OGI Autumn 2020

Oil & Gas Autumn 2020

INNOVATION

THE FUTURE OF WELDING INDUSTRIAL INTERNET OF THINGS: FUTURE-PROOF MEETING EUROPE’S LNG DEMAND THE BIG E&P ISSUE

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Autumn 2020 CEO Matthew Patten Managing Editor Simon Milliere Publishing Director Edward Findlay edward@oilandgasinnovation.co.uk Commercial Director & Advertising Enquiries Nicholas Parker nparker@oilandgasinnovation.co.uk Technical Director and Website Nathan Bedmann web@oilandgasinnovation.co.uk Office Assistants Janet Elseberg admin@oilandgasinnovation.co.uk Contributing Journalist Emma Patten Business Development Executives Mylene Daugan mylene@oilandgasinnovation.co.uk Augusto Trinidad Jr. augusto@oginnovation.co.uk Market Researchers Kiefer Reddy Melissa Phanjoo Jesse Wiafe

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HAZARDOUS AREA BRIEF Protecting Lives and the Environment in Hazardous Areas

S

afety is defined in the Collins dictionary as the state of being safe from harm or danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk, i.e. risk management. That applies everywhere, for everyone, at home, in the workplace, indoors and outdoors. Then why are there so many incidents, accidents and disasters that could have been prevented, had the necessary measures been observed and enforced?

The Mauritius oil spill Two recent examples show that not all is well in the world of safety.

In July of this year a tanker ran aground off the southeast coast of Mauritius. The latest in a long series of oil spills that have damaged ocean life and the shores of many countries. The spill may not be the largest in history, but, according to NBC News, “its location – an environmentally protected ecosystem of biodiverse reefs, endangered animals and plants, mangrove forests and turquoise lagoons – means it has already caused untold damage that experts say could take decades to reverse.” The spill is bound to have a serious economic impact on the country that relies heavily on tourism. Not to mention the local fishermen deprived of their livelihood.

Beirut explosion On 4 August a series of explosions in the port of Beirut, Lebanon, ravaged the city, killing at least 200 people, injuring around 5 000 others and leaving about 300 000 without homes. Allegedly, a fire, started by

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welding work on the warehouse structure, triggered the explosion.

What caused the explosion? Lebanon’s Prime Minister blamed the detonation on 2 750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored since 2013 at a warehouse in the port. Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound predominantly used in agriculture as a fertilizer, but also as a component of explosive mixtures used in mining, quarrying and civil construction.

The ammonium nitrate was stored – unsafely, it seems – first on the ship that transported it, then in a port warehouse, for about seven years.

A disaster waiting to happen.

Both the Mauritius oil spill and the Beirut explosion are proof that when dealing with potentially inflammable and/or explosive material, the utmost safety measures must be taken to protect the environment and the lives of those living close by.

This is why the United Nations, through UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) has endorsed IECEx, the IEC System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Explosive Atmospheres, as the international certification system for the assessment of conformity in Ex areas.

UNECE has drawn on IECEx experience to build its model. Since 1996, IECEx has been the only truly international conformity assessment system that provides testing and certification for all items of Ex equipment – electrical and non-electrical – and installations as well as certifying the skills and competence of individuals working in hazardous areas.

The System addresses the inspection (location and other), installation, maintenance and repair of equipment and systems and assesses the competence of personnel working in this highly specialized area. •

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PONTOONS

CONTENTS COVER STORIES & SPECIALS

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The Future of Welding

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OGI sits down with welding specialist Fronius International GmbH to talk about the exciting developments in automated welding and what this could mean for the industry.

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Industrial Internet of Things: Future-Proof

IIoT is a myriad of interconnected sensors, instruments, and other devices networked together with digital industrial applications. The connectivity created facilitates data collection, exchange, and analysis; which allows for increased efficiency and increased profits.

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Yinson Continues FPSO Work Around the Globe

OGI sits down with regular contributor and FPSO specialist Yinson, to talk a bit about how they help keep energy flowing around the world during these difficult times that we face with the Covid-19 Pandemic.

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Meeting Europe’s LNG Demand

OGI sits down with Dunkerque LNG, a Fluxys company, to learn more about their LNG terminal based in Fance which is actually the second largest LNG terminal in Europe. As the growth of global gas trading increases, the rapid growth of shipping LNG is growing with it.

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GLOBAL INDUSTRY NEWS Europe Asia Pacific South America North America Russia & CIS

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EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION Enhanced Oil Recovery by SNF

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Rugged Micro-Connectors for High-Reliability Petroleum Industry

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Granzow A/S has for decades supplied compressed air for drilling rigs and ships where security, economy and stability is a priority.

Bursting Panels for the protection of

Instrument Air Compressor & Dryer Package

personnel and equipment by dust ex-

for the Offshore Industry in accordance with

plosions. The panels are manufactured

both Atex regulations, Zone II and Zone I

individual applications. Pressure from 0.017 bar to 0.35 bar. All materials and certificates.

Air-operated diaphragm pumps, wide range of materials permits rating of the pumps to meet individual requirements and matching to the media which must be conveyed.

High efficiency, and suitable for many ATEX requirements for use in potentially explosive and hazardous applications.

Who are we?

Granzow A/S is a leading supplier for the industry of screw compressors.

We also produce a complete range of solutions in automation products, such as bursting discs and panels,valves and pneumatic cylinders. Additional Granzow has an extensive program of pumps and a complete line of vacuum pumps.

Ejby Industrivej 26 · 2600 Glostrup · T:     • Helge Nielsens Allé 6C · 8723 Løsning info@granzow.dk • www.granzow.dk • www.trykluft.nu

CONTENTS EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION How the Design and Supply of Filtration Technology Protects and Improves Production Processes

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Any disruption to business-as-usual processes and operating performance can create major financial headaches for oil and gas producers.

Fans for Marine and Offshore Industries

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The Leap into Maritime e-Learning Solutions

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The pandemic forced many maritime training centers to start educating online, basically overnight. Polar Code Basic was the first course that Aboa Mare transformed into an online course.

Other courses are under development, in cooperation with shipping companies.

A New Compact ROV Concept, BLUEROC.

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We wanted to get a better understanding about the company behind this technology and contacted Depro AS and their Chief Marketing Officer Kenneth Olsen to get better insight. Depro AS delivers multidisciplinary products and technologies to meet companies needs for remote operated tool solutions and concepts.

HEALTH, SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT Antiviral Fabrics

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Carrington Textiles has successfully tested its new Antiviral and Antibacterial Finish for fabrics.

PROCESSING Know Your Gas Quality!

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In almost all long-term global energy scenarios natural gas is the fossil fuel whose share in the global energy mix is growing most significantly.

MIDSTREAM & PIPELINES It’s Time to Move on From Dangerous Tank Cleaning Procedures

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PROJECT LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT THE “XELLZ WAY”

TRANSPARENCY, TRUST & TECHNOLOGY

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COVER STORY

The Future of Welding OGI sits down with welding specialist Fronius International GmbH to talk about the exciting developments in automated welding and what this could mean for the industry. Fronius describes how high performance cladding processes enables faster welding speeds which equals customers saving substantial amounts on labor and shielding gas costs. We’ll also touch on the increasing digitization of processes, and how remote maintenance and systems analysis can be achieved through the Internet. Real time process visualization is now possible and Fronius continues to impress the welding world with its component editor and the 3D display. All this along with Fronius’ robotic welding developments makes for an exciting future for the industry.

OGI: What are the different areas of the oil and gas industry that Fronius Welding Automation operates in?

Sophisticated ETR Ultimate “Endless Torch Rotation” cladding system.

Fronius: The line of business Welding Automation mainly operates in the upstream field. Typical components welded with automated cladding systems are components like wet trees, jumpers, manifolds, or risers.

However, generally speaking, the fully digital Fronius welding machines find use in all sectors of the oil- and gas industry.

OGI: What are the challenges associated with cladding (overlay welding)?

Fronius: The parts mentioned above, like valves and pipelines, have to be protected against abrasion and corrosion. Overlay welding has become an established practice in this industry.

The technological development for achieving high-quality overlay welds is impressive, whereby the open arc cladding processes have gained considerable importance. Economic efficiency, universality in handling, accurate and straightforward adjustment of welding parameters, and suitability both in the workshop and on-site – those are the reasons for the use of sophisticated open arc overlay welding processes. GTAW* hot wire cladding is one of the most reliable and approved methods. Its main principle is based on the combination of

a high-quality welding process and an efficiency increase by using an inductively heated filler wire. For economical production and high clad layer quality, intelligent welding systems such as our Compact Cladding Cell or Endless Torch Rotation System must offer optimized welding processes and advanced process control.

OGI: What possibilities does highperformance cladding offer?

Fronius: GTAW hot wire cladding offers, besides high quality, relatively low welding speed, which often causes capacity problems in production. With SpeedClad Twin and High-Performance Pipe Cladding, Fronius established two high-performance cladding processes, which raise the welding speed significantly without losing any quality compared to the standard GTAW cladding process. Using two tungsten cathodes combined with two preheated welding wires to create one molten pool, causes less penetration while enabling faster welding speeds and a much higher deposition rate.

Maximum productivity is guaranteed, Left: Fronius SpeedClad Twin torch for high-performance cladding.

