INDUSTRY NEWS

Small-scale LNG production

Dresser-Rand has been granted an exclusive worldwide license to Expansion Energy’s VX Cycle technology. VX Cycle is believed to be the first technology to provide a cost-effective, small-scale LNG production process with capacities as low as 1,500 gallons per day — smaller than any other LNG production system available.

The mobile, skid-mounted configuration for this process technology is suitable for such markets as: the monetization of flared gas or associated gas for petroleum companies; the production of stranded natural gas fields, which are not close to exiting pipeline infrastructure; and on-site fuel supply for drilling rigs converted to run on LNG.

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 commercial-scale 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 an RG-type integrally geared centrifugal compressor from MDT for delivery in 2013.

GE to acquire Lufkin Industries

GE will invest about $3.3 billion to buy Lufkin Industries, a provider of artificial lift technologies for the oil & gas industry and a manufacturer of industrial gears. Artificial lift, claimed to be used in 94% of the roughly 1 million oil-producing wells around the world, helps raise hydrocarbons to the surface in reservoirs with low pressure, and improves the efficiency of naturally flowing wells.

Lufkin will broaden GE Oil & Gas artificial lift capabilities beyond electric submersible pumps to include rod lift, gas lift, plunger lift, hydraulic lift, progressive cavity pumps and an array of production optimization controls and software.

Siemens acquires ORC

Siemens Energy has acquired specialized know-how of organic Rankine cycle (ORC) technology from Maxxtec AG and Adoratec GmbH in Sinsheim, Germany. ORC is a thermodynamic process which uses fluids with a lower boiling point than water — such as silicone oils, refrigerants or hydrocarbons — as the working fluid. This allows electrical power to be generated economically from lower-temperature sources as well.

World’s largest solar plant

At the heart of a new 100 MW solar thermal plant in Abu Dhabi is a steam turbine supplied by MAN Diesel & Turbo, which will drive the generator. Offering a gross output of 125 MW, the steam turbine is said to be the largest ever built for a solar thermal power station. The 220-ton machine was constructed in Oberhausen, Germany. The project, Shams 1, features more than 258,000 mirrors mounted on 768 tracking parabolic collectors. If covers 2.5 km2 or 285 football fields.

Wood Group orders

Wood Group GTS has secured a contract for the supply of hot gas path components from CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals Company (CSPC) in China. The order is for parts that will be installed in a GE Frame 6B gas turbine located at CSPC’s Dayawan Petrochemical Industrial Park in Huizhou, Guangdong Province and includes multiple stages of buckets, nozzles and shroud sets.

And the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power awarded an $11.2 million contract to Wood Group GTS to rerate a Hitachi hydro-turbine generator at the Castaic Power Plant, a pumped storage facility, north of Los Angeles. The work includes replacement of discharge and wear rings, stay vane modification, turbine shut-off valve refurbishment and replacement of the generator stator. The contract will complete the upgrade of the sixth and final turbine generator undertaken as part of the Castaic Power Plant modernization program.

Wood Group GTS is also conducting a Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) conversion at a power station in the Northeast Power Coordinating Council Region. The 500 MW power station operates five GE LM6000 gas turbines. The conversion will provide for a continuous audit-ready compliance program and help power station personnel manage compliance with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) requirements reducing regulatory risk. Version 4 of the NERC CIP Standards is designed to safeguard the North American power system from cyber security risks.

Building LNG carriers

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Imabari Shipbuilding Co. will jointly establish MI LNG Company, Limited, to handle the design and marketing of LNG carriers. Through this joint venture, large-scale LNG carrier construction projects will be created. With shipyards of two companies at its disposal, the joint venture will be able to secure collective shipbuilding capacity of more than eight LNG carriers per year. Besides the conventional Moss-type LNG carrier with spherical tanks and the membrane type, the joint venture can also offer the Sayaendo, a newgeneration LNG carrier developed by MHI.

Ansaldo wins Tunisian contract . . .

Société Tunisienne D’Electricité et de Gaz (STEG) has awarded Ansaldo Energia, in consortium with SNC-Lavalin, contracts worth over €300 million. The engineering, procurement and construction contract involves the design and construction of a 420 MW gas-fired combined cycle plant in Sousse, Tunisia, and a long-term service agreement.

The Sousse D plant, in the Abdel-Hamid region, will be equipped with an AE94.3 gas turbine that can burn diesel oil as a backup fuel; an MT15C-SS steam turbine; and a THR-L63 generator. These machines were designed and built at Ansaldo’s Genoa production facility. Delivery is scheduled for the summer of 2015.

. . . and two more in Russia

Two 90 million million euro Ansaldo contracts include the supply of three gas turbines complete with generators and auxiliary systems in St. Petersburg, and a gas turbine with generator and auxiliary systems for Moscow.

Alstom for China

Alstom has signed a contract with Harbin Turbine Company (HTC) to supply two sets of GT13E2 gas turbine generators for Huaneng Power International’s (HPI) Suzhou combined heat and power plant. This is Alstom’s third gas turbine order awarded by HTC over the last nine months. The total contract value is about $52 million. With a total capacity of 400 MW, the two new sets will be delivered in early 2014.

