INDUSTRY NEWS

Compressing CO2 in Canada

MAN Diesel & Turbo (MDT) is providing the compressor technology for Shell Canada’s Quest Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Project, located in Alberta, Canada. Quest will be the world’s first commercialscale CCS project in an oil sand operation. Quest will capture more than one million m.t. per year of CO2 from its Scotford Upgrader and store it deep underground at a nearby injection site. Quest will begin injecting CO2 in 2015. Shell ordered a RG-type integrally-geared centrifugal compressor from MDT for delivery in 2013.

MDT Berlin will construct and hand over this type RG90-8 frame size for the first time. Four pinions are engaged with a different gear ratio, thus leading to diverse rotating speeds. Each pinion mounts two impellers in a back-to-back arrangement. They are compressing the CO2 in eight stages to a discharge pressure of 130 bar. This integrally geared centrifugal compressor handles 80,000 cubic meters of CO2 per hour. The discharge pressure of 130 bar is sufficient to send the compressed CO2 about 60 kilometres via an underground pipeline to a wellhead, as well as injecting the dense-phase CO2 2.3 kilometers below the surface into a saline rock formation for permanent storage.

LNG to fuel ships

With the U.S. shipping industry facing a period of upheaval and with tighter environmental restrictions coming over the next decade, the popularity of future marine fuels will rest upon commercial considerations, according to a white paper from London-based, FC Business Intelligence (FCBI). Many shipping firms have been forced to find innovative ways to preserve or recover margins eroded by lower shipping rates and higher overall costs, said FCBI. Ship owners, fuel refiners, bunkering providers and others are readying themselves for LNG as a shipping fuel. The huge supply of gas in North America has made LNG attractive as a means of lowering operating costs and meeting environmental standards.

The catalyst for change in the marine fuel market is environmental regulation, enacted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), according to FCBI. The designation of Emissions Control Areas (ECAs) represents the first step. There are two ECAs in U.S. waters which place restrictions on sulfur oxide (SOx), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions. Marine fuels must have a sulfur content of no more than 1% mass, falling to 0.10% on 1 January 2015. IMO rules also subject vessels to emissions standards for NOx, which are applicable to diesel engines, and vary depending on the engine size and maximum operating speed. LNG-fuelled vessels would make it easier for ships to meet environmental requirements and eliminate PM.

The adoption of these emissions regulations around U.S. waters has increased prices for low sulfur fuels, ultimately pushing up the cost of shipping and causing ship owners to consider alternative options. To add to their concerns, the IMO will carry out a study to determine whether to introduce a global 0.5 % sulfur emissions cap by 2020.

The future appears to be a choice between burning traditional heavy fuel oil fitted with emissions abatement technologies, bringing lower sulfur marine fuels, i.e., marine diesel oil or marine gas oil, or shifting to LNG. There appears to be some consensus that LNG fuel might be more costeffective than using alternative low-sulfur distillate fuels such as marine diesel. Some ship owners and shipbuilders are also considering a dual-fuel approach such as marine diesel and LNG, in order to hedge against the possibility of shortages.

The route to LNG becoming widely used in shipping is peppered with obstacles. The main issues concern the cost of initial investment, the availability of bunkering infrastructure and the cost efficiencies of LNG compared to other compliance solutions. A primary issue is the cost of building an LNGfuelled vessel, or converting an existing vessel for LNG. Adopting LNG requires a purpose- built engine or modifications to an existing one, as well as a significant investment in an LNG tank system.

Lost capacity is also a concern when retrofitting ships. Overall, the estimated cost for an LNG-fuelled ship would be about 20- 25% higher compared to an equivalent vessel. However, a study by Germanischer Lloyd & Man found that payback times for an LNG system compare favorably to scrubber systems. But as the payback time for larger vessels would be longer than 60 months, the LNG system would break even only with the more stringent 2020 IMO sulfur emissions regulations taking effect.