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especially when welding larger components.

Fronius high-performance cladding offers a low dilution rate and, in this way, excellent cladding results. Customers save substantially on labor and shielding gas costs. The welding speeds depend on the application but can reach up to 170 cm/min.

OGI: What solutions do you offer for joint welding?

Fronius: For pipeline welding in workshops, Fronius Welding Automation offers the welding carriage FlexTrack 45 Pro. It is a compact welding carriage that provides highquality weld seams on different rail shapes. In combination with flexible rails, operators can join curved parts such as piping components.

It is also possible to use ready-made ring systems that cover defined radii from 254 to 1,778 millimeters. Magnetic or vacuum bridges, or feet, form the connection between pipe and rail. The innovative remote control operates the FlexTrack 45 Pro. In addition to the welding and oscillation mode, the user can load, change, and save parameters such as travel speed and direction or oscillation speed and travel via a numerical touch display.

Besides, in conjunction with the TPS/i power source, remote maintenance and system analysis is possible via the Internet.

OGI: Can the oil and gas industry expect new Cladding Systems from Fronius, and what advantages will they offer?

Fronius: Fronius Welding Automation has renewed its popular Compact Cladding Cell. In the past, it already scored points with its space-saving dimensions, intuitive parameter input, flexibility in component geometries, or optional high-performance cladding. Compared to this former system, the new system convinces first and foremost with the futureoriented HMI-T21 system control.

In addition to its 21-inch operating panel, multi-user management, remote maintenance capability, and real-time process visualization, it also impresses the welding world with its component editor, including a 3D display. Ergonomics was another focus of improvements: In the new Compact Cladding Cell, operators can fix torches in just a few easy steps and change wire spools at handle Photos.

Above: FlexTrack 45 Pro welding carriage.

Left: Fronius Compact Cladding Cell – new generation.

Below: Fronius HTW “Handling-to-Welding” robotic welding cell is welding an inverter housing.

height. Moreover rail extensions offer easy handling of the welding machines.

OGI: What is Fronius Welding Automation doing regarding robotic welding? Is it a topic for cladding too?

Fronius: The Fronius Welding Automation department is working on several systems in the robotic field. At the moment, we are establishing a prototyping center to support the industry in the prototyping area. Our gain is to be a reliable partner by welding prototypes and first pre-series combined with measurement and documentation. To carry out feasibility studies and welding trials will be part of the cooperation with our customers.

One further goal is to develop a robotic platform, based on handling and welding robots. It will offer intelligent planning, control, and monitoring of all workflows, from simulation to final welding results. The intelligently chosen modularity of robotic welding cells will offer many options for our customers. It will enable the system to weld components of different geometries and materials. Also cladding applications could be a possibility. In addition to various peripheral features such as gripper deposit systems, contact tube changing stations, component locks, or automated rack systems, different welding processes such as MIG-MAG, CMT, TIG, ArcTig, or Plasma will be available.

OGI: Thank you for your time. • If you would like to know more about the solutions discussed in this article please contact: FRONIUS INTERNATIONAL GMBH W: www.fronius.com E: sales.automation.int@fronius.com T: Phone: +43 7242 241 0

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COVER STORY

Industrial Internet of Things: Future-Proof What is the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)?

IIoT is a myriad of interconnected sensors, instruments, and other devices networked together with digital industrial applications. The connectivity created facilitates data collection, exchange, and analysis; which allows for increased efficiency and increased profits.

Let’s use the tank storage sector as a use case to show how IIoT can generate these business benefits.

First, we need to think about the vast amount of assets involved in the operation of a sizable tank storage facility. If one were to build an IIoT infrastructure in such a large storage terminal, one would require thousands of physical devices. The purpose of these devices is to transmit data across vast areas to help the operators of these facilities gain critical information and usable data in real time. This data helps them make better, informed decisions regarding maintenance, safety, and general operations.

Current technology has already existed for more than 10 years, but the issue with this technology is that only around 10% of assets in a tank terminal are actually connected digitally. Leaving a large gap in control, access, and knowledge. Posing the question: How do we connect the other 90% of assets?

Enter LoRaWAN It’s all about networking. Unlike the seamless networking transitions that your smart phone makes (like when switching 4G to Wi-Fi), the Industrial Internet of Things is slightly more complicated, but more reliable and precise.

When talking about thousands of different services connected to thousands of assets in a tank storage terminal, the LoRaWAN communications protocol is what ties everything together.

LoRaWAN is low power, long-range, low cost, and has no lock-ins. It’s an open standard that works globally and securely. Admittedly, it has a

lower data transfer rate than Wi-Fi for example, but that trade-off is worth it considering the benefits of this particular use case.

TWTG – Futureproof Technology TWTG, an IIOT hardware company based out of the Netherlands who specialize in helping companies with monitoring and activating critical assets within a business via IoT solutions.

The scalability of solutions is at the forefront of all their thinking; from product, hardware, and software design, to connectivity and implementation, but also including the

retrofitting of existing infrastructure and business models. I’s easy to see why companies trust them to be at the forefront of the IIoT sphere. For TWTG, the Industrial Internet of Things is much more than just technology, it’s their expertise.

Certified for Use in North American Hazardous Areas The Federal Communications Commission has recently approved LoRaWAN for use in North America, therefore TWTG has received FM Approval (explosion safety requirements) for their NEON temperature and valve sensors.

In collaboration with Vopak, a global leader in oil and gas storage and transport, TWTG has developed their line of valve sensors which can now be used in North American markets. As gas storage systems at times require increasingly higher pressures and temperatures, companies look for costeffective ways of remotely monitoring valve movement. It’s becoming less acceptable to have to visually inspect actuators in potentially explosive, and other hazardous areas. Traditional methods of monitoring the open / closed states in valves, with actuators, can help solve this issue, but they are not used widely, because of the costs associated with the technology. Working with TWTG’s valve sensors will enable the user to monitor their valves remotely, and significantly save on their expenditure at the same time.

The NEON valve sensors enable users to acquire data from the valve via LoRaWAN connectivity to a monitoring dashboard. The fact that this can be done remotely will save

Left: NEON Temperature Sensor.

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users time, lower maintenance costs, and reduce the possibilities of any harmful incidents. It’s also worth mentioning that having increased insight into your assets can potentially stop spillages.

For example, by remotely monitoring pipeline valves with TWTG’s sensors, users will have a greater certainty on the status of their assets, which could help with spillage prevention and increase workforce safety.

NEON Valve Sensor at Vopak Terminal Vlaardingen.

As for temperature sensors, NEON enables users to monitor the temperature of storage tanks and transfer pipes. The sensors are powered by a single A-size Lithium Thionyl Chloride Battery and, based on the number of LoRaWAN message transmissions per day, it can have up to a 5-year life.

Vibration Detection IIoT is increasingly seen as a method of early detection for serious malfunction or even disaster within the oil and gas sector.

Detection of vibration in many different flow control related assets can be a key indicator of potential future issues and can save users costly maintenance expenses. Case in point, take a natural gas liquids pipeline company that was experiencing an acoustic resonance issue that cost up to $35,000 a month in maintenance and repair. The company was experiencing an acoustic vibration problem at the pump crossover, causing major maintenance and repair issues. High maintenance costs such as this can potentially be avoided if a company is actively monitoring any vibration coming from their assets.

TWTG’s NEON Vibration Sensor sends alerts to maintenance engineers, as soon as assets, such as engines, conveyor belts and pumps, start to fail. This sets off a trigger when there is a change of frequency in the vibration or when outliers in the data occur. An engineer is alerted to check on this asset to prevent it from failure or long-term damage, which saves costs and ensures operational uptime. Now, assets which are not under constant supervision from operators can be monitored around the clock.

LoRaWAN is quickly becoming the industry standard because it gives its users security and versatility. Users are not locked in with a select number of vendors. This is important because as mentioned previously, we are talking about industrial scale, with potentially thousands of sensors on one particular site. The network can handle tens of thousands of sensors at a time - all connected on one monitoring dashboard.

NEON stands for a standardised approach to collecting data points from within the operation and a general approach to creating integrated solutions with existing IT ecosystems. With the approval by the FCC of LoRaWAN, TWTG NEON sensors are not only available for use in Europe and Singapore, but now also in the U.S. and Canada. NEON is currently being deployed to petrochemical sites worldwide. • TWTG W: www.TWTG.io/industry E: mail@TWTG.io T: +31 10 203 7905 NEON Valve Sensor.

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COVER STORY

Yinson Continues FPSO Work Around the Globe OGI sits down with regular contributor and FPSO specialist Yinson, to talk a bit about how they help keep energy flowing around the world during these difficult times that we face with the Covid-19 Pandemic. It’s no small feat to complete the conversion of an FPSO for Nigeria in possibly record time of only 7 months. Yinson’s operations in Nigeria and Ghana has enabled them to recruit from the local talent pool through the provision of training and talent development, while simultaneously building up local participation via local suppliers. The company has also managed to support the local populations with essential medical equipment in the ongoing fight against Covid-19.

FPSO Anna Nery.

OGI: Could you talk about the status of the projects you are currently executing?

Yinson: Yinson currently has two FPSO projects under construction.

