Industry News

Doosan Skoda Power manufacturing plant[/caption]

Doosan Skoda

Doosan Skoda Power has contracted a fourth unit in Mexico in less than a year. The company is installing another 300 MW steam turbine in the Empalme II CCPP in the state of Sonora. It will operate with natural gas and will have a capacity of 770 MW upon completion by mid-2018. The 300 MW three-casing Skoda steam turbine is designed to withstand inlet steam temperatures of up to 600°C. The plant will be located in Northwestern Mexico near city of Guaymas and operated by CFE, Mexico’s state-owned electric company.

Manufacturing trends report

The 2016 Industrial Manufacturing Trends Report published by PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PwC) asserts that investments in technology are essential for the growth of the U.S. manufacturing sector. According to the report, innovation is building a “data-driven factory of the future with robotics, augmented reality, 3D printing, Internet of Things (IoT) and other technologies, creating an environment of higher productivity and reduced costs.”

PwC added that many of the technological innovations used in manufacturing today will be commonplace within the next 5-to-10 years. According to Nitin Rakesh, CEO and President of digital modernization firm Syntel, the digital age has disrupted many different aspects of manufacturing. “The digital revolution has reached the factory floor; investments in IoT-enabled machinery and connected devices now enable manufacturers to harness data from these assets to optimize factory operations,” said Rakesh. “Financial pressures in the manufacturing sector are prompting organizations to re-assess how they use technology in their manufacturing operations, to determine how they can best modernize their systems in order to maintain a competitive edge.”

Emerson waste-to-energy

Emerson will provide control systems and project services for a new waste-to-energy power plant in North Yorkshire, UK. The plant, which will also incorporate biogas and recycling facilities, will produce 28 MWh of electricity from 320,000 tons of waste. To minimize project costs and schedule risk, Emerson’s project services team will work with Vinci Environment UK personnel to provide the plant’s automation design, installation, commissioning, start-up, and onsite operator training. Emerson’s Ovation distributed control system will monitor and control the plant’s boiler, flue gas treatment and balance-of-plant processes and equipment. Construction is expected to be completed in 2017, with the plant fully operational in 2018. In addition, Emerson’s Ovation technology has been deployed at Longview Power’s 700 MW power plant in Maidsville, West Virginia. The existing control system was replaced with Ovation technology that manages operations across the plant. The automation work was completed in 13 months. Availability has risen to over 98% and net generation has increased by more than a third. Longview also expects to save $3 million per year by avoiding unplanned outages.

Gearbox exchange

Sundyne has announced a gearbox exchange program for its line of integrally geared centrifugal pumps. Applicable to pump models 331, 333 and 338, the gearbox conversion program offers a means for Sundyne customers to increase reliability and efficiency, and to extend mean-time between repair (MTBR). The upgraded gearbox design includes an improved lube oil pump, antirotation plate, anti-friction bearings and bearing plate; as well as the newly introduced desiccant breather and ultra-low-leak SundSEAL gearbox output seal.

Capstone orders

Capstone Turbine Corp. has received an order for multiple microturbines from Chinese distributor JiangSu Jin Tong Ling (JTL). It is comprised of seven C1000, C200, C65 and C30 machines. The units will be used in Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and portable power applications, including a C200 to be installed at one of JTL’s factories. JTL provides large centrifugal fans, large centrifugal blowers and high voltage centrifugal blowers, apart from natural gas-powered products. JTL’s products are mainly applied in steel smelting, thermal power generation, new suspension pre-heater cement, petrochemical engineering, sewage disposal, waste heat recovery and nuclear power. Capstone also received an order for a C600 microturbine for the Italian pasta maker Il Pastaio di Maffei S.&C. Snc. (Maffei). IBT Group, Capstone’s Italian distributor secured the order, which is expected to be commissioned in December 2016. The natural gas-fueled C600S microturbine will be installed in a CHP application to produce primary power and three tons of saturated steam per hour using a cofired steam boiler. The 600 kW microturbine will operate in a grid connect configuration at over 80% system efficiency, which will lower grid reliance and reduce the carbonfootprint.

Amec Foster Wheeler deal

PT Pertamina (Persero) and Saudi Aramco have awarded the engineering and project management services contract to conduct the Basic Engineering Design (BED) study for their joint Cilacap Refinery upgrade project for Amec Foster Wheeler Energy Limited. The contract was signed by Said Al-Hadrami, Vice President of International Operations, Saudi Aramco and Rachmad Hardadi, Refining Director of PT Pertamina at Pertamina’s Head Office in Jakarta.

Amec Foster Wheeler will develop the scope for the proposed upgrade project for the existing refinery located in central Java and will finalize the process configuration and licensors’ packages over the next nine months. The upgrade of the Cilacap Refinery is part of Pertamina’s Refinery Development Master Plan, aimed at improving Indonesia’s energy security and involves the expansion and upgrade of its domestic refineries. The overall upgrade project cost for the Cilacap Refinery is estimated at $4- to-5 billion. Once the upgrade is completed, the capacity of the Cilacap Refinery's will increase to 370,000 barrels per day. In addition, gasoline and diesel production will be maximized and higher quality base oils will be produced from the refinery, which are targeted to be absorbed domestically. The upgrade will also enhance the petrochemicals capacity of the refinery to exceed more than 600 KTPA of aromatics and 160 KTPA of polypropylene. The companies are targeting to complete the front end engineering design (FEED) stage in 2018, and kick off the EPC phase in 2019. The project upgrade is targeted for completion by the end of 2022.