Center of excellence

Wood Group GTS has named its Duncan, S.C. facility as its center of excellence for heavy frame industrial gas turbine fuel nozzle and combustor repairs, including standard and Dry Low NOx (DLN) systems. After the consolidation, the East Windsor facility will focus on repair services for aero, aeroderivative, light industrial and military gas turbine fuel nozzles, accessories and components.

Alaskan hydro

NAES Power Contractors, Inc. has been awarded a contract by Barnard Construction Company, Inc. for installation of three 5.3 MW horizontal Francis Turbine-Generator hydropower units as part of the Blue Lake Expansion Project in Sitka, Alaska. NAES supplies the labor and supervision, ancillary equipment, and all owner-furnished major electrical equipment in a newly constructed powerhouse at the Blue Lake Dam. The project is scheduled to be complete by mid- November 2014.

Indonesian turbines

GE has supplied two Frame 6B 3-series gas turbine-generators for the UBE Batam Power Plant situated on an industrial island south of Singapore. GE shipped the equipment at the end of 2012 and the facility is expected to begin commercial service in simple cycle in early 2014. This adds some 80 MW while enabling a switch from fuel oil to gas fuel. The plant will operate on natural gas supplied from West Natuna in Indonesia.

Mexican microturbines

Capstone Turbine Corporation has received orders totaling 5 MW from one of its Mexican distributors, DTC Soluciones Inmobiliarias SA de CV. Each of the systems sold will use waste exhaust in a combined heat and power plant. The largest of the orders, a 2.6 MW project is for a combined cooling heating and power plant in northern Mexico. The exhaust from the microturbines will be used to produce both hot and chilled water for the CCHP system.

Russian agreement

GE and the Sakhalin provincial government of Russia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to work together in developing power generation projects to meet the future energy needs of Sakhalin Island, off the east coast of Russia. The MOU covers a wide range of GE technology options, including aeroderivative gas turbines, gas engines, coal gasification and wind power. This includes the 60 MW Nogliki project at Sakhalin Island based on two LM2500+G4 turbines. GE already has supplied five LM6000 aeroderivative gas turbines for projects on Sakhalin Island.

Emerson boosts China power

The Tuoketuo Power Plant, the largest coalfired plant in China, and Emerson Process Management, have received the China Electric Power Technology Award. Emerson and the 10-unit, 5,400 MW plant, located in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, received the award for a 1% per minute average ramp rate improvement, 85% boost in Automatic Generation Control (AGC) performance, 30- 40% reduction in steam pressure overshoot, and a 73% increase ($82,000) in average monthly revenue.

By modeling process response and unit characteristics, Emerson’s URO solution calculated a variable derivative ramp rate to optimize plant maneuverability and AGC capabilities, eliminated overshoots, and improved unit control precision. For the first year following implementation, Unit 7 had the quickest ramp rate and best AGC performance of all Tuoketuo units. Average ramp rate went from 1.5-2.0% maximum continuous rating (MCR) per minute to 2.5-3.0% MCR per minute, resulting in an 85% improvement in the unit’s AGC Kp Performance Index (1.4 to 2.6).

Trent 60s for Mexico

Rolls-Royce announced a contract to supply CYDSA, the Mexican textile and chemicals conglomerate, with a Trent 60 industrial gas turbine to power its processing plants at Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz. The Trent 60 units will be installed for duty in a combined heat and power configuration to provide process steam and electricity, with excess electrical power sold to Mexico’s national grid.

Largest UK power station

Siemens Energy Service Fossil has won an order for the supply and installation of three intermediate pressure (IP) steam turbine modules with Drax Power Limited, owner of the UK’s largest power station. The new modules will contribute to Drax’s efficiency improvement program. The contract was awarded following the completion of the £100 million turbine upgrade project which, over a period of five years, saw the replacement of the high-pressure and low-pressure turbine modules of all six generating units at Drax Power Station. The turbine modernization project has increased the efficiency of the power station to almost 40%.

Power in Lebanon

MAN Diesel & Turbo is supplying 14 18V48/60 engines for two new power plants in Lebanon, which will produce electricity for the state-owned supply company Electricite du Liban. The plants, which will deliver an output of 194 MW and 78 MW, respectively, are being built by a consortium comprising the Danish power plant specialist Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor A/S and MAN Diesel & Turbo in Zouk and Jiyeh, near Beirut. The €270 million order also includes kits for converting the engines to gas-powered operation. When the region’s gas infrastructure is established the engines will be switched to dual-fuel capability, allowing them to operate with liquid as well as gaseous fuels. The power plants will use the diesel combined cycle product, in which waste heat from the engines is used to power a steam turbine, achieving a total electrical efficiency of more than 48%.