The first is FPSO Abigail-Joseph, chartered by FIRST E&P for use in the Anyala and Madu field in Nigeria. The FPSO’s conversion and life extension phase was completed in late February 2020 at the Keppel Benoi shipyard in Singapore. This phase was completed safely in less than 7 months, which is believed to be the world’s fastest delivery of a brownfield FPSO modification and upgrading project. She had a relatively smooth voyage to Nigeria, with timelines only slightly affected by the Covid-19 situation. She arrived at her final destination at the Anyala and Madu field in offshore Nigeria on 23 July 2020 and had all mooring lines hooked-up in mid-August. Hook-up of risers and umbilicals to the FPSO was completed in early September. We look forward to completing final commissioning and achieving the next milestone, first oil production.

Our second vessel under construction is FPSO Anna Nery, which is our first Brazil asset and our largest project to date. LOIs were signed with our client Petrobras in October 2019, then definitive contracts entered into in March 2020.

Sumitomo Corporation is partnering with us on this project with a 25% stake. FPSO Anna Nery has also recently entered into the next phase of

construction, marked by the sailing away from the Cosco Qidong shipyard to the Cosco Changxing shipyard in Shanghai, China. In this phase, the FPSO will undergo both first and second dry docking and hull reinforcement works. Conversion works are progressing well, with demolition activities completed, and module fabrication works underway. In another project milestone, FPSO Anna Nery achieved 1 million manhours without Lost Time Injury (“LTI”) in mid-September 2020.

OGI: Could you tell us more about your operations in Africa?

Yinson: Having established our presence in the African region starting with Nigeria through our predecessor, Fred Olsen Production ASA some 25 years ago, our operations in Africa has always been strong. Currently, we have two projects in Nigeria – FPSO Adoon for client, Addax Petroleum, and recently arrived at the Anyala and Madu oil field, FPSO AbigailJoseph as mentioned above.

The Ghana oil and gas market may be relatively young when compared to others in the region, but we are pleased to observe that increasing consistency and stability in regulatory measures are developing nicely.

In Ghana, we have FPSO John Agyekum Kufuor (“FPSO JAK”) by client, ENI. While the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has affected our operations in Ghana and subsequently our financial results for the first two quarters of 2020, we are pleased to share that our production and safety performance has remained unchanged and remain at world class excellence levels.

In both countries, we strive to remain as not only the partner of choice to our clients with our unrivalled production uptime and excellent safety performance, but also an employer of choice to the local talent pool

FPSO Abigail-Joseph’s Construction Management Team.

by providing various training and talent development opportunities. We have built up local participation, both in terms of employees and suppliers, and will continue to further this participation with the aim of surpassing local content targets.

FPSO Abigail-Joseph.

OGI: During the Covid-19 crisis many companies have stepped up their help to the medical sector, could you talk about some of the things Yinson has done in this regard?

Yinson: To date, we have contributed over RM1 million worth in value of essential medical equipments and safety supplies to various organisations in the regions where we operate, all in support of the on-going battle against the Covid-19 pandemic. We decided to do our part to help out by donating essential supplies such as face masks, face shields, and sterile surgical gowns when there was a critical crunch for essential protective medical supplies all around.

In Ghana, we recently donated a Biological Safety Cabinet along with consumables for Covid-19 testing to the National Public Health Reference Laboratory which enables the laboratory to carry out more Covid-19 tests in shorter periods of time. We have also donated 6,000 face masks to Ghana’s National Commission for Civic Education (“NCCE”) as well as infrared thermometers, blood pressure monitors, laptops and printers to the Ayawaso West Municiple Health Directorate in Accra.

OGI: Could you speak about the work you are doing in Brazil?

Yinson: Brazil has always been an interesting market for the FPSO industry. It was after Yinson has acquired Fred Olsen Production ASA, that we decided to embark on the prequalification process with Petrobras and subsequently started bidding for the Marlim and Parque das Baleias projects. To develop the local knowledge required to successfully bid for these projects, we worked with our local partner, Petrocean, to qualify estimates for the cost levels in order to reach an attractive cost basis versus risks for our bids. As mentioned above, we were awarded our first Brazil project in 2019. Since then, we have

established an operations office in Rio de Janeiro, attracted experienced key employees and are now preparing to start teaming up with key service contractors.

OGI: Nowadays it is very important for companies to be conscious of the sustainability of their operations, could you explain to our readers Yinson’s 3-year plan?

Moving forward, we are committed to working with our client, Petrobras, to grow our business in Brazil. Our plan includes working on setting up our other operations base in Macaé which will come with both a warehouse and storage area. We will also continue our efforts in attracting and employing new employees. We are also preparing new bids both for Petrobras and other potential clients. To deliver on these commitments, we are working hard to gather more working knowledge of local subcontractors and suppliers in the region as these new projects will require a relatively high degree of local content.

Yinson: To be ‘Sustainable’ is a core value of Yinson, and Sustainability remains as a key value driver for Yinson’s business and operations. At Group-level, we have renewed our Sustainability Policy and established a 3-Year Sustainability Plan. This Plan seeks to further operationalise all initiatives under the broad umbrella of Environment, Social and Governance (“ESG”), covering, for example, better monitoring of environmental aspects; more robust practices towards improving learning and development within the Group; as well as plans for enhancing sustainability reporting.

To do so, we have included a continuous improvement process that is outlined by our quarterly Sustainability Committee meetings, where we deliberate on improving corresponding ESG initiatives. This translates downward to the operations level, where we strive to maintain our current robust levels for corporate governance, as well as environmental and social performance towards achieving our goal of ‘zero accidents, zero harm to the environment’.

Beyond internal efforts when it comes to continuously improving sustainability of our operations, the Group has also recently diversified into Renewables. This is in line with our commitment to align to the global narrative for low-carbon solutions in the current energy landscape.

OGI: Thank you for your time. • Contact details: Phone: +47 22 34 01 10 Email: enquiries.no@yinson.com Website: www.yinson.com

Yinson donates Biological Safety Cabinet and testing consumables to National Public Health Reference Laboratory.

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COVER STORY

Meeting Europe’s LNG Demand OGI sits down with Dunkerque LNG, a Fluxys company, to learn more about their LNG terminal based in Fance which is actually the second largest LNG terminal in Europe. As the growth of global gas trading increases, the rapid growth of shipping LNG is growing with it. Dunkerque LNG is here to help our readers understand more of the implications of Europe’s (France in particular) increasing dependence on gas imports outside of the European Union. Dunkerque LNG is positioned to help bring more LNG gas to the European Union’s rising demand.

OGI: Could you start by explaining Dunkerque LNG’s credentials and experience in terms of your products and services for the gas sector?

Could you tell our readers the breadth of your experience, how long the company has been active, and its reach?

Dunkerque: On the 21st of June 2011, EDF and its partners, Total and Fluxys, gave approval for the construction of the Dunkirk LNG terminal.

The terminal has been in service since 8 July 2016, with the commercial commissioning conducted by the shareholders on the 1st of January 2017.

On the 30th October 2018, following a competitive auction process launched in early 2018, EDF and Total sold their interests in Dunkerque LNG. Fluxys has now the control of the Dunkirk LNG terminal, the second-largest LNG terminal in continental Europe after Barcelona.

The Dunkirk LNG terminal is currently owned and operated by Dunkerque LNG, a company 61% owned by a consortium made up of gas infrastructure group Fluxys, AXA Investment Managers-Real Assets, acting as an agent for their clients, and Crédit Agricole Assurances, and 39% owned by a consortium of Korean investors led by IPM Group in cooperation with Samsung Asset Management.

The new shareholders fully support Dunkerque LNG in its intentions to increase its activity. It benefits from the growth of LNG in Europe and the development of a small-scale market (by setting up an innovative supply chain via LNG reloading service using road tankers and bunker

barges). The Fluxys Group affiliate will benefit from the full range of the Fluxys group’s LNG expertise, one of its core businesses and its long-standing commercial relationships in the LNG world.

The Dunkirk terminal will become a real bridge thanks to its excellent interconnection with not only French and Belgian, but also German gas networks, and would provide a solution to the expected growth in new gas import requirements for Germany.

non-corrosive.

The transportation of LNG by ship gives greater flexibility of supply and improved cost for distances greater than 3,000 km. The LNG chain also means gas can be transported in complete safety when transport by pipeline is not possible or when the distance between the production site and point of consumption is too great.

EDF and Total remain the main customers of the Dunkirk LNG terminal through 20-year “ship or pay” contracts. These contracts mean that customers pay regardless of their use of the terminal, enabling the terminal’s services to be used flexibly. Of an annual regasification capacity of 13 billion m3, 9.5 are reserved for EDF and Total in the long-term, and 3.5 are put on sale through a bond issue.

Dunkirk’s LNG terminal was created against a backdrop of growing dependence in Europe, and in France in particular, on natural gas imports from outside the European Union, as conventional gas production in the North Sea draws to a close. The installation of this LNG terminal is therefore a strategic one, and should create a flexible raw energy supply source, close to an area of high consumption, against a backdrop of tensions on the energy market.

OGI: What are some of the benefits of LNG, opposed to building more gas pipelines in Europe?

OGI: Why does Dunkerque LNG’s terminal stand out as one of the most attractive in Europe?

