Industry News

Caption: First Dresser-Rand LNGo solution in operation

Monetizing stranded gas

Dresser-Rand, part of Siemens Power and Gas, has commissioned its first micro-scale natural gas liquefaction system for Frontier Natural Resources at the Ten Man liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Pennsylvania. The modular, portable LNGo technology enables distributed production of LNG for local demand. The unit monetizes stranded gas assets at Tenaska Resources’s Mainesburg field, located in the Marcellus shale play. The standard LNGo system consists of four different modules, each handling one step of the liquefaction process. It can be transported on eight trucks, deployed directly at the gas field and has a footprint of about 508 m2. The Ten Man facility began production in mid-September last year, just four months from contract signing, and has produced some half million liters of LNG since startup. The micro-scale LNGo technology is said to have low capital and operating costs and can be deployed in rough terrain or remote regions, eliminating the need to establish an expensive gas pipeline infrastructure or arrange for long-distance trucking of LNG from centralized plants to point of use. It can function as a decentralized solution where the requisite pipeline infrastructure is lacking, or as an onsite transformation solution to reduce or eliminate flaring of petroleum gas at oil rigs or producing gas fields.

Power plant expansion

Tampa Electric converted four, gas-powered, simple-cycle generators at the Mulberry power plant into a combined-cycle power plant (CCPP) system, adding 450 MW. The $660 million expansion project was designed and managed by Black and Veatch. With the “four-on-one” project, the gas turbines (GTs) will direct their exhaust heat to a single boiler. Its high-pressure steam turns a secondary generator, increasing the maximum output by two-thirds.

Compressor research

University of Notre Dame Turbomachinery Laboratory (NDTL) in South Bend, Indiana, has a 19-month, $2.5 million agreement with Doosan Heavy Industries to conduct compressor research and testing to support the development of a 300 MW-class gas turbine. The compressor test will study aerodynamic phenomena that computers cannot simulate. Testing, design, analysis, fabrication and assembly will occur at NDTL’s 10 MW compressor test cell, which will become fully operational this fall. NDTL’s 28,000-square-foot facility offers experimental and numerical capabilities for the development of rotating machinery that requires high power levels and related specialized support. These capabilities create a shorter development path for new gas turbine technologies. NDTL is currently involved with a variety of collaborators, including Pratt & Whitney, GE and Honeywell.

Power merger outlook 2017

PricewaterhouseCoopers’s Q4 Deals Insights Report for Power and Utilities provides a recap of 2016 and outlook for 2017. Key findings from the report include:

• 2016 Q4 deal activity decreased compared to Q3

• 2016 represented an increase in both deal volume and value over the previous year

• Generation asset deals (fossil, nuclear and renewable) contributed the highest share in deal volume and deal value in 2016 Q4

• 2016 witnessed an increase in megadeals, both in deal volume and value compared to 2015

• 2017 infrastructure and generation asset deals will continue to be a theme.

Kohler acquires Clarke Energy

Kohler Co. has acquired Clarke Energy of Liverpool, England, a specialist in the engineering, construction, installation and maintenance of engine-based power plants. Clarke Energy provides comprehensive distributed power solutions in multiple industries for mostly prime and continuous power requirements.

Sulzer pump services facility

Sulzer is building a pump services facility in Pasadena, Texas, to expand its increasing network in North America. Adjacent to the existing service center for electro-mechanical services, it will be the new regional headquarter for pump services in the Americas and will provide increased pump maintenance capacity as well as additional technical support. Construction began with a groundbreaking ceremony on January 13, 2017. The facility is due to open in late fall of 2017. The aim of the project is to expand the network of service centers that provide cutting-edge services to customers to help minimize lead times for pump services, maintenance, repair and refurbishment. Since September 1996, the at-speed balancing bunker in Sulzer’s Houston Service Center has been performing a critical service for clients from all over the world. As an integral part of the diagnostic and repair process for large rotating components, this facility offers plant owners and OEMs a specialty service that ensures continued reliability.

Oil & gas data platform

The oil and gas industry is increasingly recognizing the need to overcome data quality issues and manage the ownership, control, sharing and use of data. As a result, DNV GL is launching an industry data platform known as Veracity to facilitate frictionless connections between different industry players. DNV GL research in the oil and gas sector shows that nearly one in four respondents say their organization has an increased focus on digitalization and, despite ongoing cost pressures, 39% believe spending on digitalization will increase in 2017.

Rexa Canada

Rexa has established Rexa Canada, a subsidiary dedicated to improving customer service, technical support, and parts availability for Canadian customers in the oil and gas, refining, power generation, metals, and mining industries. It offers streamlined importation of the company’s linear and rotary actuators, as well as an extensive parts inventory ready for rapid shipment. In 2017, Rexa Canada will add in-house repair capabilities, training, and a local service technician.

