Industry News

MHPS digest

The Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) has dedicated Unit 3 at its Grand River Energy Center in Oklahoma, a 505 MW combined cycle power plant (CCPP) equipped with a Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) M501J gas turbine (GT). It is the first J-Series turbine produced at the MHPS Savannah Machinery Works, the first to be operational in the Americas and has achieved 62% combined cycle efficiency. The debut of the M501J in the Americas at GRDA has attained 100% starting reliability since entering loaded operation. It is paired with an MHPS steam turbine (ST) and Mitsubishi generators. GRDA signed a 25-year long term service agreement with MHPS that included MHPSTomoni digital solutions.

MHPS Saudi Arabia has opened a turbine rotor repair facility in Dammam, and announced plans to manufacture its most advanced GTs in the Kingdom as part of a phased investment strategy. The facility will be used as a base for servicing MHPS compressors and turbines used in various petroleum and chemical plants. In collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor Corporation (MCO), MHPS will handle the maintenance and inspection of a wide range of compressors and turbines delivered to the Saudi Arabian peninsula by MCO.

MHPS has performed rotational vibration testing of a 74 inch (1,880 mm) last stage rotating blade (74IN LSB), bringing the blade’s development process to completion. The 74IN LSB expands MHPS’s lineup of steam turbines, complementing the latest 54IN LSB (1,375mm). This testing verified the vibratory characteristics of the blades. Steam turbines using the 74IN LSB can be used at 1,200 MW nuclear power plants as well as those exceeding 1,500 MW.

Emerson retrofit

Emerson has been selected to retrofit controls at the Elektrik Uretim A.S. (EÜAS) Ambarli A combined cycle power plant in Istanbul, Turkey. Replacing the controls with a unified Ovation platform is expected to improve the overall reliability of the plant. Ambarli A consists of three, 450 MW power blocks, each in a 2x2x1 configuration, with a total generating capacity of 1,350 MW. The Ovation system will control more than 20,000 points. Ovation technology will directly control and provide overspeed protection for the plant’s six Siemens V94.2 GTs. The system will also control three Siemens dual-pressure condensing STs, HRSGs and balance of plant (BOP) equipment and processes.

Elliot VPs

Elliott Group has appointed John Rann, Vice President of its newly integrated cryogenic pumps business, Ebara International Corporation’s Cryodynamics Operation (EIC Cryo). EIC Cryo will operate as one of four business units within Elliott Group. Rann has been with Elliott for four decades and has worked for each of its business units. Shugo Hosoda will succeed Rann as Vice President of Engineered Products.

Elliott Group announced today that its Pneumatic Trip System, with or without partial stroke actuation, has received the IEC 61508 SIL 3 capable safety certification. The SIL 3 capable certification was awarded by Exida. Elliott’s Pneumatic Trip System provides a safety function for STs. In response to an overspeed event, it shuts the turbine down to prevent damage or catastrophic failure.

New Voith CEO

Stephan Schaller, member of Voith Shareholders’ Committee and head of the global motorcycle division of BMW Group, has been appointed as successor to Dr. Hubert Lienhard, long-standing President and CEO of Voith Management. The change will take place on April 1, 2018. Schaller studied mechanical engineering at Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH) Aachen. He has held management and executive positions at BMW, Linde, Volkswagen and Schott. Lienhard will be appointed to the Shareholders' Committee.

GE digest

Competitive Power Ventures (CPV), GE Energy Financial Services and Osaka Gas USA have broken ground on a $700 million, 1,050 MW CCPP to be built in Johnstown, Pa. Known as CPV Fairview Energy Center it will be fueled by natural gas and ethane and feature 7HA.02 GTs, an ST, generators and additional controls and equipment, supplied by GE. Construction is expected to take 30 months.

GE Power has commissioned its 7HA.01 GTs at Chubu Electric Power’s Nishi-Nagoya power plant in Japan. The company installed six 7HA.01s at the Nishi-Nagoya Block-1 as part of a contract with engineering procurement and construction (EPC) company Toshiba. Featuring GE’s 7HA GT technology and Toshiba’s ST technology, the facility holds a capacity to generate around 1,188 MW.