Dunkerque: The gas, once it has been extracted, can be transported in two ways: in gas form through a gas pipeline or in liquid form. In the latter case, the gas is liquefied by cooling it to a very low temperature (-162°C), so that it occupies a much smaller volume.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) takes up 600 times less space than in its gaseous form. The LNG in the terminals and storage tanks is stored at close to atmospheric pressure. This liquefaction enables diversity of gas supply.

LNG is clear, odourless, non-toxic and

Dunkerque: Dunkirk LNG terminal offers major advantages to its customers:

The Dunkirk LNG terminal. Copyright: Dunkerque LNG – HappyDay.

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One of the largest on-terminal storage capacities in Europe.

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Diversification and security of supply for the French and European markets.

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A new maritime landing-point for LNG in France.

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A location at the heart of Europe, at the cross-roads of maritime routes through the English Channel and the North Sea and close to natural gas consumer markets in France and North-West Europe.

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A direct connection to two European markets (France and Belgium).

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A deep-water port making it accessible all year round.

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Genuine upstream flexibility to handle all sizes of ship from 5,000 m3 to 265,000 m3.

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Downstream flexibility feeding network upon customer request.

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Excellent technical operation.

the

The innovative design of the terminal allows optimisation of both the upstream (through gas import contracts) and downstream (output to network) markets through the allocation of

Copyright: Dunkerque LNG – HappyDay.

firm rights: •

A number of slots (loading or reloading times).

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A storage capacity.

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A minimum and maximum output.

Dunkerque LNG has developed a flexible and competitive service with its customers at the heart of terminal operational management.

Certain more specific services are also offered to meet the needs of all of its customers: •

Filling gas tanker holds (gassing up).

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Cooling gas tanker holds (cooling down)

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Inerting gas tanker holds (inerting).

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Unloading excess volumes.

OGI: Could you tell us more about your regasification capacity?

Dunkerque: The Dunkirk LNG terminal has an annual regasification capacity of 13 billion m3 of gas, or around 20% of annual French and Belgian natural gas consumption. It is the only one to be directly connected to two markets, French and Belgian, thanks to two separate pipelines coming from the Pitgam compressor station.

OGI: Could you talk a bit about your safety and environmental commitments?

Dunkerque: Dunkirk’s LNG terminal is located in the Western Port on a 56-hectare site, equivalent to 80 football pitches, of which 20 hectares have been reclaimed from the sea.

It is located on the Clipon site, an artificial dune created around thirty years ago when the Western Dunkirk outer Port was created, on the Loon-Plage commune. Prior to construction, the contracting agent conducted all necessary consultation work at local level. The concerns expressed during the public debate held in 2007, and the decision to make this large industrial project an example of how environmental requirements can be integrated, led to a number of key technical decisions. These relate in particular to the location of the terminal. The site was therefore moved to the west to preserve sensitive areas.

Compensation measures were also taken by Dunkerque LNG: •

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The construction of a habitat for migratory birds on the Gravelines commune, covering an area of 20 hectares, named the “Hems Saint - Pol sensitive natural area”.

The creation of an area located within the confines of the Gravelines nuclear power station, for the preservation of biodiversity, covering an area of 4.5 hectares.

Other installations, implemented by the Dunkirk Major Sea Port and managed by the Nord departmental council, are located adjacent to the site of the terminal: •

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The reconstruction of wild bird habitats and dune ecosystems; the constitution of a preservation area at Clipon Est, including the creation of salt marshes used by birds as a feeding zone.

The creation of a preservation area, which complements Dunkerque LNG’s second measure and provides access arrangements for anglers.

Also, a non-CO2-producing regasification solution was adopted, using 5% of the warm water produced by the Gravelines nuclear power plant. This measure gives a maximum saving of 436,000 tonnes of CO2 a year. All of the compensatory environmental measures are covered by an order of the prefect dated on the 31st of July 2009.

Concerning security, it is ensured by a guard post, regulated access, a video surveillance system, an operations team present 24/7 and the port and military security brigade in the area.

The terminal is protected against the tsunami risk (elevation of 10 meters around the platform, sea wall, reinforcement of the dike).

It is also protected against the risk of fire thanks to the presence of a water spray boom on all buildings in the process area. The fire network is supplied by 5 pumps drawing from the sea (which allows cooling and protection from thermal effects). The network can also be supplied by tugboat (dedicated pontoon).

The terminal design provided for the collection of LNG leaks by gutters connected to safety areas. The tanks are jacketed (concrete and cryogenic steel), with entry andexit points on the top. The process is equipped with an automatic emergency stop system and activation of fire protection means.

OGI: Has the Covid-19 situation impacted the LNG business in any way, and if so, how so?

Dunkerque: Despite the major impact of the coronavirus outbreak in the society, the essential services of Dunkirk LNG terminal remained operational. As one of the key players in the European gas infrastructure, we are responsible for the energy supply of our customers. Public services, households, hospitals and many industries are in need of our energy supplies, now more than ever.

We are proud to have been able to ensure a continued stable gas supply for society and our customers and partners, thanks to the commitment of our teams.

For all our activities, our terminalling activities in Dunkirk, we are carefully complying with the recommendations of

national authorities in the field of health and safety.

OGI: Finally, could you enlighten our readers about small-scale LNG activities in Dunkirk?

Dunkerque: LNG is also transported on a smaller scale. This provides for the use of LNG as a fuel and the transportation of energy over shorter distances or to areas without access to electricity, which are not connected to a transportation or gas distribution network.

Ship owners and haulage companies as well as remote industry increasingly choose Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as alternative low emission fuel. Their supply can now be sourced from the Dunkirk LNG terminal.

Following its commercial entry into service on June 1st, the newly commissioned truck loading bay at the Dunkirk LNG terminal offers a loading capacity of 3,000 slots per year.

Using the service is straightforward: •

Customers can book loading slots online 24/7.

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After online training, drivers can fully autonomously load LNG in just 90 minutes.

The increasing demand for cleaner energy in maritime and road transport as well as in the industrial sector has brought LNG to the forefront as an attractive alternative due to its low emission profile. As it goes, switching from heavy fuel oil, diesel, petroleum or coal to LNG not only reduces carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions but also drastically cuts air pollution by virtually eliminating emissions of particulate matter and sulphur (SOx), and significantly reducing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions as well.

The teams at Dunkirk’s LNG terminal adapted the existing jetty to take bunker vessels above 5,000 m3. This work has been carried out last June during the stop of the activity.

We are also considering building a dedicated jetty, depending on how the market develops.

OGI: Thank you for your time. • Dunkerque LNG - Fluxys https://www.fluxys.com/en/companydunkerque-lng Copyright: Dunkerque LNG – HappyDay

EUROPE - NEWS From Net Zero Ambition to Total Strategy Increasing energy while decreasing carbon Growing energy demand and getting to Net Zero are the two global trends underpinning the Total Energy Outlook and thus the evolutions of the energy markets that Total integrates into its strategy.

Total’s strategy aims to transform itself into a broad energy company by profitably growing energy production from LNG and electricity, the two fastest growing energy markets, aiming to create long term value for its shareholders. In the next decade, Total’s energy production will grow by one third, roughly from 3 to 4 Mboe/d, half from LNG, half from electricity, mainly from renewables. The Group will progressively scale up profitable investments in renewables and electricity from 2 to 3 B$ per year representing more than 20% of capital investments.

Total confirms its ambition to get to Net Zero by 2050 together with society for its global business (Scope 1+2+3). On its way to carbon neutrality in Europe by 2050, Total will reduce the Scope 3 emissions of its European customers by 30%, in absolute value, by 2030. This decrease in Europe allows Total to take the new commitment to reduce the absolute level of the worldwide Scope 3 emissions of its customers in 2030 compared to 2015. In the next decade, oil products sales from Total will diminish by almost 30% and Total’s sales mix will become 30% oil products, 5% biofuels, 50% gases, 15% electrons.

Increasing energy in gases Total LNG sales will reach 50 Mt/y by 2025 and will double over 202030, creating value from scale, arbitrage and integration along the value chain. Cash-flow from integrated LNG business shall grow by 40% to more than 4 B$ in 2025 at 50$/b. Decarbonizing natural gas with biogas and hydrogen as well as continuing to reduce methane emissions will contribute to Total’s climate ambition.

In electrons Developing an integrated business model from production to sales through storage and trading, Total is targeting 50 TWh of net production and 80 TWh of sales to 9 million customers by 2025. Building on the strong dynamic in 2020, Total will grow as a world leader in renewables, raising its objective to 35 GW gross capacity in 2025 (70% already in portfolio), and has the ambition to add around 10 GW per year beyond, as it managed to do in 2020.

Renewables and electricity are expected to deliver a predictable cash flow of more than 1.5 B$ per year by 2025.

And privileging value over volume in oil Total will focus on low cost oil projects, privileging value over volume and develop its portfolio of oil projects, all with profitability above 15% at 50$/b, while ensuring consistency for Capex allocation with climate ambition.

Adapting energy sales to market evolution and engaging in the mobility revolution As recently demonstrated with the Lindsey refinery divestment and the transformation of Grandpuits refinery into a zero oil platform, Total will adapt refining capacity and sales to demand, particularly in Europe.

In the same time, it will further increase its biofuels productions and sales as demand for such renewable products is supported by policies aiming to get to Net Zero. Renewable diesel production is expected to reach more than 2 Mt/y by 2025.

