market.”