Malaysian combined cycle

Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has signed agreements for a combined cycle power plant in Seberang Prai, Penang, Malaysia. The national utility company inked agreements with Siemens, Samsung and its repair and maintenance arm, TNB Remaco. TNB has entered into a 20-year service agreement with Siemens and installation includes two Siemens SGT5-8000H gas turbines. The Prai 1071 MW combined cycle plant. Another deal was an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract between TNB Samsung Engineering & Construction Malaysia for three years. The third agreement was for operation and maintenance of power plants.

LM6000 controls upgrade

Wood Group GTS has upgraded the controls system on a GE LM6000 gas turbine at Jonesboro, Arkansas, City Water and Light’s (CWL) northwest combustion turbine site. The company has replaced the original controls system with an open-architecture system that will enable CWL to access and configure the turbine to meet fluctuating power demands. The new system by Rockwell Automation is easy to service and lets CWL perform maintenance in-house. The upgrade at CWL’s Jonesboro facility is one of over 500 control system installations performed by Wood Group GTS.

Texas replacement plant

The city of San Marcos, Texas will participate as a financial partner in the new 540 MW power plant at Horseshoe Bay that the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) is constructing to replace its 37-year-old, 420- MW Thomas C. Ferguson electric power generating plant, following the approval of an agreement by the City Council. It will be a combined cycle plant. LCRA has contracted with Fluor Corporation for the Ferguson plant replacement project and broke ground in April 2012. The plant is scheduled to be online in 2014. The old plant on the site will be decommissioned after the new plant is completed.

Supercritical steam

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has received an order for four sets of a 700 MW supercritical pressure steam turbine and generator plus supercritical boiler components to be installed at a heavy oil-fired power generation plant that will be built by Saudi Electricity Company (SEC). MHI is slated to complete deliveries between September 2014 and March 2015. Mitsubishi Electric Company will supply the generators.

Colfax pumps for Saudi

Colfax Fluid Handling has received an order to deliver 21 of its Allweiler screw pumps to a power plant in Saudi Arabia. The pumps will be moving heavy crude and lubricating oil. This requires seals that comply with API standards, sometimes in the form of double-acting mechanical seals and flushed seals. These pumps will operate on three gas turbine generators at the Yanbu II power plant. Each will provide 230 MW, forming one part of a seawater desalination plant. The generators are currently under construction with delivery from Hanwha anticipated early in 2013.

Saudi control system

Yokogawa Electric Corporation had received a control system order for the Shoaiba II combined cycle power plant located south of Jedda on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia. It will have ten gas turbines and two steam turbines with a combined output of 1,200 MW (two blocks of 600 MW each) and is scheduled to start operation in June 2013. The order, received from Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd., comprises a Centum VP control system and a simulator which will be used to train operators. The control system will be for integrated control of heat recovery steam generators (HRSG) and gas turbines.

O&M contract

Wood Group GTS has signed a four-year operations and maintenance (O&M) contract with Entegra Power Group and Sundevil Power Holdings to operate the Gila River Power Station, an independent power plant in the U.S. Located near Phoenix, the station has eight GE Frame 7FA gas turbines, eight heat recovery steam generators and is capable of producing 2,200 MW of electrical power. The Gila River Power Station was an early adopter of Wood Group GTS’ Ecomax system, an automated gas turbine tuning technology that enables the operator to optimize gas turbine combustor and turbine performance.

Florida plants change hands

Quantum Utility Generation (QUC) has entered into an agreement with the affiliates of Atlantic Power Corporation to acquire Atlantic’s 100% equity interests in three combined cycle natural gas-fired generation and cogeneration projects located in Florida. The projects being acquired total about 400 MW of generation capacity and consist of Auburndale Power Partners, Limited Partnership, Lake Cogen Ltd. and Pasco Cogen Ltd. QUG’s Southeastern portfolio is expected to grow to approximately 1,300 net MW. The sale is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013. QUG’s current portfolio interests include the Quantum Choctaw Power project, a 760 MW combined cycle generation facility in Mississippi, the Hopewell and Portsmouth projects, two 120 MW scrubbed coal-fired plants in Virginia, and contracted development projects involving solar and wind generation.