MHPS news

Entergy Louisiana has selected two Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) M501GAC GTs for its 980 MW St. Charles Power Station, a CCPP in Louisiana. The turbines are air-cooled versions of the MHPS G-Series.

MHPS has received an order for CCPP equipment for Lamma Power Station Extension, Unit 11 (350 MW) to be built in Hong Kong by Hongkong Electric Co. MHPS will supply the main components with operations scheduled to begin in January 2022. The new facilities will be adjacent to Unit 9 and Unit 10 which are under construction. MHPS will supply its M701F GT, an ST, HRSG and an air quality control system.

Engineering technology

While workers in the engineering technology (ET) field play an important role in supporting U.S. technical infrastructure and the country’s capacity for innovation, there is little awareness of ET as a field of study or category of employment in the U.S., says a new report from the National Academy of Engineering.

An Engineering Technology degree and Bachelor of Science in Engineering are closely related fields of study with noticeable differences in learning curriculum. Most notably, a Bachelor of Science in Engineering emphasizes theories and advanced concepts while an Engineering Technology degree

emphasizes hands-on application and implementation.

In 2014, there were nearly 94,000 four-year engineering degrees, nearly 18,000 four-year ET degrees, and more than 34,000 two-year ET degrees

awarded in the U.S. Of the roughly 400,000 people employed in ET in

2013, an estimated 80% were working as engineering technicians.

A survey of employers of engineering technicians and technologists found that 30% of nearly 250 respondents had never heard of ET education. In addition, one-third said they did not know the difference between work performed by engineers and work performed by engineering technologists. Within academia, the report suggests that leaders of two-year and four-year ET programs should engage in discussions with leaders in postsecondary

engineering education about the similarities and differences between the two

variants of engineering and how they might complement each other while

serving the interests of a diverse student population. The ET education community should also consider ways to make the field’s value more evident to K-12 teachers, students, and parents, as well as to employers.

New Reintjes branches

Propulsion specialist Reintjes has opened a new branch office in the south of England to serve the UK and Ireland. Philip Martin is in charge of the office management. Prior to Reintjes, he was responsible for the UK and Irish markets of MAN Diesel & Turbo UK, covering medium- and slow-speed engines as well as turbochargers, propellers and propulsion systems.

Reintjes also opened a branch office in Paraguay to service Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. This follows the company strategy being closer to the customer.

MAN in China

In collaboration with the Chinese company Guangdong Liyu New Energy Science & Technology, MAN Diesel & Turbo is supplying a compact GT package for the decentralized production of heat and power. The end user is ENN Group. At the heart of the unit is a MAN MGT series GT which will produce about 6 MW of power and 12 MW of heat for an industrial zone in Jiangsu province. This unit uses over 80% of the energy stored in the fuel through CHP.

Doosan Škoda Power’s new turning and milling center

Doosan digest

Doosan Škoda Power has inaugurated a turning and milling center manufactured by Georg, a German machine tool firm. This enables rotor manufacture time to be cut by up to one half. Up to now, turbine rotors have gone through three stages of manufacture. First, all rotating planes were turned, the suspensions for attaching blades were milled, and then the apertures for balancing and couplings were drilled. Three different machines were required. The new machine can perform all three steps. The machine is operating at Doosan Škoda Power’s Plzeň facility in the Czech Republic. Doosan Skoda Power has also been awarded a contract to supply an ST in Indonesia for the

Doosan Skoda Power has also been awarded a contract to supply an ST in Indonesia for the Grati gas-fired power plant (East Java), which is converting its gas cycle into a combined cycle. The steam turbine for this project is a doublecasing 195 MW turbine. Doosan Škoda Power won another project for the Samra combined cycle power plant in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The client, Chinese Sepco III Electric Power Construction, is the main contractor for the project. This is the fourth stage of construction of the plant. Doosan will supply a steam turbine (ST) with a 70 MW generator. The single body ST comes with reheating and axial outlet to the air-cooled condenser. Shipping is scheduled for mid-2017, and the plant will begin commercial operation about a year later.

Natural gas report

The American Gas Association (AGA) released its 2017 Playbook on the role of natural gas in North American society. “America’s abundance of clean natural gas is driving low prices for homes and businesses which is leading states to find new ways to extend natural gas to more communities,” said AGA President and CEO Dave McCurdy. “Efficient use of this domestic resource can help us achieve our national goals.” The AGA report found that natural gas has led to $76 billion in savings for American businesses since 2009. It also highlighted the fact that New England has a critically constrained natural gas pipeline infrastructure. The average price for natural gas for all users in that area was 27% higher than the national average in 2015.

