Oil and gas industry announcements: 6 February 2015

ABB

ABB has won a contract worth over US$50 million to supply the electrical system for one of the world’s first commercial FLNG facilities, and the second to be owned by Petronas. It will be called PFLNG2. The contract was awarded in Q4 of last year by Japanese engineering contractor JGC Corporation. JGC is part of a consortium that is building the facility for Petronas, along with Samsung Heavy Industries of Korea. Under the terms of the contract, ABB will support the optimisation of the facility’s electrical side by designing, manufacturing and supplying transformers, switchboards, motor control centres and power management system. In addition, ABB will also manage the installation of the equipment and ensure the electrical supply is integrated with systems it is powering.

Air Products

Air Products has announced that Lee Soo-Yon, its Vice Chairman and Former President for Korea, retired as of 31 January 2015. Kim Kyo-Yung, current Korea President since 1 October 2014, is leading the industrial gases business in the country. Kim also continues to oversee some ongoing projects in Xi’an High Tech Zone, Shaanxi Province, western China for a Korea electronics customer.

APGA

President Obama unveiled his 2016 budget proposal on February 2, touting it as middle class economics. The budget proposes spending US$3.99 trillion, which is an increase of 6.4% above 2015 levels, with a budget deficit of US$474 billion, which is the lowest since 2008. Republicans immediately panned the budget citing it as little more than the same failed tax and spend policies of the past, vowing that it was dead on arrival. However, included in the budget are several key areas of possible agreement, including the increase in military spending, infrastructure development, and child care tax credits.

Other issues that may see compromise are the provisions to promote NGVs that were included in the President’s budget. These include: A provision to equalise the tax treatment of LNG and diesel, which is an APGA priority; and, a provision to provide a tax credit for medium and heavy duty alternative fuel commercial vehicles, which includes natural gas.

Bilfinger

Bilfinger has confirmed that the Supervisory Board is currently holding talks with candidates for the positions of Chairman of the Executive Board and CFO. These talks have not yet been completed. The Supervisory Board has not taken a decision and the company has not confirmed the identity of the potential successors.

CH2M Hill

CH2M Hill Foundation has announced US$1 million in support for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education and Sustainable Communities around the world. Ellen Sandberg, Executive Director, CH2M Hill Foundation said, “a hallmark of CH2M Hill’s industry success is our highly skilled employees who deliver quality work for our clients and in the process lay the foundation for human progress. To address the ongoing need to grow our talent pipeline and help develop a global STEM capable workforce, the CH2M Hill Foundation supports non-profit organisations in Argentina, Canada, the UAE, the UK and the US to inspire students to consider, pursue and persist in STEM careers.”

DOE

The US Department of Energy (DOE) and Shell Canada intends to collaborate in field tests to validate advanced monitoring, verification and accounting (MVA) technologies for underground storage of CO2. The tests will take place at Shell’s Quest Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project in Alberta, Canada. The Shell Quest team and technology developers funded by the DOE and managed by DOE’s National Technology Laboratory (NETL), have been discussing opportunities to field test and validate advanced MVA technologies at the Quest CO2 underground storage site.

The project is significantly funded by the Government of Canada and the Canadian Province of Alberta. The Department of Energy is leveraging a federal investment of approximately US$3 million in existing and ongoing projects in their research and development program by proposing roughly US$500 000 for this collaborative effort to field test advanced MVA technologies.

Edited from press releases by Claira Lloyd

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/06022015/oil-gas-ind-announcements/