$2 billion plant investment

NTE Energy is planning to develop three natural gas-fired combined cycle power plants (CCPPs) in the U.S., with an investment of $2 billion. This includes more than $900 million to build the 1,000 MW Pickaway Energy Center planned in Ohio, as well as $500 million each in the 500 MW Reidsville Energy Center in North Carolina and 500 MW Killingly Energy Center in Connecticut. NTE Energy expects to start construction of the three facilities between 2017 and 2018. The three natural gas-fired plants are expected to be commissioned between 2020 and 2021. At present, NTE is constructing the 475 MW Kings Mountain Energy Center in North Carolina, and the 475 MW Middletown Energy Center in Ohio. The plants are expected to enter service in 2018.

Dresser-Rand head moves on

Vincent Volpe, Jr., longtime head of Dresser-Rand (DR) will join eCORP effective immediately as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. Volpe will serve as lead in the global launch of ecorpStim, the company’s nonaqueous, chemical-free extraction technology, together with advancing later stage, historic business lines of the company, including upstream assets, storage and power. Volpe had served as President and Chief Executive Officer of D-R for the past 15 years, until leading its $7.6 billion dollar sale to Siemens during the summer of 2015. He became a member of the company’s Board of Directors at the time it was acquired by First Reserve Corporation in October 2004. In August 2005, the company was taken public and during his 10 year tenure as CEO, it generated total shareholder returns in excess of 350%.

MAN in the Middle East

Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has concluded a service contract with MAN Diesel & Turbo for the long-term servicing of 50 turbocompressors in Oman. Together with its local partner Oman Holdings International (OHI), MAN is investing in the construction of a service shop for turbomachinery repairs in the capital Muscat, thereby strengthening its service capacity in Oman and the Middle East as part of a regionalization strategy. In addition to consultancy services and spare parts provision, the service agreement also includes the long-term deployment of MAN field service staff and local Omani staff on a permanent basis at various sites of PDO. As part of the workshop setup, this will be supplemented by training and professional development of more Omani technicians.

Siemens digest

Siemens has shipped its first Industrial Trent 60 gas turbine generator package from its manufacturing facility in Mount Vernon, Ohio, to Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company's (ADMA-OPCO) Satah Al-Razboot (SARB) offshore oil field project on Zirku Island. The shipment will be the first of five Industrial Trent 60 power generation packages to be delivered, installed and commissioned for ADMA-OPCO. The aeroderivative gas turbine (AGT) is the first of three dual fuel units that will be delivered as well as two gas-only units. The Siemens Industrial Trent 60 generates up to 66 MW of electric power in simple cycle service at 42% efficiency. Originally developed for use in aviation, AGTs are compact, lighter-weight designs that are suited for power generation in the oil& gas industry. Zirku Island is located 120 kilometers northwest of Abu Dhabi. The SARB offshore oil field project will have a daily capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil and 35 million cubic feet of gas. The offshore project is being implemented in seven stages and primarily involves the reclamation and construction of two artificial islands, to facilitate drilling works for the extraction of crude oil from the field. The first installation phase is expected to begin in May 2016, with commissioning on dual fuel operation completed by 2018, and commissioning on gas by 2019.

Siemens has placed the first GTs at the Beni Suef power plant in Egypt, which is a gas-fired combined-cycle complex situated around 110 kilometers south of Cairo. Of the four H-class 400 MW GTs that have arrived, two have already been placed on their foundations alongside six 500 kV generator transformers. Once completed, the power plant is expected to have a capacity of 4.8 GW. The Beni Suef plant will start supplying its first electricity to the national energy grid this winter. It will initially be operated in simple cycle mode. It will be expanded to combined cycle mode by subsequently adding heat exchangers and steam turbines to reach a total installed capacity of 4.8 GW. Siemens also has plans to build three natural gas-fired combined cycle power plants in Egypt, with a total capacity of 14.4 GW.

Siemens has also delivered its first GT built in Saudi Arabia. It will be installed at Saudi Aramco’s new power plant as part of the Jazan refinery project, and was produced at the Siemens Dammam Energy Hub. In addition, Siemens has embarked on a program to train young Saudi talent in GT technologies, both domestically and abroad. The graduates from the program are employed at the Dammam factory.