GE Oil & Gas contracts announced in Florence

GE Oil & Gas uses its annual conference in Florence as a forum to announce new contracts and a global expansion of its services empire. The company received a contract to supply four complete, variable frequency drive, high-speed electric motor and centrifugal compressor packages for Total E&P Norge’s new offshore production platform on the Martin Linge oil and gas field. The area is located 150 km off the coast of Norway in the North Sea, and production is scheduled to start in 2016. The packages combine GE Oil & Gas centrifugal compressors on Active Magnetic Bearings with Power Conversion high-frequency variable speed drives and high speed motors. One of the packages has a central high-speed electrical motor driving one centrifugal compressor from one end and a two-section compressor on the other end.

Further, GE Oil & Gas has won a contract worth more than $500 million to supply turbomachinery equipment and services to Petrobras. This will serve four floating production, storage and offloading units (FPSOs) in the Cessão Onerosa region of the Santos Basin pre-salt fields, in Brazil.

The turbomachinery will generate primary energy for the FPSOs with gas turbines and advanced generators, moving gas through pipelines using compressors and reinjecting CO2 and natural gas back to the well to enhance the recovery of the oil. The scope of supply includes 16 PGT25+ gas turbines and electric generators, eight turbocompression trains driven by LM2500+ gas turbines, and 32 electric motor driven compressors for gas main, export services and CO2 re-injection.

In addition, the company has just completed the last section of the West-to-East Pipeline for the China National Petroleum Corp. which stretches more than 5,400 miles. This represents more than $700 million of GE turbomachinery, equipment and services in recent years. GE Oil & Gas also announced a $500 million turbomachinery and services deal with Petrobras.

A further thrust of the GE expansion plan focuses on developing projects in key growth regions and locating resources close to its customers. It unveiled a series of announcements ranging across the planet. GE Oil & Gas and the Angolan group GLS Holding S.A., for example, are forming a joint venture, GE-GLS Oil & Gas Angola Limited, to support the nation’s role as one of the largest crude oil producers in Africa. They plan an initial investment of $175 million to build a manufacturing facility in Soyo, province of Zaire, to supply subsea equipment.

“Angola today is producing about 2 million barrels of oil per day, which is why we are making this new investment in Angola’s oil industry,” said Armindo Costa, president of GE Oil & Gas Angola.

In Iraq, the company has established a service center near Basra City to help boost production in the Rumaila oil field, which is one of the largest in the world with more than 200 production wells producing about 40% of Iraq’s total oil output.

In addition to supplying pressure control equipment for oil drilling, it also provides installation and maintenance, testing, inspections, repair and storage. Future services will include complete non-destructive testing capabilities, machine, welding and heat treatment, blasting and painting and API certification and recertification.

The company has also announced its debut in India’s high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) drilling sector. Its pressure control business has received contracts to supply a new well to be drilled in Cairn India’s Ravva block off the east coast of India. GE has previously supplied similar HPHT equipment in Vietnam and Malaysia.

New office in Mexico

Schenck Corp.’s new sales office in Mexico City will provide balancing machines and systems, vibration analysis and condition monitoring equipment, and onsite and field service for the production, maintenance and repair of all rotating components for turbines and compressors. The office was established to expand the company’s presence in Mexico through direct representation.

Centrax European orders

Fenice, an Italian energy management company, ordered the Centrax CX400 powered by the 12.9 MW Siemens SGT-400 gas turbine. The CX400 will provide heat and power for the Huntsman tioxide plant in Scarlino, Italy, 100 km south of Florence. And Dalkia, a French energy management company, has ordered a Centrax CX501- KB7 package for a district heating plant near Cenon, Bordeaux.

