Industry News

RB211 User Group Meeting

In May, representatives from Industrial RB211 operating companies throughout the world met in Milan, Italy. This was the first European Turbine Network (ETN) meeting of an engine-specific user group dedicated to the Industrial RB211 aeroderivative gas turbine. ETN is a non-profit association bringing together the entire value chain of the gas turbine (GT) technology community. Through cooperative efforts and by initiating projects, ETN seeks to optimize GT research and technology development, and promote environmentally sound gas turbine technology with reliable and low cost operation.

In Milan, industrial RB211 users discussed GT issues with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), independent service providers (ISPs) and the research & development (R&D) community. Major fleet owners, such as BP, Shell, Total, Statoil, ExxonMobil and National Grid of the UK, participated in the gathering. Over 150 industrial RB211 engines were represented at the event. “Users found ETN’s two-day meeting valuable,” said Christer Björkqvist, ETN Managing Director.

During the RB211 event, users exchanged experience and established a dialog with Siemens, TransCanada Turbines and RWG (a joint venture of Wood Group and Siemens for the maintenance, repair and overhaul services for Siemens and Rolls-Royce industrial aeroderivative gas turbines.) The purpose of the meeting was to define and develop solutions to prioritized operational issues and requirements. The organizers dedicated a full day to interactive sessions between Siemens representatives and the user community.

“The ETN User Group Meeting proved to be a valuable networking tool and the stepping stone for a united user front to bring attention and closure to lingering engine problems and the sharing of best practices,” said Oscar T. Moguel, Operations Technical Programmatics Machinery Advisor, ExxonMobil (Angola).

Industrial RB211 users around the world are encouraged to join the group. The goal is to establish a strong, independent and knowledgeable user community that can exert a major influence on future engine developments. www.etn-gasturbine.com

Improved 7FA parts

PW Power Systems (PWPS), a group company of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, is offering enhanced 7FA.03 parts by maximizing the turbine capacity and reducing operational costs. PWPS designs are not replicas of OEM products, but improved versions based on the use of thermal imaging, stress analysis and component modeling. Previously improved PWPS 2nd and 3rd stage components are combined with a new 1st stage design to achieve the upgraded 7FA package. This offering provides an 8 MW increase at the 32,000-hour operating interval.

U.S. LNG export

Tellurian, through its subsidiaries Driftwood LNG and Driftwood Pipeline, has applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to construct and operate a facility for liquefied natural gas (LNG) export in Louisiana, and a 96-mile (154-km) pipeline connecting it to interstate pipelines. Tellurian expects Driftwood LNG to begin construction in 2018 and produce its first LNG in 2022, with full operations beginning in 2025. Once complete, the terminal will be able to export up to 26 million tons of LNG per year. LNG market forecast

An LNG market forecast by Visiongain, a UK-based research firm, predicts that we are entering a period of significant investment in mature and emerging markets. The liquefaction and regasification markets will see high investment in the next couple of years. In addition, growing demand for LNG as a fuel and as a means to supply isolated and small demand centers will contribute to capital spending. The report found that the small-scale LNG supply chain will continue to expand and that this market will see Capex of $4.35 billion this year. This includes spending on new installations, expansions, upgrades, regasification, liquefaction, LNG bunkering, fueling stations and satellite stations.

Elliott contract

Elliott Group has been awarded a contract to supply compression equipment for Hengli Petrochemical Refinery’s integrated refining and petrochemical complex now under construction in Dalian, China. The refinery, the largest such project approved to date in China, is part of the Chinese government’s five-year plan. The order encompasses 22 compression trains and 28 casings for services, including pressure swing absorption, continuous catalyst regeneration (CCR), naphtha hydrotreating, aromatics, coal to H2, propane and isobutane dehydrogenation, and sulfuric acid alkylation. The units will be built at Elliott’s manufacturing facilities in Japan and Jeannette, PA. When it comes online in 2019, the complex will provide high-purity paraxylene as feedstock for Hengli’s existing purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plants. In addition to paraxylene, it will produce gasoline and diesel fuels that meet China’s clean fuel specifications, jet fuel, lubrication oils, aromatics, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

MAN digest

MAN Diesel & Turbo has entered a cooperation agreement with Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding that will intensify existing business activities. The two companies have multiple previous collaborations, and are deepening mutual activities within sales, production, R&D, and engineering, procurement, construction (EPC). They have almost a century of cooperation which is being extended from two- and four-stroke engines to steam turbines and compressors.