The Group is also committing more than 1 B$ over the next ten years to the e-mobility revolution by investing in manufacturing and EV charging with a target of 150,000 charge points by 2025.

Resilience & Growth underpinning compelling investment case In the current uncertain environment, Total remains focused on what it controls and specifically on the pillars that enable the Group to resist the crisis: HSE, delivery, costs and cash, with a view to continuously improve its organic breakeven below 25 $/boe. Discipline and flexibility will be maintained on capital investments with 13-16 B$ over 2022-25

18

assuming an oil price between 50 and 60 $/b. Considering the shortterm uncertainty and low price environment, capital investment for 2021 should be under 12 B$. Cost reduction efforts will be accelerated and increased to 2 B$ by 2023.

Accelerating its shift toward low carbon businesses while growing its Upstream production by around 2% per year between 2019 and 2025, mainly over 2022-25, the Group confirms a cash flow growth of 5 B$ by 2025 and a ROE greater than 10% in a 50 $/b environment.

Based on this outlook and given the resilience shown by the Group, the Board reaffirms its confidence in the Group’s fundamentals and confirms that the dividend is supported at 40 $/b. Beyond serving the dividend, priority will be given to bringing gearing below 20%. Furthermore, the Board is convinced that Total, with its strategy to become a multienergy company while offering a high yield dividend, is a compelling investment case supporting stock rerating.•

New Plastics Set Standards in Flame Retardancy and Electrical Insulation

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n the occasion of this year’s International Trade Fair for Plastics Processing (Fakuma), BASF is showcasing on its virtual platform two new high-performance plastics, Ultradur® B 4440 and Ultramid® B3U42G6, adding innovations in the field of flame-retardant and highly insulating polymers to its existing portfolio.

The two new high-performance plastics offer extremely high tracking resistance and excellent fire behavior combined with economical processing options. These two new products successfully combine material innovation and sustainability by avoiding the use of antimony and halogen compounds.

“The new Ultramid® and Ultradur® grades mean that we are able to offer our partners from key industries solutions for the increasing regulatory requirements in the areas of electrical systems and fire protection,” says Dr. Michael Roth, Product Developer at BASF Performance Materials.

“The trend toward automation in production at our customers’ plants also means that simple and stable manufacturing is essential. Ultradur® B 4440 and Ultramid® B3U42G6 make this possible,” explains Roth.

Ultradur® B 4440 and Ultramid® B3U42G6 allow optimum insulation properties and flame retardancy for thin walls. Both high-performance plastics attain the highest CTI rating of 600 volts and the V0 classification according to UL94 as highly flame-retardant materials at wall thicknesses from 0.4 mm.

Both materials exhibit good suitability for injection molding. The unreinforced Ultradur® B 4440, which can also be processed by extrusion, lays the foundations for increasingly complex components, and helps designers meet growing demands. These two products open up the possibility for entirely new miniaturized solutions, e.g., for connectors, terminal blocks, loose buffer tubes for fiber optical cables and filaments. Since Ultradur® absorbs minimal moisture, it also provides high dimensional stability.

An additional benefit is the use of bright colors to differentiate.

“Orange is the new gray,” the expert Dr. Michael Roth explains. But other colors are also possible. “The color coding of individual parts makes for smoother and therefore faster production and assembly.”

Precise laser marking is also possible through laser-sensitive coloring.

The laser-transparent coloring options of Ultramid® extends the range of applications into housing assemblies.

“Besides the unreinforced Ultradur® B 4440 the currently developed glass fiber-reinforced Ultradur® products combine the high dimensional stability of polyester with distinctive high rigidity and toughness,” explains product developer Dr. Michael Roth. “This means that we can offer forward-looking materials for the electrical industry, construction and mobility sectors, combining technical progress with sustainability.” •

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NEWS - EUROPE Aker Solutions Awarded Subsea Contract for Breidablikk

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ker Solutions has been awarded a contract from Equinor for the delivery of a subsea production system for the Breidablikk development in the North Sea. The contract value is estimated at about NOK 2.5 billion, including options.

The contract covers the delivery of four subsea templates and up to 23 subsea trees and associated components. The deliveries include Aker Solutions’ standard, lightweight vertical subsea trees, and Vectus™, the company’s next-generation subsea control system, which offers greater data and power capabilities.

“We are very pleased to see the Breidablikk project move forward, following the interim measures by the Norwegian authorities this summer,” said Kjetel Digre, chief executive officer of Aker Solutions.

“The award demonstrates our competitive position in the subsea market and will lead to more activity at many of our facilities in Norway and internationally, creating work for hundreds of employees across Aker Solutions. We look forward to continuing our long-standing collaboration with Equinor in this project.”

The work will be carried out at Aker Solutions’ locations in Fornebu, Tranby, Egersund, Sandnessjøen and Ågotnes, with additional deliveries from Brazil, Malaysia and the UK. Aker Solutions booked NOK 2 billion related to the first 15 subsea trees in the second quarter of 2020 and will book NOK 0.5 billion for the additional eight subsea trees as order intake in the third quarter of 2020.

Breidablikk is a large oil discovery on the Norwegian Continental Shelf located north-east of the Grane field in the North Sea. Breidablikk will be developed as a subsea field with a tie-back to the Grane platform by Equinor and partners Petoro, Vår Energi and ConocoPhillips.

The project development is subject to final approval by the Norwegian authorities. •

Aramco and Local Companies Back COVID-19 Aid Initiatives in the Basque Country

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RAMCO, a world leading energy and chemicals company, is backing an aid program to mitigate the effects of coronavirus on Basque society. The program, part of the company’s global response to COVID-19, will be managed by the Energy Advanced Foundation, founded by TUBACEX, TUBOS REUNIDOS, AMPO and VICINAY MARINE, for the role they play within their value chain. Over 300,000 euros have now been donated and allocated to a range of charitable initiatives covering healthcare, food supply and education.

In terms of healthcare, facemasks and other Personal Protective Equipment were donated to retirement homes, community health centers and to the general public, ensuring access these important preventive resources. Additionally, funding was awarded to a project proposed by the Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute to understand and prevent COVID-19 in retirement homes, analyzing the importance of the microbiota in diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. Finally, funding was given to an innovative project developed by Eversens, which detects inflammation in the respiratory tract associated with SARS-COV-2 by measuring exhaled nitric oxide (eNO).

On another front, the program offers support to sections of society left financially vulnerable by coronavirus. This includes a donation of more than 30,000 euros to food Banks in Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, who have seen a 30% increase in the demand for basic goods during confinement. This amount is expected to cover the dietary requirements of 50 individuals for the period of a year. Other activities in this vein include the provision of a daily meal for families without resources in the Ayala valley, and support for the RedCross’ Responde program, meeting the basic needs of groups at risk from poverty and exclusion.

These groups include the homeless, and thanks to the global plan outlined here around twenty young people, who had been living in sports centers and hostels around Bilbao during the pandemic, could be relocated to Caritas’ Begoñetxe temporary residence, where they will receive ongoing coaching on education and employment.

Lastly, confinement has exacerbated educational and digital inequality across younger generations. With the participation of Euskaltel and SD Eibar Fundazioa, the program was able to offer internet access to impoverished families in the Durango and Debabarrena areas so that their children could participate in online classes.

The program demonstrates ARAMCO’s commitment to this key region, home to the largest number of companies related to the energy sector in Spain. For Talal Al-Marri, President and CEO of Aramco Europe, this initiative is “a priority for Aramco, as we are committed to supporting frontline care providers during this challenging time. We have looked to do this across our global locations, in communities where we operate, like the Basque region. Indeed, the company’s response to Covid-19 has been led from the very top, with our global leadership highlighting early on in the crisis, that we would be taking all the necessary precautions to support health and safety during this time.”

In the words of Jesús Esmorís, President of the Energy Advanced Engineering Foundation’s business leaders, ARAMCO’s donation was “a call for solidarity”, garnering the support of other companies to unite behind a common goal. Further notable contributions came from other Energy Advanced Engineering foundation members, including Fluidex, Euskaltel and SD. Eibar. •

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NEWS - ASIA PACIFIC Federal Government Gas-Fired Recovery

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his week the Australian federal government announced a so-called Gas-fired Recovery. The plan appears to be largely concerned with the east coast, without anything obvious about Western Australia, Australia’s largest gas producer.

Much of the media focus has been on proposals for new pipelines and on proposals for new gas-fired power in NSW following the closure of the Liddell coal-fired power station.

New pipelines may well be necessary for increased east coast gas supply but there is no missing link that cannot be readily bridged. The critical element is finding and developing affordable gas to flow into any new infrastructure. Accordingly, two important measures announced by the government are:

compared with 0.6 Tcf pa for eastern Australian domestic gas. However, the absence of timely information about gas contract bid and offer prices is certainly an impediment to an efficient east coast gas market.

Unfortunately, the gas contract price data in the latest ACCC gas report is six months out of date. This is like the ASX only publishing share prices with a six-month delay. The ACCC continually monitors contract prices and publishing these (say) monthly rather than six months in arrears would significantly boost market transparency. •

• Setting new gas supply targets with states and territories and enforce potential “use-it or lose it” requirements on gas licenses.

• Unlocking five key gas basins starting with the Beetaloo Basin in the NT and the North Bowen and Galilee Basin in Queensland, at a cost of $28.3 million for the plans.

