Endress+Hauser has been providing high level calibration solutions to the process industries for many years. To strengthen this position, the Group has now acquired a minority share in Irish company CompuCal Calibration Solutions (CCS). The stake will ensure appropriate access to CCS' technology and the further development of the calibration management software package 'CompuCal'.

"'CompuCal' fits perfectly into our Plant Asset Management suite of integrated software tools," underlines Dr Raimund Sommer, Managing Director of Endress+Hauser Process Solutions, the strategic dimension of the acquisition. "We have worked with CCS for the last decade and the company has proven to be a reliable and trusted partner. Endress+Hauser's stake cements our close relationship."

Automated and optimized workflows for calibration of field instruments have an important impact on yield and quality. This is not only critical for regulated industries. Demands on compliance according to industry standards often lead to additional workload in terms of calibration documentation management.

BP and JBF Petrochemicals (a wholly owned subsidiary of JBF Industries Ltd.) have signed an agreement for licensing BP’s latest generation purified terephthalic acid (PTA) technology. JBF intends to build a 1.25 million tonnes per annum (tpa) unit at the Special Economic Zone in Mangalore, India, to produce PTA, the primary feedstock for polyesters used in textiles and packaging. JBF expects the Mangalore plant to come on stream at the end of 2014.

“This first third party, non-affiliate, licence recognises the quality of BP’s technology and builds on the excellent relationship between our companies. JBF is a world-class polyester producer and I’m proud that they’ve chosen BP’s leading technology,” said Nick Elmslie, chief executive of BP’s Global Petrochemicals Business.

“Our PTA technology has significantly lower capital and operating costs compared with conventional PTA plants and is more energy efficient, uses less water, and produces less solid waste than its competitors. We have invested significantly in our proprietary technology and there are two routes to monetize this; one is through investment and one is through licensing. We have decided that the maximum value to BP will come both from investing in projects such as our Zhuhai 3 project in Guangdong, China and through licensing.”

Technip was awarded a contract by Marathon Oil Norge AS for on-going expansion of the subsea drill centres at Kneler B and Volund located in the Alvheim area in the North Sea. The water depths in the area is around 120 meters, and the subsea work will be performed by use of remotely-operated vehicules as well as by divers. The contract includes engineering, fabrication, installation and diving tie-ins of pipeline spools(1), including protection covers and installation of a manifold(2).

Technip’s operating center in Stavanger, Norway will execute the contract. The offshore construction work will take place in 2012 and 2013. The Skandi Arctic, a diving support vessel from Technip’s fleet, will be used for the offshore campaigns.

Baden, Switzerland: ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won two orders for electrification and automation equipment to help Swedish iron ore producer Northland Resources operate its new concentrator plant at the highest levels of energy efficiency. Both contracts were received in March 2012.

The newly established Kaunisvaara project is located approximately 100 km north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden, near the Finnish border. When in full production, it will produce five million tons of high grade iron ore per year in the concentrator plant, for use in iron and steelmaking.

ABB will supply a range of electrification and automation solutions for the concentrator plant and the excavation operations in the open pit mine that feeds it. The first order was awarded directly from Northland Resources and includes prefabricated containerized electrical rooms, plant wide fiber optic network infrastructure and associated civil works for the Tapuli iron ore deposit. The second order was placed by Metso and comprises the complete electrical and control package for the concentrator plant.

ABB’s electrification and automation solutions will allow Northland Resources to achieve optimal operational conditions to reach the highest production at the lowest energy costs. The scope of supply includes nine containerized electrical rooms with embedded medium- and low-voltage switchgear, variable-speed drives and motor control centers, integrated with a plant-wide process automation system using ABB’s Extended Automation System 800xA. ABB’s delivery also includes fiber optic network equipment cabling, cable trenching, installation material, engineering, commissioning, installation supervision and project management services.