Ghanaian plant expansion

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company and Volta River Authority (VRA) have completed the financing for the expansion of the Takoradi 2 power plant in Ghana, scheduled for completion in 2015. This will convert the existing gas-fired plant into a combined cycle unit, increasing its output from 220 MW to approximately 330 MW, without requiring additional fuel.

The extra energy will be sold to VRA under the terms of a revised 25-year power purchase agreement. The plant was recently converted from primarily an oil-fired plant to one fuelled by natural gas.

A Rolls for China

Rolls-Royce has received a $75 million contract to supply PetroChina with equipment and related services to power the flow of natural gas through Line 3 of the West-East Pipeline Project (WEPP), the world’s longest pipeline. Rolls-Royce will supply PetroChina with an additional six RB211- driven pipeline compressor units, bringing the total number of RB211 units sold for installation on China and Central Asia’s natural gas pipeline network to 56.

When completed in 2015, the 7,000 km WEPP Line 3 will link China’s western Xinjiang region to the Fuijan province in the southeast, transporting up to 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Rolls-Royce, which has provided equipment to WEPP since 2004, will manufacture and package the equipment at its energy facilities in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and Mount Vernon, Ohio, U.S.

Toshiba and GE alliance

Following on the heels of the recent MHI/Hitachi agreement to integrate and jointly manager their thermal power generation systems (not to mention MHI purchasing Pratt & Whitney Power Systems), GE and Toshiba have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to form a global strategic alliance.

They will jointly develop select combined- cycle power generation projects around the world, and explore the formation of a strategic joint venture for the development of next-generation combinedcycle projects with higher thermal efficiency. The pair have cooperated since 1982 and have existing agreements to pursue 50- Hz and 60-Hz projects together in Japan and Asia. Already, they have won a contract to supply FlexEfficiency technology to Chubu Electric Power’s Nishi Nagoya Thermal Power Plant in Japan. This system is being jointly configured to achieve 62% efficiency. Per the MOU, GE and Toshiba will look to extend such collaborations around the world.

Long-term service deal

Siemens Energy Service has been awarded a Long-Term Service Program (LTP) contract extension for the Phu My 3 combined cycle power plant. The facility is a build-operatetransfer (BOT) financed 740 MW power plant located in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, Vietnam. It began commercial operation in 2004. With the extension of this contract, Siemens will service the power station’s major equipment for a period of approximately eight more years once the gas turbines have reached 100,000 equivalent operating hours. Siemens will provide maintenance services for the plant’s two SGT5- 4000F turbines, one SST5-5000 steam turbine and three generators.

MAN’s compressors offshore

Six two-stage screw compressor units for six offshore oil production installations, known as floating production, storage and offloading units (FPSO), have been ordered from MAN Diesel & Turbo for Brazilian energy company, Petrobras. Each package compresses oil-associated gas in two stages, using a combination of Skuel and CP oilfree screw compressor types, each of which represents one compression stage.

Using horizontally split casings, Skuel screw compressors are able to draw high volumetric flows at comparatively low discharge pressures. By contrast, CP-type compressors with vertically split casings can generate about three times higher discharge pressures, but process lower volumetric flows.

A combination of the two types combines their respective advantages. The Skuel stage pre-compresses the process gas but with increasing density its volumetric flow is reduced. The CP stage is then able to increase the pressure. MAN Diesel & Turbo Brazil is acting contractor, and contractual partner IESA Oleo e Gas S/A has an option on two further units.

ASME Turbo Expo for Texas

ASME Turbo Expo 2013, a technical conference and exhibition by the International Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI), will be held June 3-7, 2013, in San Antonio, Texas. According to ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), the event offers an exhibition of turbine products and services, a five-day technical conference on turbine technology and career development workshops providing fundamental study and efficiency techniques. The opening keynote on June 3rd will feature Alan Epstein of Pratt & Whitney, Stuart Jeffries of ExxonMobil, and Vinod Philip of Siemens Gas Turbines. They will examine a range of issues around the theme “Trends in the Global Energy Supply and Implications for the Turbomachinery Industry,” including the role of renewables and shale gas in meeting the rising demand for energy worldwide.