Gas supply targets are a good idea. The cheapest gas will always be the gas that is closest to the customers. The main culprits are NSW and Victoria. For NSW a decision on Narrabri development is due within weeks. This decision is critical for NSW manufacturers. We know too that NSW has substantial onshore gas resources beyond Narrabri (over 10,000 PJ or 10 Tcf). Over the last couple of years Victoria has been through a government-sponsored gas study, aimed at re-booting onshore exploration. A government-sponsored independent study along Victorian lines might be one way NSW onshore gas resources can be unlocked. In this context the additional funding for GISERA could help smooth the way.

In Victoria onshore exploration for anything other than conventional gas is illegal and AGL’s Crib Point LNG import terminal is mired in green tape. Making progress in Victoria is likely to be challenging but one potential resource, but which is off limits, is Victoria’s biogenic CSG. The presence of biogenic gas, associated with deep (450 -1,200m) brown coals, is extensive across the Gippsland Basin and Latrobe Valley. It is estimated that EL 4416, covering 2,000 km2 of the onshore Gippsland Basin, hosts prospective biogenic CSG resources totalling around 3.7 Tcf. ExxonMobil and Ignite Resources were evaluating the resource.

Exxon walked away from the joint venture in 2014 after the blanket ban on onshore drilling was put in place by the Victorian Government. A ban on CSG development remains and this resource is not likely to be evaluated in the foreseeable future. This is unfortunate because the gas is likely to be low cost, not require fracking and sufficiently deep such that it would not pose any danger to agricultural water supplies. Successful exploration and appraisal of this resource would solve all the problems of Victorian manufacturers. However this is likely to take time and in the meantime anything the Commonwealth can do to facilitate approval sooner or later for an LNG import terminal would be prudent in view of the decline in fields offshore Victoria.

There have been potentially significant gas resources identified in the Beetaloo Basin (6.6 Tcf), North Bowen Basin (9.7 Tcf) and the Galilee Basin (2.5 Tcf). Government support to unlock these basins would be worthwhile. However, it is early days yet for the Beetaloo and the NT government also has plans for energy-intensive manufacturing in Darwin. It is also early days for the Galilee Basin. The history of the North Bowen Basin to date has been disappointing, notwithstanding numerous wells drilled. The Basin used to have significant 2P reserves booked but most of this has now been re-classified as Contingent Resources. Overall, the best chance of finding affordable gas for NSW and Victorian manufacturers is onshore NSW and Victoria.

It will be interesting to see further details on a proposed Australian Gas Supply Hub at Wallumbilla and how this will vary from the current operation. However major gas supply hubs in the US and Europe work because they are part of large gas markets, 89 Tcf pa in the case of the US

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Vietnam Refinery First Step to Reach Leading Position in Downstream, Marketing and Petrochemicals

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uwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) prepares to ship two million barrels of crude to the Vietnam Refinery in August 1, 2017 in order to supply it with enough supplies for operations, Minister of Oil, Minister of Electricity and Water and Chairman of the Board of KPC Engineer Essam Abdulmohsin Al-Marzouq said, adding that KPC’s International Marketing Department will send other shipments according to the agreements in this regard.

The Vietnam Refinery was established in Nghi Son, which is located around 200 kilometers south of Hanoi, Al-Marzouq said, adding that it is considered one of Kuwait Petroleum International’s (KPI) vital offshoot projects. The refinery was designed to process Kuwaiti crude by 100%, with a capacity of up to 200,000 barrels a day, he said, adding that it achieves integration between refinement and petrochemicals to attain the targeted returns. Furthermore, it secures limited risks by entering with global partners, and marketing fuel products in the Vietnamese market which enjoys high demand through global prices, Al-Marzouq noted, adding that the project started in July 2013 and was completed in 43 months.

“A joint company was established as the owner of the refinery and petrochemical complex project in Vietnam, where KPI owns a 35.1% share, Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan owns a 35.1% share, PetroVietnam owns a 25.1% share and Japan’s Mitsui owns a 4.7% share,” Al-Marzouq said, adding that the project is expected to make generous returns according to KPC’s foreign investment requirements, and provide a safe long-term outlet for the Kuwaiti crude.

The project, which is affiliated with KPI, is important because it comes as part of efforts to enhance Kuwait’s oil relations with Vietnam and other international partners, Al-Marzouq said, while also applauding KPI’s ability to grow and improve, as well as the capabilities of the Kuwaiti young people whose aspirations help realize the hopes and ambitions of the oil sector.

“The Vietnam Refinery project embodies the vision of KPC and its subsidiaries to reach a leading global position in the downstream industry and marketing, achieve excellence in performance indicators, and provide added value to Kuwaiti crude,” Al-Marzouq concluded. •

ZERO-EMISSION Technology

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CONG Prima and FAS dew point analyzers can now be installed with zero-emission sampling.

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NEWS - SOUTH AMERICA ADNOC Announces Addition of New Chinese Partner following a Transfer of Stakes in its Offshore Concessions from CNPC to CNOOC

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he Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announced, today, its agreement to the transfer of rights in its Lower Zakum and Umm Shaif and Nasr offshore concessions from the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s subsidiary CNOOC Limited (CNOOC). The transfer has been approved by Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) and marks the first time that a dedicated Chinese offshore oil and gas company joins ADNOC’s concessions.

owned net proved reserves of approximately 5.18 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE).

Chinese energy companies have steadily increased their participation in ADNOC’s upstream and downstream operations. At the same time, ADNOC has identified China – the world’s second-largest oil consumer – as an important growth market for its crude oil and petrochemical products. •

The transfer of concession rights to another key Chinese company reinforces the strong and strategic bilateral ties between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the world’s second-largest economy, China.

The transfer comprises of CNOOC acquiring (through its holding company, CNOOC Hong Kong Holding Limited (CNOOC HK)), a 40 percent interest in CNPC’s majority-owned subsidiary PetroChina Investment Overseas (Middle East) Ltd (PetroChina).

His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Group CEO, said: “The transfer of part of CNPC’s share in two of ADNOC’s major offshore concessions to CNOOC reflects the long-standing strategic and economic bilateral relations between the UAE and China, and highlights the continued pull of the UAE as a leading global energy and investment destination, backed by a stable and reliable business environment. The transfer also illustrates ADNOC’s strengthened access to international markets and partners and our commitment to generating sustainable returns for the UAE. “CNOOC joins our other international partners in the Lower Zakum and Umm Shaif and Nasr concessions and bring world-class expertise and technology to help us continue to maximize value from the concessions as we create a more profitable upstream business and deliver our 2030 strategy.”

PetroChina holds a 10 percent interest in the Lower Zakum concession and a 10 percent interest in the Umm Shaif and Nasr concession. As a result of the transfer, CNOOC will hold a 4 percent interest in the Lower Zakum concession and a 4 percent interest in the Umm Shaif and Nasr concession, while PetroChina will retain a 6 percent stake in the concessions.

Mr. Dai Houliang, Chairman of CNPC, said: “CNPC has had successful cooperation with ADNOC, and we believe that the cooperation with CNOOC will bring more value to ADNOC and the partners of the concession. We will leverage the strengths of the two Chinese companies, which will help reinforce the development of these two concessions.”

Mr. Wang Dongjin, Chairman of CNOOC, said: “We are very pleased to participate in the Lower Zakum and Umm Shaif and Nasr concessions.

This further strengthens the strategic relationship with ADNOC and PetroChina. CNOOC will leverage our extensive expertise in the offshore sector and be dedicated to value creation in these concessions for our mutual benefit.”

This agreement follows the signing of a comprehensive framework agreement between ADNOC and CNOOC in July 2019 to explore new opportunities for collaboration in both the upstream and downstream sectors as well as in liquified natural gas (LNG).

CNOOC joins an ONGC Videsh-led consortium (10 percent), INPEX Corporation (10 percent), CNPC (6 percent), Eni (5 percent), and Total (5 percent) as participants in the Lower Zakum concession; and Eni (10 percent), Total (20 percent), and CNPC (6 percent) as participants in the Umm Shaif and Nasr concession. ADNOC retains a 60 percent majority ownership interest in both concessions.

CNOOC is the largest producer of offshore crude oil and natural gas in China and one of the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the world. As at the end of 2019, the company

24

The Hague Court Rules for Chevron in Ecuador Dispute

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he District Court of The Hague today ruled in favor of Chevron Corporation in its dispute with the Republic of Ecuador, upholding a 2018 arbitral award rendered by an international tribunal administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

In its unanimous award, issued pursuant to the U.S.-Ecuador Bilateral Investment Treaty, the international arbitral tribunal found that a $9.5 billion Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron was procured through egregious fraud and corruption by the plaintiffs’ legal team, including bribery of the presiding judge and ghostwriting of the judgment. It held the judgment unenforceable under international law. The tribunal also rejected the underlying environmental allegations against Chevron. In its award, the tribunal found that a Chevron subsidiary completed an environmental remediation program supervised and approved by the Republic of Ecuador and that the Republic released the environmental claims on which the fraudulent Ecuadorian judgment was based. Any responsibility for current environmental conditions in Ecuador lies with the state-owned oil company, which continues to operate in the same area today.