GE Power has signed a multi-year service agreement with Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) to provide maintenance, parts and repairs services for eight GE 7F.05 GTs at Riyadh Power Plant 12 (PP12). The contract will span a period of nine years. GE supplied the 7F.05 gas turbines under a previous contract with SEC, with four units entering commercial operations in 2014, followed by the rest a year later. Operating in combined-cycle mode, the turbines add about 1,800 MW to the grid. GE will provide support on-site, but equipment at PP12 will also be monitored by the Saudi PowerGen Efficiency Center (SPEC), located in the GE Manufacturing & Technology Center in Dammam. A collaboration between GE and SEC, SPEC monitors over 500 power generation trains round-the-clock.

Apple and GE have formed a partnership to deliver industrial apps to bring predictive data and analytics from Predix, GE’s industrial Internet of Things (IoT) platform, to iPhone and iPad. The two companies unveiled a new Predix software development kit (SDK) for iOS, which gives developers the tools to make their own apps. It will deliver GE’s full suite of Predix apps for energy — including APM on the iOS devices workers want to use. This will help utilities that are undergoing digital transformations to better incorporate a mobile app strategy. The partnership will further enable utility workers, ensuring that real-time data is captured and shared with field workers and remote operations using iOS devices.

With half of Jamaica’s electricity generation infrastructure more than 30 years old, the country is seeking ways to modernize its plants and decrease its oil dependency by diversifying its energy mix. GE’s Power Services business has signed an agreement with Jamaica Public Service (JPS) to modernize its generation equipment at the Bogue Power Station in Montego Bay. JPS recently introduced LNG into its fuel mix. This began with the dual-fuel conversion of its 120 MW combined cycle Bogue Power Station. With the installation of one of GE’s LM2500+ aeroderivative GTs, LNG-fueled generation began.

Boiler acquisition

Nationwide Boiler has acquired Pacific Combustion Engineering (also known as Ponder Burner Company). With headquarters in Washougal, WA (near Portland, OR), the acquired company increases Nationwide Boiler’s share in the industrial equipment market and expands coverage in the Pacific Northwest for rentals, sales and service. It will also enhance overall product offerings, with the ability to provide control systems across multiple industries that use combustion equipment. The panel fabrication shop can perform Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) prior to shipment to prove that equipment has the same functionality as indicated in the specification and purchase order.

Industrial security threats

As the number of industrial security threats continues to rise, manufacturers are taking a closer look at risks to their environments. Threat detection services from Rockwell Automation help manufacturers and industrial operators monitor, detect and respond to complex security threats. These services map normal network behavior, and use Rockwell Automation monitoring services to detect and alert operators of irregularities and potential threats in real time. Integrating industrial security software from providers who understand operational functions within industrial protocols can help secure and optimize the industrial control network while offering visibility across all levels of the environment. The first step in detecting threats is to be able to inventory your environment. The threat detection services take a product- agnostic approach to create an asset inventory across systems. The software maps the end user’s network assets and how they communicate with each other. Once the environment is charted, any deviations from a baseline generate alerts. The alerts are integrated with Rockwell Automation monitoring services to help inform the response and recovery process. This process includes incident impact analysis, as well as containment and eradication protocols.

China LNG records

According to an Energy Information Agency (EIA) report, 2017 will be a record year for China’s imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The report projects that China will overtake South Korea as the world’s second largest LNG importer in 2018. China averaged 4.3 Bcfd (1.2 X 108 m3/d) for the first seven months of 2017, which is 45% more than first seven months of 2016. Other than a slight decline in 2015, China’s LNG imports have increased steadily over the past 10 years. Natural gas consumption in China is also up 15% from 2016 levels. According to China’s National Development and Reform Commission, this growth was driven primarily by coal-to-gas switching for power generation, as well as a decline in hydroelectric power generation due to flooding in central and southern China.

