Suppliers often differ on the best way to control turbomachinery. Some advocate plant-wide controls operated by Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) and Distributed Control Systems (DCS), while others opt for proprietary black box or software-based solutions.

The Cidade de Angra dos Reis MV22, a production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel owned by Petrobras, is operating in over 2,000 meters of water above the Tupi Field in the Pacific Ocean. It has to process a mixture of natural gas and CO2 in operating pressures that exceed 500 bar.

Algeria has set aside $1.06 billion towards setting up a 1,200 MW combined cycle power plant in the northeastern town of Ain Amat. The contract has been awarded to a South Korean consortium, and the deal is expected to ease the North African country's acute power shortage, according to consortium member Daewoo International.

  A strong fourth quarter in fiscal 2012 has enabled the German manufacturer Siemens to fulfill expectations and achieve one of the best years ever, according to Peter Löscher, President and CEO of Siemens AG. The company has achieved a seven percent gain in revenue and a strong profit in the fourth quarter.

New regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the low price of natural gas were the two most powerful forces affecting current and planned U.S. coal-fired generation in 2012 and 2013. At this point, we see both forces continuing to shape coal generation over the next few years.

A 40 MW machine, GE's Frame 6B offers proven reliability, low emissions and a lower cost of generating electricity compared to older, oil-fired gas turbines.

Below is a case study from the paper, \"Babbitted bearing health assessment,\" by John Whalen of John Crane, Thomas Hess of Dupont Engineering, Jim Allen of Nova Chemicals, and Jack Craighton of Dupont Engineering at the 41st Turbomachinery Symposium in Houston, Texas. The case study involves a large centrifugal compressor in charge gas service in an ethylene plant. The unit was running fine when a power outage shut the plant down. The train came down fine but when brought back up it was noted that one bearing exhibited high levels of vibration.

Siemens plans to divest its solar business activities and is currently holding talks with potential buyers on this subject. Siemens intends to focus its renewable energy activities on wind and hydro power. As part of this reorganization, the Energy Sector will be slimmed down and the Solar & Hydro Division will be discontinued. Strengthening the company’s focus on core activities is one of the five main points of the new company program 2014, the broad outline of which was recently announced to the public.  

At its management conference in Berlin, Siemens AG presented the basic structure of its new company-wide program to some 600 top executives. The emphasis on cost cutting and organizational restructuring has led to fears over job losses across divisions. But Siemens executives promise that the new program's goal is not to cut jobs.

  The 2012 Turbo Symposium took place in Houston in September with attendance up slightly on last year, according to Dr. Dara Childs, Director of Texas A& M’s Turbomachinery Laboratory which organizes the event. Consisting of technical sessions, a large exhibit hall and short courses, it attracts the main players in the oil & gas field each year.