Siemens has signed an agreement for the expansion of three existing thermal power plants with Ende Andina SAM of Bolivia. Total capacity of the CCPPs Termoelectrica del Sur, Termoelectrica de Warnes and Termoelectrica Entre Rios, owned and operated by ENDE Andina, is set to increase by more than one GW. The Siemens scope of supply comprises 14 SGT-800 GTs, 11 SST-400 STs with condensers, 22 steam generators and the instrumentation and control system SPPAT3000. TSK, a Spanish industrial group, will be responsible for civil works, balance of plant, delivery of high-voltage substations as well as for the mechanical and electrical erection of the projects. Termoelectrica del Sur thermal power plant in the south of Bolivia near Argentina will be equipped with an additional four SGT-800 GTs, four STs and eight steam generators. The second plant, Termoelectrica de Warnes is located in the province Warnes in Bolivia’s Santa Cruz Department. It will be expanded by four SGT-800 GTs, four SST-400 STs and eight steam generators. The Termoelectrica Entre Rios plant in Cochabamba, 220 kilometers southeast of La Paz, will have six SGT-800 GTs, three SST-400 STs and six steam generators.

Siemens has been awarded a 23-year service and maintenance agreement for the upcoming Panda Hummel Station, a 1,124 MW CCPP in Pennsylvania. The customer is Panda Power Funds, headquartered in Dallas. The agreement includes coverage of scheduled maintenance activities, program management, and parts for the plant’s three SGT6-5000F GTs. It also includes inspection services for the SST6-5000 ST, the three SGen6-1000A air-cooled generators within the GT packages, and for the hydrogen-cooled SGen6- 2000H generator as part of the ST package. A resident engineer will be located on site for the first three years. Also included in the agreement is Siemens Power Diagnostics, a data-driven product from the Siemens Digital Services portfolio that is designed to help identify, assess and diagnose abnormal operating conditions and to recommend actions to be taken before an issue impacts operations. All 15 Siemens GTs (11 SGT6-5000F and four SGT6-8000H units) ordered by

Panda Power Funds since 2012 have long-term service agreements in place with Siemens. Scheduled to begin operations in 2018, the Panda Hummel Station will supply power to over one million households in the Mid-Atlantic region, including Philadelphia and New York City. Siemens is set to supply six F-class GTs, four STs and several generators for a new power generating facility in Qatar. The orders are for a CCPP with an integrated seawater desalination plant, named Umm Al Houl. The project is set to supply 2.5 GW and up to 618 million litres of drinking water per day.

GE digest

Two high-tech component production lines have been inaugurated at the GE Oil & Gas plant in Talamona, Italy. The nozzle production line is the first completely automated line and a new additive manufacturing line will use laser technology to 3D print burners for GT combustion chambers. The nozzle production line uses two anthropomorphic robots capable of employing 10 different technologies, including electrical discharge machining, measurement and laser beam welding. With this new line, GE Oil & Gas can produce components in Talamona that it previously purchased from third-party suppliers

GE Power has signed a purchase agreement to acquire the Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) business of Doosan Engineering & Construction for $250 million. This acquisition will help GE Power meet the growing demand for CCPPs. Upon completion of the sale, Doosan HSRG will be integrated into GE Power’s Gas Power Systems business, which already includes Alstom’s legacy HRSG business. Doosan has three manufacturing facilities, including one in Korea and two in Vietnam. In operation since 1977, Doosan HRSG currently has more than 1,400 employees specializing in engineering, project management and manufacturing.

Saudi Aramco has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GE and Cividale SpA of Italy to build the Middle East and North Africa’s first high-end forging & casting manufacturing facility to serve the region’s maritime and energy industries. It is to be located in Ras Al-Khair under the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu industrial area. It will be operational in 2020.

Toshiba steam

Toshiba Corporation has received an order to supply a steam turbine and generator (STG) for a coal-fired plant being constructed for Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), Indonesia’s state-owned electricity company. The order is from Sumitomo under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with PLN. Toshiba will start delivery of the STG to the ultra-supercritical plant in January 2018. Toshiba’s STG will be installed in an expansion of the Lontar Power Plant in Java’s Banten Province. It has a capacity of 945 MW, and the addition of a 315MW STG is expected to increase total capacity to 1,260MW. The plant is scheduled to start commercial operation in 2019. Toshiba has also received an order to supply a steam turbine and generator (STG) for the Vinh Tan 4 coal-fired thermal power plant of state-owned Vietnam Electricity. Toshiba will start delivery in January 2018.

Voith subsea

Against the background of existing wells depleting as well as growing step out distances, subsea boosting is becoming increasingly important in offshore oil exploitation. However, topside modifications, complex electronics and extensive umbilicals are a bar to profitable and reliable operations. In order to tackle the existing limitations, Voith and Norway’s Funglesangs Subsea (FSubsea) signed an agreement to develop hydrodynamic variable speed drives for subsea pump applications. Due to a Voith torque converter integrated in the pump on the sea floor, Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) on topside will no longer be required for speed control. The system is said to reduce CAPEX investments by up to 70% and save several hundred tons of topside equipment, making subsea boosting economical at an early stage. The solution developed by Voith and FSubsea aims on the integration of a torque converter (mechanical variable speed device) in the pump unit based on the sea floor. Combined with FSubsea Hydromag technology which provides a hermetic pressure barrier between the process and the motor cooling fluid, this means the system does not require any barrier fluid system and electrical control units.