Fracking turbine

Canadian Oilfield technology company, Evolution Well Services (EWS), has selected GE’s trailer-mounted TM2500+ gas turbine to generate onsite power for hydraulic fracturing at a demonstration project near Calgary. The project will demonstrate the mobile natural gas technology’s emissionsreduction and operational efficiency over conventional diesel engines. EWS recently signed a three-year rental contract with GE to use the 25-MW unit at the demonstration project, and then to support commercial operations in Alberta and British Columbia.

The TM2500+ offers multi-fuel flexibility operating on ether natural gas or liquid distillate fuels and can be converted from 50 Hz to 60 Hz. It is said to reach full power in less than 10 minutes and is capable of achieving NOx emissions down to 25 ppm with water injection. Operating on natural gas at ISO baseload conditions, the TM2500+ has 37% efficiency at 60Hz and 35% at 50Hz with water injection for NOx control.

Controls upgrade for Russia

Emerson Process Management has completed an automation upgrade on Russia’s 800 MW Surgut-2 Power Plant, one of the largest thermal power stations in Europe, producing more than 35 billion kWh per year. The upgrade was completed during a four-month shutdown. Unit 3 of the Surgut plant, owned and operated by E.ON Russia, will use Emerson’s PlantWeb digital automation architecture with the Ovation expert control system, specifically designed for power applications.

The integrated system enables automated operation of the entire power unit, including electrical controls for turbine generators and pumps, boiler and burner controls, and unit power and frequency control and coordination. It also provides real-time monitoring of equipment and timely notification of abnormal situations, and helps determine equipment health to facilitate scheduled maintenance and repairs.

Remote hydroelectric project

NAES Corp. has been awarded a contract by Kodiak Electric Assn. for the installation and commissioning of an 11.25 MW vertical Pelton Turbine-Generator Unit at the Terror Lake Hydroelectric Project, on Kodiak Island in Alaska. NAES will provide labor and supervision of the installation of a third turbine and ancillary equipment in the existing powerhouse. The third turbine will increase total plant capacity to 31 MW and help Kodiak achieve its goal of having 95% of its electrical needs supplied by renewable energy by 2020. The new turbine is scheduled for service by October 2013.

Australia’s largest desalination plant

After three years of construction, the AU$3.5 billion Victorian Desalination Project, 130 km southeast of Melbourne, reached full production last December. The plant runs on low- and medium-voltage drives and medium- voltage motors supplied by GE’s Power Conversion Business. Able to supply up to 150 billion liters of drinking water per year to Melbourne and regional communities, it is among the largest reverse osmosis plants in the world. GE supplied a set of medium-voltage motor and low- and medium-voltage variable frequency drives, including filters and transformers for use in both the reverse osmosis plant and associated pipeline network. The use of variable-speed drives rather than fixed-speed motors enables the plant operator to smooth start and stop the pumps, prevent water hammer, improve control of water flow and save energy.

Turbine for aircraft carrier

Rolls-Royce has completed the installation of the first MT30 gas turbine into the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, at Babcock’s Rosyth shipyard in Scotland. The MT30, at 36 MW (around 50,000 horsepower), is the world’s most powerful marine gas turbine. Two MT30s are to be installed in each ship and will provide two-thirds of the 109 MW needed to power the 65,000 m.t. ships. The MT30s are installed as part of a Gas Turbine Alternator (GTA) which includes an alternator and gas turbine enclosure, weighing 120 m.t. The MT30 gas turbine is derived from the Rolls- Royce Trent 800 aero engine which powers the Boeing 777 aircraft, with around 80% of the parts being the same.