Blade tip timing sensors

The Propulsion Instrumentation Working Group (PIWG) of the U.S. Air Force has completed testing of blade tip timing sensors for turbomachinery supplied by five vendors. Blade-tip timing is a method for the detection, measurement and analysis of blade vibrations in rotating bladed assemblies. Turbomachinery blade vibrations can cause high cycle fatigue, which reduces blade life. Testing was done at Barbour Stockwell, Inc. (BSi) in Woburn, MA.

The test stand consisted of a BSi Model 7000 test turbine, associated rigging, test rotor and speed control software. The test stand was operated up to 10 krpm for tips speeds to 1,400 ft/sec. Test speeds were held to within 2 rpm of target. The USAF and Pratt & Whitney were responsible for much of the logistics and planning. PIWG was established in 1995 to address critical turbine engine-development test instrumentation.

Valve shipments grow

Shipments for the U.S. industrial valve industry will grow 3% in 2013, increasing to nearly $4.3 billion, according to the Valve Manufacturers Association (VMA). The increase marks the fourth consecutive year of growth, and exceeds the industry’s previous 10-year peak in 2008.

Overall, the VMA forecast reveals only slight changes for most of the 15 end-user industries. Power generation is predicted to have the largest increase in shipments from 2012, rising 1.0 percentage points. On the downside, the water and wastewater industry is forecast to decline by 0.6 percentage points, with seven other industries showing smaller declines. In terms of market share, the chemical process industries are the largest consumer with 17.2% of the shipments, followed by water and wastewater at 16.2%.

Out of 11 categories of valves tracked, the most popular product last year was automated valves, accounting for nearly $1.3 billion in shipments; ball valves were next, accounting for $760.5 million in shipments. The report also revealed that 21% of shipments are exports, a growing trend as the industry adapts to the opportunities presented by globalization.

Polymer coating plant

A new 71,000 square foot facility for ITW Polymers Coatings in Houston, Texas has produced its first batches of material. The factory will combine the operations of two smaller facilities into one environment and join other existing ITW Polymers Coatings facilities located in Oxford, MI, and Montgomeryville, PA.

Coal gas-to-LNG order

GE has received a $620 million, 22-year contractual service agreement to provide services for QGC’s Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) plant off the east coast of Australia. This will be the world’s first facility to turn coal seam gas into LNG. It is expected to begin production in 2014, with the LNG produced primarily targeted for export including to China, Japan and Singapore.

The scope of work will include planned and unplanned maintenance of the GE equipment being installed at the QCLNG plant, including 15 PGT25+G4 aeroderivative gas turbines, 28 centrifugal compressors, gearboxes, generators and all auxiliaries. The agreement also includes monitoring and diagnostic services, as well as reliability guarantees on the equipment.

Energy storage plant

ITM Power has won a competitive tender process for a Thüga Group project to supply a 360kW power-to-gas energy storage plant in Germany. Its hydrogen production unit is based on ITM’s self-pressurizing rapid response PEM Electrolyzer. The unit produces 125kg/day of hydrogen gas and incorporates AEG power electronics.

Power-to-gas energy storage is growing in Germany, and this deployment Group is said to be the largest PEM Electrolyzer deployment in a power-to-gas application to date. PEM electrolyzers are able to respond to fluctuating renewable inputs and are able to store renewable energy as hydrogen for injection into the gas grid. It can respond in one second and is self-pressurizing up to 80 bar, permitting direct injection into the German gas grid.

Russian pipeline power

Perm Engine Companyhas has completed shipment of four GTU-12P gas turbine plants for the Kubanskaya compressor station of the South Corridor pipeline system in Russia. On this part of the pipeline, four of six compressor stations will be equipped with gas turbine plants of 12 MW unit capacity manufactured by Perm.

Southern Africa power

Aggreko has signed Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), the Mozambique power utility and NamPower, the Namibian power utility, to provide 122 MW of gas-fueled power from the Aggreko interim power plant located at Gigawatt Park at Ressano Garcia, Mozambique.

Under the first phase of the project, which started power production in July 2012, it supplies power to EDM for national energy requirements in Mozambique, and generates power for the South African utility Eskom. The transmission infrastructure will supply power generated in Mozambique to Namibia, more than 1,500 km away, as well as locally to EDM.

Servicing African 9Es

Wood Group has secured 11 contracts in five African nations totaling about $240 million over the last 12 months. Wood Group PSN won contracts to provide operations & maintenance and construction services to clients in Equatorial Guinea, Chad and Algeria. Wood Group GTS has secured a long-term service agreement covering two GE Frame 9E gas turbines for an operator in Ghana. Wood Group Mustang is providing engineering for wellhead platforms, a production processing platform and a living quarters’ platform for an offshore project in Angola.

New fan design

Advanced Design Technology (ADT) has completed a project for Soler & Pallau Ventilation Group in Jacksonville, Florida using ADT’s TURBOdesign1, three-dimensional inverse design technology software. Soler & Palau has used it to develop a fan design that meets Europe’s Ecodesign Directive requirements. The project focused on developing axial fans, equipped with brushless electronically commutated motors.