GE digest

GE has been awarded contracts for eight Integrated Compressor Line (ICL) units up to 14 MW for OGE (Open Grid Europe) and TAG (Trans Austria Gasleitung) to transport gas across Europe. Its integrated compression system incorporates a high-speed electric motor and a centrifugal compressor in a single sealed casing, with no need of lubrication due to Active Magnetic Bearings (AMB) technology. The ICL’s compact design eliminates the gearbox, seal systems and lube oil system.

At its annual customer meeting, GE Oil & Gas announced further tools and agreements as part of its digital campaign. Enterprise Impact provides condition prioritization and unifying monitoring insights to quickly identify and prioritize machinery health issues across multiple monitoring technologies. This Predix-enabled data connectivity software includes a web-based dashboard for a single, secure access point for monitoring equipment and instrument health.

An agreement between GE Oil & Gas and Total Refining & Chemicals will produce centrifugal pump impellers in GE's facility in Bari, Italy using 3D printing. The goal is to take lead time down from months to an average of three weeks. The first impeller will be in operation a Total French Refinery within the second quarter of 2017.

GE Power has announced an order from Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) for a CCPP, including three GE HA GTs, which will power the world’s largest single- site smelter. GE also signed a multiyear agreement with Alba for a period of 16 years to maintain a plant capable of generating 1,792 MW. Alba’s Power Station 5 will use GE’s Digital Power Plant software. In addition to three HA GTs, the order includes three A651 STs, three HRSGs and other equipment.

GE has won a $1.4 billion order from the Iraqi government to build two power plants that will generate 1.5 GW of power. The contract also includes the upgrade of four additional plants later on that will bring that number up to 2 GW. The two power plants that GE will build in Samawa and Dhi Qar will each use four GE 9E GTs.

Steam turbine controls

Rexa and Compressor Controls Corporation (CCC) announced a joint initiative to modernize steam turbine controls for enhanced performance based upon each company’s core competency. There are more than 10,000 turbomachinery trains worldwide powered by CCC controls. By upgrading mechanical and hydraulic governors to the latest technology in digital speed control, plant operators are able to achieve greater speed control and eliminate nuisance trips. Rexa has decades of experience solving industrial process control issues with its Electraulic Technology. Its flow match valve is used in conjunction with a bidirectional gear pump, in a self-contained, positive pressure, sealed hydraulic system. The actuator design eliminates the need for an HPU, hydraulic reservoir, and servo/proportional valves, removing the need for filtration and any oil-based maintenance.

Ansaldo H-class planned

A memorandum of understanding was signed by Ansaldo Energia Chairman Giuseppe Zampini and Chinese mechanical equipment manufacturer Shanghai Electric Chairman Zheng Jianhua for the development of a new H-class gas turbine. This will also give Ansaldo Energia full access to rapidly growing Asian markets.

Saudis in Malaysia

Saudi Aramco and PETRONAS have signed an agreement allowing equity participation in the latter’s refinery & petrochemical integrated development project in southern Malaysian. Both partners will hold equal ownership within the Pengerang Integrated Complex. This is part of a regional downstream oil and gas industrial hub. Saudi Aramco will meet most of the crude feedstock requirements of the refinery, with natural gas, power and other utilities supplied by Petronas. With capacity to refine 300,000 barrels of crude per day, the refinery will produce a host of refined petroleum products, including gasoline and diesel.

LNG dominates Japan

As the world’s largest importer of LNG, importing nearly one third of all global supplies, Japan relies on stable LNG supply. Following liberalization of its electricity market, Japan’s retail gas market will be liberalized in 2017. Japanese industrial giant Mitsui has emphasized the importance of a stable LNG supply in order to fulfill future energy demand in Japan. Chief Operating Officer of Energy Business Unit II of Mitsui & Co., Hirotatsu Fujiwara, believes LNG and gas will continue to play an important role long-term in the economy. He also stated that regardless of forecasts that renewable energy may grow at a steady 2% per year, fossil fuels, especially LNG, will continue to be a significant source for meeting energy demand through 2040. Doosan digest

SoftInWay partnership

SoftInWay and Open Mind Technologies are collaborating to provide a complete solution for the design, development and manufacturing of GT components and other types of turbomachinery. The SoftInWay AxSTREAM Software Platform provides an integrated approach to design. The software consists of modules to perform preliminary design, meanline and streamline analysis, CFD and FEA, blade profiling, and rotor dynamics, bearings analysis, and rotor design. The Open Mind hyperMILL is modular CAM for 2.5D, 3D, 5-axis, HSC/HPC, and mill-turning processes. It provides geometry analysis and tool path calculations. Multi-blade and singleblade turbomachinery solutions are embedded within hyperMILL that is applied to more broad-based milling, drilling and turning applications. This partnership brings product, services, sales and technical teams together for a complete software solution.