The District Court of The Hague upheld the award in full and rejected the Republic of Ecuador’s attempt to set it aside, noting that “the fraudulent character of the Lago Agrio judgement and the proceedings preceding it is common ground between the parties.” The court found that the international tribunal acted within its remit when issuing the award, and that the award was well reasoned and complied with the applicable law and public policy. The court concluded that the international tribunal’s orders properly sought to “remove the consequences of a fraudulent judgment that was rendered by a corrupt judge.” The court held that “because none of the setting aside grounds brought forward by Ecuador succeed, the claims will be denied.”

The court’s ruling follows decisions from courts in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Gibraltar and the U.S. rejecting the fraudulent Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron. In July, Argentina’s highest court unanimously rejected the plaintiffs’ bid to enforce the corrupt judgment, bringing to an end the last pending recognition proceeding against Chevron. Even Ecuador finally admitted in a public filing earlier this year that the $9.5 billion judgment issued by its courts against Chevron is “fraudulent.” Chevron’s arbitration against the Republic of Ecuador is now in its final stage, where the company is seeking to recover from the Republic of Ecuador costs it has incurred to expose and defend against the fraud. •

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NEWS - NORTH AMERICA Schlumberger, IBM and Red Hat Announce Major Hybrid Cloud Collaboration for the Energy Industry

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chlumberger, IBM and Red Hat, announced today a major collaboration to accelerate digital transformation across the oil and gas industry. The joint initiative will provide global access to Schlumberger’s leading exploration and production (E&P) cloud-based environment and cognitive applications by leveraging IBM’s hybrid cloud technology, built on the Red Hat OpenShift container platform.

Collaborative development will initially focus on two key areas: •

Private, hybrid or multi-cloud deployment of the DELFI* cognitive E&P environment enabled by Red Hat OpenShift to significantly expand access for customers.

•

Delivering the first hybrid cloud implementation of the OSDU™ data platform (the open data platform for the industry).

Through the agreement with IBM and Red Hat, Schlumberger has committed to the exclusive use of Red Hat OpenShift. Using the container platform will enable the deployment of applications in the DELFI environment across any infrastructure, from traditional data centers to multiple clouds, including private and public. This new way of hosting will offer the possibility to use multiple cloud providers and will address critical issues for customers, facilitating in-country deployments in compliance with local regulations and data residency requirements.

The DELFI environment incorporates cutting-edge data analytics and artificial intelligence, drawing upon multiple data sources, automating workflows, and facilitating seamless collaboration for domain teams.

Many more oil and gas operators, suppliers and partners, from all regions of the world will be enabled to work from the industry’s leading digital environment—built on a standard, open platform—where they can ‘write once and run everywhere’ when creating new applications.

“By expanding market access to the DELFI environment we take a major step forward on the journey to establishing the open and flexible digital environment our industry needs, “comments Olivier Le Peuch, chief executive officer, Schlumberger. “Our collaboration with IBM and Red Hat complements our established digital partnerships to produce an industry-first solution to overcome our customers’ challenges.

Together, we are enabling seamless access to a hybrid cloud platform in all countries across the globe for deployment in any basin, for any operator.”

“The logic, purpose, and differentiation of all businesses can now be rendered in code, which is why digital innovation has become the most powerful way to drive transformation and hybrid cloud is the lever that unleashes it,” said Arvind Krishna, chief executive officer, IBM. “Together with Schlumberger, we are empowering a much broader group of participants to play a role in driving that transformation and helping the energy industry solve some of the world’s toughest challenges to emerge stronger.”

“The energy industry is transforming as organizations look for efficient new ways to power their operations, adopt digital technologies to create a competitive advantage, and innovate and integrate workflows to make faster and better decisions,” said Paul Cormier, president and chief executive officer, Red Hat. “A hybrid cloud foundation built on open source offers the flexibility, acceleration and innovation this digital transformation requires. Schlumberger has long been an industry leader and is bold in its vision for digital transformation in the energy industry. We look forward to working closely with Schlumberger to make the DELFI environment available everywhere with Red Hat OpenShift.”

Schlumberger supports many of the world’s most vital oil and gas operations and is on the forefront of digitalization across the energy sector. It has established the DELFI environment as the industryleading cognitive E&P environment where today energy professionals access open APIs to work together, independent of role, workflow or physical location, and create solutions that significantly improve business operations.

26

The organizations intend to further their collaboration with the creation of a differentiated data management and operations solution for the OSDU™ data platform, enabling oil and gas operators to build, deploy and transition digital solutions with hybrid-cloud data infrastructures.

This will foster wider collaboration and greater efficiency across many professionals in the E&P value chain.

Prior to this announcement, Schlumberger, IBM and Red Hat successfully piloted the new hybrid cloud deployment of the DELFI environment on Red Hat OpenShift, the leading Kubernetes platform, working with Red Hat and IBM Services, the world’s largest team of Red Hat certified consultants. The two organizations focused on demonstrating the flexibility and portability for compute, storage and data intensive exploration and field development applications.

IBM’s collaboration with Schlumberger is part of the company’s new commitment to invest in accelerating adoption of hybrid cloud and open architectures. IBM is targeting essential industries, such as energy, running the crucial processes of the world. These efforts are increasing in importance as organizations navigate the impacts of the pandemic and economic downturn, which is creating an acute need for speed to market, flexibility and nimbleness to encourage innovation. •

Neptune Energy Digitalises Drilling & Wells Neptune Energy today announced it will adopt Halliburton’s DecisionSpace 365 well construction suite of cloud applications to consolidate all global drilling and wells activities, improve efficiency and significantly reduce non-productive time, leading to potential annual savings of more than $20 million.

The three-year agreement – part of Neptune’s digital subsurface programme – will create a platform for Neptune’s digital well program.

It aims to reduce the duration for planning wells from weeks to days, automate engineering calculations and consolidate data currently held across multiple global locations into one.

Moving to a cloud-based solution will enable Neptune to incorporate artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics to solve upstream challenges and support the company’s overall digital transformation.

DecisionSpace 365 cloud applications will enable Neptune to build “digital twins” of its wells to not only plan and track their progress throughout their lifecycle, but to model opportunities to optimise performance and predict potential problems before they occur. It will also bring significant benefits to optimising inventories of Neptune’s plant, people and production resources.

Neptune’s Global Head of Drilling & Wells, Brett McIntyre, said: “The industry faces unprecedented challenges at this time and new digital technologies are enabling E&P companies to be more efficient, maximise the value of their activities, reduce costs and support employees.

“We see significant opportunities to enhance the safety and productivity of our global drilling and wells activities, reducing non-productive time and supporting our global teams’ ability to work together to share knowledge and best practice.

“Our technology and digitisation strategy aims to enable Neptune to be safer and more responsible, ensuring production efficiency and profitable growth from our globally-diverse, gas-weighted portfolio.

By applying technology smartly, we can also reduce waste across the whole value chain and support our ability to be a safer, faster and better business.”

By consolidating data from Neptune’s four enterprise data management (EDM) environments into one system in the cloud, Neptune’s drilling and wells teams can access all well data from any location, at any time; collaborate and share resources; ensure consistent approaches across the business and reduce costs associated with using multiple software platforms. •

Hughes Zero Power Cooler® for Emergency Tank Showers • • • •

No electricity required Maintenance free Zero operational costs Suitable for hazardous areas

Only available from Hughes.

Protect the safety of your workforce Deliver tepid water first time, every time The effects of solar radiation experienced in the Middle East can make the provision of tepid water to emergency safety showers a challenge. Water outside of the tepid range (16-38C) can scald a casualty and injure them further. Hughes emergency tank showers are available with a choice of 3 cooling options, all retrofittable to existing units. The latest addition to the range, the Hughes Zero Power Cooler® requires no electricity or maintenance making it ideal for even the most remote locations.

Learn more at www.hughes-safety.com/zero-power With over 50 years of trusted expertise, you can rest assured you’re in safe hands. Contact Hughes today to discuss your specific requirements.

Hughes Safety Showers T: +44 (0)161 430 6618 - E: sales@hughes-safety.com - www.hughes-safety.com Model shown - EXP-J-14K/1500: 1500L Emergency Tank Shower fitted with the Zero Power Cooier (Patent Pending). Other chiller options are available.

NEWS - RUSSIA & CIS Andritz to Supply Train Wheel Production Line to Russia

I

nternational technology group ANDRITZ and Allegro – a subsidiary of EVRAZ and RailService established to implement the project to produce train wheels in the Titan Valley special economic zone – have signed a contract to supply a complete production line for train wheels.

The contract was signed by Valerij Galchenkov, Managing Director of Allegro GmbH, Heinz Autischer, Head of Metals Processing at ANDRITZ, and Daniel Huber, Managing Director of Schuler.

ANDRITZ GROUP subsidiaries ANDRITZ Maerz and Schuler will supply the production line. The main part of the contract is expected to be booked in mid-2021, with the first consignment being scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2022.

The production process comprises several stages: The blanks produced

by EVRAZ are heated to 1,250 °C in the rotary hearth furnace, then descaled and preformed in a hydraulic press with 10,000 tons of press force. After this, the blanks are rolled in a wheel-rolling machine developed by Schuler and forged into a finished product in a crimping and piercing press with 5,000 tons of press force. This is followed by a geometric test in a laser measuring system and permanent marking in a marking press. Finally, the wheels undergo heat treatment and the running surfaces are hardened.