Compressor trains from MAN are to be used in gas reinjection and export on new platforms in CNOOC’s Dongfang 13-2 gas field, located in China’s Beibu Gulf Economic Rim and the Gulf of Tonkin Economic Belt, with an average water depth of 70 meters. The order comprises three wet gas and three dry gas compressor trains with intercooled barrel type compressors, driven by electric motors with variable frequency converters. The wet gas compressor trains will be built as standardized and modularized Upstream Packages (UPac). This makes it possible to cut lead time and costs. Size and weight are also reduced.

Ansaldo contract

Asia Gulf Power Service (AGPS) has awarded Ansaldo Energia a service contract at the Taweelah IB and IBE power plants, located near Abu Dhabi. The contract calls for a permanent maintenance staff on site and covers scheduled overhauls plus preventive and corrective maintenance activities on rotating equipment. Ansaldo Energia will supply all required spare parts, including GT flow path component repair and refurbishments. Also included are balance of plant (BoP) auxiliaries and condensers. Taweelah IB consists of six Alstom steam turbines (STs) coupled to six ABB generators, while the Taweelah IBE plant has two GE Frame 9E GTs, one GE STs and three GE generators. The Taweelah Power Plant supplies 2,000 MW of capacity to Abu Dhabi and 160 million imperial gallons per day of water.

Ansaldo Energia has expanded its Ansaldo Thomassen Gulf (ATG) Repair Center of Excellence in Abu Dhabi, as well as a Middle East Service Support Hub in Jebal Ali. New APG President Allied Power Group (APG) has appointed David Theis as President and Chief Operating Officer. He brings over 30 years of operational, business development and leadership experience. Most notably, he founded and grew Leading Edge Turbine Technologies, which was acquired by Dresser-Rand in 2010. More recently, he served as Senior Vice-President at PAS Technologies.

Wood Group agreement

Hess Corporation has signed a nonexclusive 10-year agreement with Wood Group to provide engineering, project management, construction, commissioning, operations & maintenance, integrity management, subsea, and decommissioning services. The two companies have worked together for more than 25 years. This consolidates the breadth of their services under one agreement.

Turboexpander for gas process

L.A. Turbine (LAT) is providing turboexpander units for gas processing and natural gas liquid (NGL) recovery within Honeywell UOP Russell modular gas plant installations. The turboexpander-compressor units are designed to handle a flow range of 60 to 200 MMSCFD for UOP Russell standard gas plants. LAT manufactures and tests turboexpander equipment in its 90,000 sq. ft. facility in Valencia, CA. UOP Russell plants include pre-engineered modular equipment delivered to remote locations and assembled on-site.

Setpoint acquired

Brüel & Kjær Vibro (BKV) has completed the acquisition of the Setpoint technology platform from Metrix Instrument. This gives BKV an API 670-compliant machinery protection system, as well as condition monitoring that do not require the level of dedicated computing, software, and network infrastructure typically associated with vibration monitoring software. This augments BKV’s existing portfolio. Setpoint consists of a machinery protection system (MPS) and condition monitoring software (CMS). Its CMS harnesses OSIsoft’s PI System.

GE digest

GE Oil & Gas has signed an agreement to provide two NovaLT12 GTs for cogeneration applications for Italian paper mill, Lucart at two of its Italian locations. The GTs are designed for up to 37% efficiency at full load and allow for standardization and modularization, as well as reduced emissions.

GE will supply the power generation equipment for the Bridge Power plant project in Tema, Ghana. The equipment will be used in the first phase of the project. It will generate 200 MW. An additional 200 MW will be deployed in stage two of the project. The equipment scope includes GE’s TM2500 GTs and STs in a combined cycle configuration. This is the first time the TM2500 will be used in a combined cycle power plant (CCPP). The 400 MW Bridge Power and LPG import, storage, and transportation infrastructure project will address Ghana’s long-term energy requirements by providing enough electricity for 17% of the country’s capacity. It can be fueled by LPG, natural gas or diesel. Bridge Power is being developed by the Early Power Limited consortium, which comprises Endeavor Energy, Sage and GE.

GE has received an order from AE Energia for power in Angola. It includes seven TM2500 mobile aeroderivative GTs, services and digital solutions (Predix and Asset Performance Management) for Prodel, the state-owned company responsible for power production. The TM2500s will be installed in Namibe, Huila and Cuando Cubango provinces and will be capable of providing 200 MW.