Baker Hughes digest

Baker Hughes, a GE company, has signed an agreement for the provision of Asset Performance Management (APM) software and services for LNG trains and related BoP by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG). This deal marks the first APM solution sold and executed both in the LNG market and in Sub-Saharan Africa by BHGE. BHGE was asked by NLNG to develop a solution to enhance the performance of LNG trains at its gas liquefaction plant in Bonny Island, Nigeria. Using APM software, BHGE developed a digital trip reduction program and has committed to a reduction of 20% of trips on the LNG trains and related balance of plant (BoP) within three years. BHGE will supply the bundle of its software services, powered by GE’s Predix in a multi-year agreement that includes support from GE Power Services and GE Digital. BHGE is the main contractor of the project’s LNG trains, power generation and electrical motors units and has had a contractual service agreement in place with NLNG since 2003.

BHGE and KBC a subsidiary of Yokogawa Electric announced a partnership that will provide a combination of process simulation, asset performance management and operational software solutions to the oil and gas industry. Leveraging GE’s Predix, it extends KBC’s Petro-SIM process simulation modeling further into the full-stream oil and gas value chain. It also provides connectivity between operations, assets, people and business processes.

Controller security

HIMA’s HIMax safety controller has been awarded the new cyber security certificate from TÜV Rheinland. The test agency certified the processor and the communications module in accordance with international standards. The certificate is based on testing and evaluation of all requirements regarding IT security over the lifetime of the safety controller. By combining highest safety (up to SIL 3) with IT security in a single system, it provides optimal protection.

.

Subsea equipment is being deployed more widely. Photo courtesy of MAN.

African subsea

RINA Services has been chosen by Eni East Africa to act as certification authority for the design and fabrication of subsea structures and equipment. It will also provide technological validation services for the company’s Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) unit, which is intended for the Coral South Development Project in Africa. The unit will be installed in offshore Mozambique.

Discovered by Eni in 2012, the Coral natural gas field contains about 450 billion cubic meters (16 tcf) of gas. The first phase of the Coral field exploitation includes the development of five trillion cubic feet (5 tcf) of gas and the commencement of the production is expected by 2021. The FLNG unit will have a capacity of around 3.4 MTPA (million tons per year) and RINA Services, besides being the certification authority, has been contracted to provide technological validation of those technologies that Eni deems unproven.

Geothermal contract

Toshiba has won a major order to supply a flash ST and generator for Unit 2 of the Kizildere III Geothermal Power Plant in Turkey. Zorlu Energy will construct the plant West Anatolia. Kizildere III Geothermal Power Plant Unit 2 is a 70,000 kW, triple-flash, combined-cycle geothermal power plant. It will integrate two systems: A 50,700 kW flash steam generation system driven by steam under high pressure, plus a 19,300 kW binary cycle power generation system that uses flash turbine exhaust steam to vaporize a working fluid with a lower boiling point and also uses it to drive a turbine.

Kazakhstan refurbishment

EthosEnergy has been awarded a contract by Zhaikmunai for a refurbishment upgrade of a Frame 5 package and LTSA at its plant in Kazakhstan. Previous work and LTSA contracts had been done with Ethos Energy for its Solar GT fleet. In addition, the company has converted a combustion system to DLN as part of a package refurbishment.

Cybersecurity susceptibility

A new report from Kaspersky Lab found that in the first half of the year, the manufacturing industry was the most susceptible to cyberthreats. Computer industrial control systems (ICS) in manufacturing companies accounted for almost one-third of all attacks. The majority of cyberthreats were in companies that produce various materials, equipment and goods. Other highly affected industries include engineering, education, and food & beverage. ICS computers in energy companies accounted for almost 5% of all attacks. Experts also discovered that the main source of threats was the internet; attempts to download malware or access known malicious or email phishing web resources were blocked on 20.4% of ICS computers. The reason for the high statistics for this type of infection lies in several areas. The interfaces between corporate and industrial networks can be weak spots. Additionally, there is limited availability of internet access from industrial networks. Further, there is the factor of the connection of computers on industrial networks to the internet via networks for mobile phones. Ransomware also affects industrial companies. The number of ICS computers attacked by encryption trojan malware tripled by June of 2018. Most were distributed through spam emails disguised as part of the business communication with either malicious attachments or links to malware downloaders.

