Oil and gas industry news: 30 October 2014

EPA

The US EPA has awarded US$ 465 000 to the Navajo Nation to oversee the cleanup of an estimated 58 leaking underground storage tanks that store petroleum or hazardous substances throughout the reservation. The agency is also providing US$ 320 000 for compliance activities reservation wide. Over the next five years, the EPA anticipates awarding US$ 3.8 million to the Navajo Nation for this important work. This is the first time the agency has committed to funding these programs upfront for a multi year period.

The cleanup funds will allow the Navajo Nation EPA to oversee the assessment and cleanup at 58 leaking underground storage tank sites in Tuba City, Shiprock, Lupton, Chinle, and several old abandoned trading posts across the Navajo Nation. Underground storage tank owners and operators are responsible for their tanks and need to maintain them in good condition, but in the event of leaks, must pay for their cleanup. The compliance activities funds will be used to conduct tank inspections at approximately 100 Navajo facilities to ensure compliance with federal and tribal standards. These funds will also be used to provide training to operators to ensure there are no leaks from their tanks, and for staff to recognise and respond to release incidents.

Freeport LNG

Freeport LNG Expansion, LP, has announced that its subsidiary, FLNG Liquefaction, LLC, has entered into definitive agreements for the debt financing of approximately US$ 3.85 billion of capital required for the development of Freeport LNG’s first train facility at its proposed natural gas liquefaction and LNG loading facility on Quintana Island near Freeport, Texas. The Train One debt financing is being provided by Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the following six commercial banks: The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking corporation, and ING Bank NV, Tokyo Branch. The portion of the loans financed by the commercial banks is insured by Nippon Export and Investment Insurance. Pursuant to their previously announced agreement, Osaka Gas Co. Ltd and Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. are investing approximately US$ 1.2 billion for the development of Train One.

Michael S. Smith, CEO, Freeport LNG said, ‘we are excited to announce our partnership with Japanese governmental institutions to support the financing needs of the Freeport LNG liquefaction facility and to become a key contributor to the long term diversification and security of energy supplies to Japanese utilities. We look forward to commencing construction of the initial two trains of the liquefaction project in the coming weeks and beginning commercial exports in 2018.’

HIMA

Daqing Petrochemical Company, a regional branch of China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), has chosen the HIMA FlexSILon TMC solution for safely controlling turbomachines at its gasoline desulfurisation plant being built in Daqing City, in China’s Heilongjiang province. The new gasoline desulfurisation plant will help China improve its air quality through the manufacture of low sulfur gasolines, leading to less polluting tailpipe emissions. The government requires all motor gasoline to meet China V emission standards. Designed as an expansion of the original 10 million tpy refinery, the desulfurisation project is also meant to help Daqing Petrochemical improve its overall competitiveness.

The FlexSILon TMC solution is based on the fully redundant HIMax platform and is a complete solution for achieving full automation of turbines and compressors. With unified control, regulation and monitoring functions, and the ability to limit overspeed rotation, FlexSILon TMC is a cost effective alternative to individual components from various manufacturers. Daqing Petrochemical attributed its selection of the FlexSILon solution to positive experiences with other HIMA products, as well as HIMA’s extensive experience implementing TMC solutions, overall safety expertise and its ability to provide service throughout the system lifecycle.

Edited from various press releases by Claira Lloyd

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/30102014/oil-gas-industry-news-30-oct/