PSEG’s Sewaren 7

The Sewaren 7 CCPP being developed in Woodbridge, NJ, is part of PSEG’s plan to replace units 1, 2, 3 and 4 of its existing coal-fired power plant. Construction commenced in June 2016 and is scheduled to be completed by 2018. Sewaren 7 will be equipped with GE’s 7HA.02 GTs and STs, as well as a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), a fuel gas heating station, an air-cooled condenser, an emergency diesel generator, an auxiliary electrical building, a main stack, and an auxiliary boiler stack. The air-cooled condenser will be 125 ft tall and include 20 heat transfer cells covering 40,500ft². It will continuously recycle water. reducing cooling water needs from a nearby tidal strait. The plant is designed to operate on natural gas and ultra-low sulfur distillate fuel oil.

GE and China’s Huaneng Guilin Gas Distributed Energy have announced the first fire of a GE 6F.01 GT. The project is the first-ever gas power project for the city of Guilin and the largest gas power project for the province of Guangxi. Featuring a combined cooling, heating, and power configuration, the three 6F.01 GTs are said to achieve fuel efficiency of 81.2% and a generating capacity of 210 MW. Under a 1×1 cogeneration configuration, the 6F.01 can reach power generation efficiency of 55.7%.

GE plans to launch a repair and service plant for turbines in Nigeria. The GE plant would be a multi-use facility to support clients in power and oil & gas. Construction work in the southeastern city of Calabar is expected to be completed in December. The company is also part of a joint venture which will begin manufacture of its first GTs in Saudi Arabia by the end of the year. The joint venture with Dussur is situated in the city of Dammam. The first of GE’s H-Class turbines will roll out of Dammam by 2018.

GE’s Power Services business signed a multiyear service agreement to upgrade equipment at the Ubungo Power Plant in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, owned by Songas. This encompasses GE’s Fleet360 platform for long-term, reliable operation. Upgrades will help Songas increase capacity by 10 MW. Songas owns six GTs, including four GE LM6000s, which have been operating at Ubungo since 2004. Under the terms of the deal, GE will upgrade three of the four LM6000 GTs in the fleet from the LM6000PA to the LM 6000PC. This is expected to increase the output by 38 MW to 43 MW each. Additionally, they may achieve up to 46 MW with GE’s optional SPRINT technology. The eight-year deal, which includes maintenance and repairs, will boost plant efficiency by 3%.

Siemens digest

When completed the Noor complex at Ouarzazate will be the world’s largest concentrated solar power (CSP) plant. Noor 1 is up and running with an installed capacity of 160 MW. With half a million mirrors to capture and concentrate the sun’s energy, it covers the area of 4,200 football fields. Mirrors focus the sun’s light to heat up a liquid (oil), which when mixed with water, reaches around 400°C. The steam produced is turned into electricity by three Siemens turbo generator sets. Each one comprises a Siemens SST-700, an SST-900 STs and generator. The SST-700 can be used for daily cycling and rapid starts, as demanded by the solar thermal process.

The first Siemens GTs for the expansion of three power plants in Bolivia have been shipped to South America. The two machines, manufactured at Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery in Finspang, Sweden, travel by sea to Chile then overland to Bolivia. Siemens will supply 14 GTs, eleven STs and additional equipment to expand three plants into CCPPs. This will add more than 1 GW. Siemens has received an order to build a cogeneration plant in the Marzahn district of Berlin, Germany.

The company will act as general contractor for the energy utility Vattenfall Europe Wärme to erect this natural gas-fired CCPP with district heat extraction. Scheduled to begin operation in 2020, it will produce electric power while supplying the east side of the German capital with district heating. The plant has a capacity of 260 MW and a thermal capacity of 230 MW.

World Economic Forum

Siemens will work with Uganda and Sudan in the areas of power supply, industry, transportation and healthcare. The African states signed an agreement that includes training programs for local workers. Uganda and Sudan signed a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) at the World Economic Forum 2017 in the South African city of Durban. The documents were signed in the presence of Brigitte Zypries, German Federal Minister for Economics and Energy, Joe Kaeser, President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens AG, and further high-ranking personalities.