Kaspersky recommends:

• Take an inventory of running network services with special emphasis on services that provide remote access to file system objects

• Audit ICS component access isolation, the network activity in the enterprise’s industrial network and at its boundaries, policies and practices related to using removable media and portable devices

• Verify the security of remote access to the industrial network as a minimum, and reduce or eliminate the use of remote administration tools as a maximum

• Keep endpoint security solutions up-to-date

• Use advanced methods of network and data protection.

Innova acquires

Braden Emissions and noise control vendor Innova Global has acquired the shares of GT auxiliary equipment specialist, Braden from Global Power Equipment Group. The acquisition includes Braden Manufacturing in Tulsa, OK, Consolidated Fabricators in Auburn, MA, and Braden-Europe in Heerlen, the Netherlands. The acquisition of Braden allows Innova to expand its market presence. Braden has a GT aftermarket retrofit and parts business (from filter houses to exhaust silencers and stacks, diverter dampers, and in-duct products).

Small modular reactors

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) has released a report to on small modular reactors (SMR). This initiative yielded responses from 80 organizations, including 19 expressions of interest in siting a prototype or a demonstration reactor at a CNL campus site. Entitled Perspectives on Canada’s SMR Opportunity, the report includes proposals for enhanced safety systems and greater levels of efficiency, as well as novel fuel types and engineered systems. Responses to the report also explored the possibilities of SMR technology beyond the generation of electricity. Responses indicated interest in integrating SMRs as part of a more diverse energy strategy, with applications as varied as district heating, co-generation, energy storage, desalination, and hydrogen production. CNL has identified SMRs as one of seven strategic initiatives the company intends to pursue as part of its long-term strategy, with the goal of siting an SMR on its Chalk River site by 2026.

GTT order

Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT) announced a new order from Samsung Heavy Industries regarding a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU). Its delivery is scheduled in late 2020. This contract is the sixth FSRU order obtained by GTT this year. GTT is an engineering company expert in containment systems with cryogenic membranes used to transport and store liquefied gas, in particular, LNG.

New Rexa boss

Geoff Hynes has been appointed President & CEO of Rexa, effective January 1, 2018. Hynes has spent his entire career with Rexa. Rexa President and CEO, Sam Lalos plans to retire at the end of 2017. During his 40-plus years in this field, Lalos has held a variety of technical, business management and executive positions.

Mobile power

APR Energy has commissioned two mobile GTs and connected them to the Puerto Rico local power grid. The fast-track solution features two new GE TM2500 Gen 8 mobile GTs, which will help to restore power in the San Juan area. APR has used the technology to generate electricity on other Caribbean islands including Martinique and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

MAN digest

MAN Diesel & Turbo will continue to service 20 GTs and compressors on four platforms belonging to Brazilian oil major Petrobras. They are located in the Atlantic Campos Basin. MAN PrimeServ will continue to ensure maximum efficiency and availability of the turbomachinery for another three years, with an option of a further extension. Based on an embedded engineer concept, Petrobras has relied on MAN service for these turbomachines since 2002.

HRST chairman

Bryan Craig is now Chairman of the Board with HRST. Craig started with the company in 2001 as a Systems Engineer. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 2010 and has been instrumental in the growth of HRST. He replaces Robert Krowech who founded HRST in 1998. Krowech remains on the Board of Directors and continues to manage HRST Research and Development.

Siemens digest

Siemens delivered the first GT compressor units to be installed in the compressor station of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) near Kipoi, Greece. The order is for six 15 MW SGT-400-driven turbocompressor trains. TAP, which will be 878 kilometers long, is a part of what is known as the Southern Gas Corridor. The project will transport gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz gas and condensate field to the EU. The pipeline is expected to begin operating in the latter part of 2019. Each train comprises an SGT-400 GT as well as a Siemens barrel-type STCSV compressor.