Toshiba steam contract

Toshiba Plant Systems & Services (TPSC) has won a contract for a new coal-fired power generation project in Cambodia. It covers construction of a 150 MW plant in Sihanoukville for Cambodian Energy II (CEL2). TPSC and its group companies will be responsible for engineering, equipment supply, construction work, installation, testing and adjustment. Construction should be completed by November 2019.

Siemens technician working at the company’s manufacturing and service facility in Nuremberg, Germany

Siemens digest

Siemens has finished its first full load engine tests for GT blades produced using Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology. The company validated multiple AM printed turbine blades with a conventional blade design at full engine conditions. The components were tested at 13,000 revolutions per minute and temperatures beyond 1,250 °C. Siemens also tested a new blade design with a completely revised and improved internal cooling geometry manufactured using AM technology. The project team used blades manufactured at its 3D printing facility in UK. The blades were installed in a Siemens SGT-400 GT with a capacity of 13 MW. The AM blades are made out of a powder of polycrystalline nickel superalloy, allowing them to endure high pressure, hot temperatures and rotational forces. At full load, each of these turbine blades is travelling at over 1,600 km/h, carries 11 tons, is surrounded by gas at 1,250°C and cooled by air at over 400°C.

Siemens, together with its Japanese consortium partner Marubeni Corporation, has received an order for the delivery of a CCPP to Thailand. Stateowned utility Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) will operate the plant in South Bangkok consisting of two Siemens H-class units in a singleshaft configuration. Commissioning is due in 2019. The power plant with an electrical output of around 1,200 MW will include two SGT5- 8000H GTs, two SGen5-3000W generators and two SST5-5000 STs. Also included are two heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) by NEM and the SPPA-T3000 control system.

Siemens has received a major order for 12 compressor trains for two onshore natural gas processing plants in Iran. Palayesh Parsian Sepehr will operate the plants. The customer is the EPC Hampa Engineering. Commercial operation is expected end of 2018. The trains each contain a Siemens STC-SV vertical split compressor and will be used in two natural gas processing plants. Four will be driven by Siemens SGT-700 GTs, four by Siemens SGT-100 GTs, and two by an electric motor.

New combined cycle unit

Siemens received an order from Castle Peak Power Company Limited (CAPCO) for the delivery of a power block for a new combined cycle unit in its Black Point Power Station in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong. Scheduled to be in operation before 2020, plant capacity will be 550 MW using an SGT5-8000H GT, an SST5-5000 ST, a water-cooled SGen5- 3000W generator manufactured in Germany as well as the SPPA-T3000 control system.

Siemens has won an order from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in India to overhaul 18 RT48S & RT56 units driven by Industrial AVON and Industrial RB211 gas generators. The turbines are operating at ONGC’s Mumbai High Asset and Neelam & Heera Asset in Mumbai, India.

Siemens has also achieved the first commercial installation of a 3D-printed part in a nuclear power plant. The replacement part produced for the Krško nuclear power plant in Slovenia is a metallic, 108mm diameter impeller for a fire protection pump that is in constant rotating operation. The water pump provides pressure for the fire protection system at the plant. The original impeller was in operation since the plant was commissioned in 1981 but its manufacturer is no longer in business. Obsolete, non-OEM parts are particularly well-suited for 3D printing as their designs are virtually impossible to obtain. Siemens reverse-engineered and created a “digital twin” of the part. The company’s AM facility in Finspång, Sweden, then applied its AM process using a 3D printer to produce the part.

Siemens and its Dresser-Rand business have been contracted to deliver two GTdriven compressor trains and two GT generator packages for the Liwa Plastics Industries Complex, a petrochemical project located in Oman. The natural gas liquids (NGL) extraction plant in Fahud is a part of this industrial complex. It should begin operations in 2019. Siemens will supply four SGT-700 GTs. Two will drive a barrel-type turbocompressor (STC-SV) for lean gas compression. The other two GTs will drive a generator to supply electricity to the plant.

Siemens will supply five F-class GTs to the Fadhili CHP plant in Saudi Arabia. With a generating capacity of 1,200 MW, the plant will supply electricity and process steam to a new natural gas extraction plant. The turbines will be produced at the Siemens Dammam Energy Hub (SDEH), the Middle East’s largest gas turbine manufacturing facility. Siemens’ scope of supply includes five generators and a control system, all of which will be commissioned on site.

Siemens’ Dresser-Rand business has received an order from Air Liquide for a compressor train to be used in an air separation plant in China. Delivery is scheduled for July with commercial operation expected by March of 2018. Located in Inner Mongolia, the cryogenic plant will supply oxygen, nitrogen and other gases. The train includes the new Siemens STC-SI main air compressor, an STC-GV (H) booster air compressor and an SST-600 ST.