Siemens has signed agreements with Pampa Energia to provide long-term service and maintenance at two power plants in Argentina. One agreement covers the SGT5- 2000E GT operating at the Genelba 21 simple cycle plant for 10 years. The other is an eight-year service and maintenance agreement for SGT5-4000F GTs and SST-5000 STs in operation at the Genelba CCPP. The plants can produce 825 MW. Siemens completed extensive service operations on the GTs at Jebel Ali K-station in 29 working days. The plant is located in Dubai and owned by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and in operation since 2002. The outage featured a rotor swap. Upgrades increased power output by 62.6 MW and improved power plant efficiency by about 0.5%.

Digitization study

A recent research study of more than 200 manufacturing executives conducted by London-based Longitude Research has been released. It evaluated digital capabilities to be able to address technologies such as data and analytics, cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT). It revealed two categories for U.S. manufacturers along the path to adopting digitalization: efficiency experts and revenue re-inventors. Efficiency experts are noted as pushing connected sensors, virtual training and artificial intelligence (AI). Their motivation is to increase uptime and efficiency, and to keep their employees safe. Revenue re-inventors, on the other hand, identify themselves as being financially and digitally ahead of their peers. They find motivation for digitalization in opening up new markets, and reinventing themselves and what they sell.

Study highlights:

• The top five digital technologies implemented by manufacturers include cloud computing at 85%, connected sensors in plants at 65%, connected sensors in products at 59%, 3D printing at 39% and advanced data analytics tools at 34%.
• 76% of efficiency experts and 98% of revenue re-inventors stated that they use predictive analytics to forecast performance of production equipment or processes in most or all parts of their organization.
• Only one-fifth of the respondents stated that they analyze more than 60% of the production data they collect.

New ATPS chair

The Asia Turbomachinery & Pump Symposium (ATPS) 2018 is set for March 13- 15 at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre. This will be the second biennial ATPS, modeled after the longstanding Houston Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia (TPS). ATPS is an international assembly for turbomachinery and pump end-users and manufacturers. It features a technical program selected by an advisory committee of engineers, and an international exhibition. The inaugural 2016 event drew more than 900 attendees from 38 countries.

The Turbomachinery Laboratory of Texas A& M, host of the ATPS, has named the chair and vice chair for this event. Dag O. Calafell, II, was named chair of ATPS 2018 earlier this week. Calafell has 40 years of experience in management, engineering, and operations in the oil and gas industry with end-users. He is a member of the Turbomachinery Advisory Committee for TPS. Before retiring earlier this year, Calafell was chief machinery engineer at ExxonMobil Upstream. He has published multiple papers on machinery and flow phenomena and holds several patents. Calafell earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Clarkson University and continued his studies at Columbia University. He will be a keynote panelist at the 2017 ASME Turbo Expo in Charlotte.

Manoj Gupta, a member of the Asia Turbomachinery Advisory Committee, will serve as vice chair for ATPS. Gupta, director of digital solutions at Dresser-Rand (a Siemens business), holds a bachelor’s degree in naval and ocean engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in finance from the University of Houston. He has published multiple papers in the field of turbomachinery, has a patent and is recognized as a centrifugal compressor expert with expertise in high-pressure compression application.

MHPS digest

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) reports that it has achieved the number one market share globally among heavy duty (i.e. F-Class and advanced class) GT OEMs in 2017. According to data obtained from McCoy Power Reports, MHPS had first quarter 2017 global orders of 1,544 MW. This equates to a 31.9% share finishing ahead of its competitors. MHPS also was strongest in the Americas, with 1,220 MW in orders (63%). Earlier this year, MHPS recorded 4 million Actual Operating Hours (AOH) of service for its G- and J-Series GTs in power plants worldwide. The MHPS G-Series was first introduced in 1997 and the J-Series was commercialized in 2013. Its installed base of 146 advanced class GTs is said to be larger than the next two competitors combined Further, Mitsubishi’s first J-Series GT installed in the Americas is now operational.

The M501J GT is part of a new 495 MW CCPP at the Grand River Energy Center in Oklahoma. The turbine had its first fire 45 days ago on March 14, and is now selling electricity to the grid. This is the 23rd J-Series GT installed globally. The turbine was synchronized to the grid two days after first fire. The test team demonstrated sustained operations above the Grand River Dam Authority’s sellable power milestone. The plant is to be known as Grand River Energy Center Unit 3. It will replace a coal-fired facility.