Siemens has received an order to supply a complete power island to a 1.3 GW CCPP in Punjab, Pakistan. The contract was awarded by the China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), which is building a liquefied natural gas (LNG)-operated plant in Jhang, located 250 km southwest of Lahore. CMEC is the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor of the power plant dubbed as Punjab Power Plant Jhang. The power island features two Siemens SGT5-8000H GTs, an SST-5000 ST, two heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) along with control and auxiliary systems. In simple cycle mode, the SGT5-8000H has a power output of 450 MW, which can go up to 650 MW in combined cycle mode. Siemens has signed an agreement with China Resources Power (CR Power) to implement the setup of a Remote Operation Center (ROC) for CR Power’s fleet. Digitally connecting its power generation assets will give real-time insights into operational conditions. Based on those insights, Siemens’ data analytics will make recommendations for improved performance to help extend the operational lifetime of the plants. The ROC project will begin with CR Power’s Jiangsu Branch. The connection of the 19 units (9.6 GW) is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.

Dresser-Rand CEO

The Dresser-Rand business, part of Siemens Power and Gas Division, has appointed Paulo Ruiz Sternadt (42) as CEO. He succeeds Judith Marks (54) who is leaving the company at her own request. Sternadt has more than 16 years with Siemens in multiple roles in the U.S., Germany, Mexico and Brazil. Most recently, he was Executive Vice President of Global Solutions for Dresser-Rand and a member of its executive staff.

Siemens and PAS Global, a provider of industrial control system (ICS) cybersecurity, announced an agreement to provide fleet-wide, real time monitoring for control systems. This partnership will provide customers with deep analytics required to identify and inventory assets, and visibility to detect and respond to attacks. As the utility and oil and gas sectors become increasingly digital, there is a need to identify cyber threats at their earliest stages. According to recent research conducted by Ponemon Institute, deployment of cybersecurity measures in these industries is not keeping pace with the growth of digitization in operations. Just 35% of survey respondents rate their organization’s cyber readiness as high. 68% say their organization experienced at least one cyber compromise, while 61% say their organization’s industrial control systems protection and security is not adequate. The Siemens-PAS partnership intends to bridge the gap to provide a comprehensive view into fleet security. Focused on gathering detailed configuration data down to the sensor level, this will enable users to secure systems in multi-vendor environments.

China’s largest acrylic producer, Zhejiang Satellite Energy, selected Siemens to provide a reactor effluent compressor train for Phase II of its propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant in Pinghu City in China’s Zhejian province. The dual-casing compressor train, scheduled for installation in late 2018, consists of two Siemens STC-SH singleshaft compressors driven by a Siemens SGT-750 industrial gas turbine. Plant commissioning is scheduled for early 2019.

Siemens is offering its SGT-800 industrial GT with a power output of 57 MW and an electrical efficiency of more than 40% in simple cycle application. In combined cycle, the power output is 163 MW at a net efficiency of more than 58.5%. The SGT-800 is now available with power output from 47.5 MW to 57 MW.

OPEC report

The 14-nation Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) says growth in global oil demand will steadily lessen from an annual average of 1.3 million barrels a day between 2016 and 2020, to 300,000 barrels a day in the 2035 to 2040 period. But it says fossil fuels will remain the main energy source decades from now. The organization's annual World Oil Outlook says renewables are projected to record the fastest growth. However, their share of total energy supply is still anticipated to remain below 5.5 percent by 2040. The OPEC report says that the use of fossil fuels will drop from 81 percent of the global energy mix in 2015 to 74 percent of all energy used by 2040.

LNG container ships

GTT has been chosen by the shipyard Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, a member of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation conglomerate, and by shipowner CMA CGM for the design of cryogenic tanks for nine LNG-fueled container ships. Of these nine units, the membrane tanks will be built by Hudong-Zhonghua. The delivery of vessels will take place between the end of 2019 and the end of 2020. These Sea Giants will be able to carry 22,000 containers each, instead of 21,000 containers for the biggest container ships.