7EA turbine for Montana

Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. (MDU) will install a GE 7E 3-series gas turbine, formerly known as 7EA, adjacent to MDU’s coalfired Heskett Generating Station near Mandan, ND. Operating on pipeline natural gas, the 7E 3-series will generate 88 MW when it begins commercial service in 2014. Since introducing the 7E 3-series more than 40 years ago, the 7E has nearly 1,200 operating units and more than 29 million hours of service. The 7E 3-series features a dry low NOx combustor.

Center of excellence

Universal Acoustic & Emission Technologies (AET) is bringing together engineers, designers, business staff and manufacturing specialists under one roof to create a dedicated team for its new Center of Excellence. It will be housed within the Universal AET Beloit, WI production facility to bring those who work in the conceptual stages closer to the manufacturing team, said Dick Strojinc, Universal AET's Senior Vice President of Global Operations. The Center of Excellence will focus on optimizing emissions products for stationary engine applications.

Natural draft condenser

SPX Corp.’s Thermal Equipment and Services segment is installing what is said to be the world’s first large-scale natural draft condenser (NDC) at the 50 MW Khi solar power plant being constructed by Abengoa in Upington, South Africa. The NDC is a dry cooling system similar to air cooled condensers (ACC) that utilizes the natural draft towers to distribute air across the fin tubes, instead of the fans typically used by ACCs.

While the NDC at Abengoa’s Khi Solar One plant will take advantage of solar tower technology, it can also be applied to other power plants in need of dry cooling technology. SPX developed this technology in conjunction with solar company, Abengoa.

Novel compression system

Siemens Energy has been awarded a contract for supplying turbocompressors and mechanical drive gas turbines for a liquefied natural gas project in Malaysia. The project will help improve overall plant efficiency and minimize gas flaring at the Petronas Bintulu LNG Plant in Sarawak, East Malaysia. The goal is to re-liquefy excessive Boil-Off Gas (BOG) evaporating out of the LNG storage tanks — and currently flared. The project is said to deploy the world’s first BOG turbocompressor that is gas-turbine-driven and operates at cryogenic temperatures.

MAN to supply Statoil

Norwegian energy company, Statoil, signed framework agreements with MAN Diesel & Turbo for the supply of turbomachinery equipment and maintenance services. The duration was set for five years with options to prolong the contracts. The companies have followed a joint subsea compressor qualification program since 2005.

Moving gas to China

Rolls-Royce has been awarded a $40-million contract to supply equipment and related services to power the flow of natural gas through the Uzbekistan section of the Turkmenistan-China pipeline. The company will supply Asia Trans Gas, a joint venture between Uzbekistan’s Uzbekneftegaz and China’s National Petroleum Corp., with three RB211 gas turbine driven compressor units for a station on the 530 km Uzbekistan section of the 1,830 km pipeline. The Uzbekistan section of the pipeline will transport 25 billion cubic meters per year of gas.

Russian refinery controls

Invensys has completed the first phase of a MAC (main automation contractor) project at the new Yaysky oil refinery in Kemerovo, a city in Russia’s Kuzbass region. As the main automation provider, Invensys has supplied complete control and safety solutions, such as field instrumentation, process analytics and valves, as well as a wide range of engineering and training services. Included in the project are the company’s Foxboro distributed control system, Triconex emergency shutdown systems and Foxboro measurement and instrumentation solutions, as well as new Foxboro visualization and configuration tools.

The Yaysky facility is designed to process 3 million tons of crude oil per year. The first phase sets up the refinery for the next two phases of implementation, which will expand production to 6 million tons of crude oil per year.

Marine efficiency agreement

GE Marine has signed an agreement with Echogen Power Systems to be the exclusive provider of Echogen’s heat-to-power system for use on commercial and military marine vessels worldwide.

Echogen’s system captures exhaust heat that typically vents to the atmosphere from gas turbines and diesel engines and coverts it to useful power. The technology uses supercritical CO2 as its working fluid, which allows for a more compact, lighter and economical configuration than traditional systems.