Allegro is investing a total of around 16 billion rubles (approximately 180 million euros) in the production of train wheels. With the new production line, Allegro will be able to produce 200,000 train wheels per year, and up to 300,000 with a further extension. Production is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2022, and the project will create a total of 425 new jobs.

“We are looking forward to reaching this milestone with ANDRITZ as the main supplier,” says EVRAZ Vice President Denis Novozhenov, who heads the Ural Division. “Production of train wheels requires highest competence and strict quality control, and this begins in production of the steel. The know-how from EVRAZ is vital to this project.”

Heinz Autischer, Head of Metals Processing at ANDRITZ: “We are very proud that we have won a railway wheel line again to be supplied jointly by ANDRITZ Maerz and Schuler. With this order, we will deliver the most advanced production line ever built in this segment and also strengthen our technology leadership in this area.” •

Gazprom Continues Work Towards Identifying Ownerless Gas Networks in Russian Regions

T

he Gazprom Board of Directors reviewed the information on the measures undertaken to inventory ownerless gas facilities in Russian regions, as well as to optimize the procedure of their transfer to specialized organizations for further operation in line with the laws of the Russian Federation.

It was noted that operation of ownerless gas distribution facilities (gas networks that have no lawful owners and are lacking proper technical maintenance and condition monitoring) remains a highly relevant issue for Russian regions.

The gas distribution companies of the Gazprom Group are consistently working to inventory gas distribution networks within the areas of their responsibility. Information about detected ownerless property is submitted to local authorities for registration and subsequent transfer into municipal ownership. If local governments fail to act appropriately, the relevant information is then forwarded to prosecution offices.

In addition, Gazprom actively cooperates with the federal authorities with the aim of improving the existing legislation concerning the ownership registration procedure for ownerless networks.

For instance, the Company proposed to streamline the procedure for registration of ownerless networks in municipal ownership by, inter alia, reducing the registration timeframes from one year to three months, with a possibility of automatic accrual of ownership rights by municipal authorities with respect to these facilities after the expiration of this period. In addition, increased attention should be paid to the issue of proper operation of ownerless networks, as well as their routine and emergency maintenance, prior to the registration of ownership rights.

The Management Committee was tasked with continued implementation of the measures for inventorying ownerless gas facilities and enhancing the procedure of their handover to specialized organizations for further operation in line with the laws of the Russian Federation. •

28

eor by SNF EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION

Enhanced Oil Recovery

AUGUST 2020

A COST-EFFECTIVE EOR TECHNIQUE TO REDUCE CARBON INTENSITY WITH POLYMER FLOODING AND MODULAR SKIDS

BY GUILLAUME DUPUIS AND JAN NIEUWERF EOR@SNF.COM The COVID-19 crisis has led to an unprecedented situation in the oil industry, with severe oil price depreciation due to sudden demand reduction and failed production cut agreements. Oil companies have been forced to reduce their budgets, and oil exploration has been cut or reduced.

Upon return to pre-COVID-19 demand levels, more oil production, and reserves bookings will be required from the existing wells. In this context, quickly and easily maximizing production and proven reserves of existing assets in a cost-efficient way is paramount.

Polymer flooding can increase the recovery factor (RF) over waterflooding by up to 20% of the original-oil-in-place (OOIP) at only $3 to $6 per extra barrel of oil.

At the same time, societal pressure is growing and requires immediate action to reach the net-zero production emission target by 2050.

Polymer flooding can contribute towards meeting that target by reducing CO2 emissions per barrel by 3–6 times. This reduction is primarily achieved through a more efficient sweep of oil within the reservoir, resulting in water cut reduction and, ultimately, a decrease

30

in required pumping energy at the producers and less taxing on fluid separation equipment and processes. A reduction in produced water can help lower Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions 1. Operators report significant water

Polymer flooding can contribute towards meeting net-zero production emission target by 2050 by reducing CO2 emissions per barrel by 3–6 times. cut reduction during polymer EOR operations, with the reversal in fluid cut resulting in increased oil production. It is not uncommon for mature reservoirs to reduce the water-tooil (WOR) ratio by a factor of six2,3. For green or less mature fields, polymer flooding is more efficient in terms of utility factor (UF) 4, which is defined as kg of polymer required per barrel of incremental oil. This results in both a recovery and cost efficiency on the EOR process. With the acceleration in the recovery of oil, several years of water and energy consumption are avoided for the overall

surface facility operations 5, which would include all operational factors (e.g., fuel, travel, utilities, supply, etc.). Thus, the carbon intensity of crude oil can be further reduced.

Currently, 60% of global brownfield production is from water injection, either as pressure support or in flooding operations, delivering recovery factors from 20 to 40%, OOIP. Polymer flooding is a proven technology with more than 300 projects worldwide.

These projects recover more oil, in a shorter timeframe, and at a reduced environmental footprint compared to water-flooding projects. This EOR technique has been economically and technically successful in full-field projects, such as India (Mangala), Canada (Pelican Lake, Suffield, Medicine Hat), Argentina (Diadema, Grimbeek), China (Daqing, Shengli, Dagang, etc.), the Middle East (Marmul) and Eastern Europe (Patos Marinza, Kazakhstan fields).

In the 1990s, SNF partnered with CNPC in China in the Daqing EOR full-field project. There, SNF built and commissioned the world’s

first captive polymer production plant for polymer EOR. Since then, many EOR projects have been documented. These projects have shown that polymer flooding increases RF by 15 - 20 % of the OOIP 6–13 over water-flooding.

Furthermore, these projects report an average UF of 1.7 kg of polymer per incremental barrel of oil, or 80 tons of additional oil per ton of polymer injected.

This UF is attractive, considering today’s polymer costs. Thus, polymer flooding can generate significant short-term production with a low incremental cost compared to exploration.

SNF is the leader for EOR polymer manufacturing, with more than 20 local production plants near oil production areas combined with unique logistics and engineering services to bring the polymer from the plant to the reservoir simply and efficiently.

SNF has also developed surface facilities integrated into sea containers, commissioned before transport to onshore or offshore sites, and connected to existing water pipelines14.

This “plug and pump” approach accelerates the implementation of polymer injection. In turn, this modular approach offers operators flexibility by enabling incremental deployment from pilot to potential full-field development, as well as simple facility relocation to another part of the field if needed. Thus, CAPEX is phased with the different project phases, helping to maximize efficiencies and return on investment. Also, rental options are possible.

Maintaining combined OPEX and CAPEX at $3 to $6 /bbl allows polymer flooding to be economically attractive, even in a low oil price environment, while adding proven reserves and accelerating oil recovery.

Maintaining combined OPEX and CAPEX at $3

to $6 /bbl

allows polymer flooding to be economically attractive.

Unquantified additional savings have been observed from the drag reduction effect the polymer has on produced water transport. This drag reduction effect can be seen when the polymer presence exceeds 50 ppm, with up to 70% less friction of the fluid on pipes, elbows, etc. New oil and water separation techniques also enable reducing the fresh polymer consumption by up to 35% after polymer breakthrough by reinjection of the produced polymer. This polymer becomes a high value sustainable recycled material. Furthermore, overall oil field chemical consumption can also be reduced, immediately resulting in proportional cost savings and GHG reduction associated with the production.

Challenging times provide an opportunity to innovate. Deployment of polymer flooding is a cost-effective approach to maximizing the productivity of your current assets while preserving the environment by reducing water use and GHG emissions.

With global sales of about $4B ($1B for the Oil industry), SNF is the leader for EOR polymer manufacturing, with more than 20 local production plants near oil production areas combined with unique logistics and engineering services to bring the polymer from the plant to the reservoir simply and efficiently. SNF is uniquely positioned to support polymer EOR technology from FEED to production, including field servicing when necessary.

Our chemists, engineers, and reservoir experts are here to answer your questions and to help you with every step of your project.

www.snf.com eor@snf.com

Specific to the GHG footprint of the polymer itself, SNF’s manufacturing processes are designed to minimize the environmental impact of our operations. Our primary monomer is produced enzymatically at room temperature under atmospheric pressure. Given the high volumes involved, this biological continuous catalytic process makes SNF a pioneer of soft chemistry.

Polyacrylamide is carbon-efficient chemistry since only 3 carbons per repeating unit provide the benefit of the macromolecular structure to the injected water (as opposed to 10 carbons for polyethylene terephthalate and 8 for polystyrene).

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REFERENCES (1) Farajzadeh, R.; Zaal, C.; van den Hoek, P.; Bruining, J. Life-Cycle Assessment of Water Injection into Hydrocarbon Reservoirs Using Exergy Concept. J. Clean. Prod. 2019, 235, 812–821. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.07.034.

(2) Dong, H.; Fang, S.; Wang, D.; Wang, J.; Liu, Z. L.; Hou, W. Review of Practical Experience & Management by Polymer Flooding at Daqing; Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2008. https://doi.org/10.2118/114342-MS. (3) Juri, J. E.; Ruiz, A. M.; Pedersen, G.; Pagliero, P.; Blanco, H.; Eguia, V.; Vazquez, P.; Bernhardt, C.; Schein, F.; Villarroel, G.; Tosi, A.; Serrano, V. Grimbeek2: First Successful Application Polymer Flooding in Multilayer Reservoir at YPF. Interpretation of Polymer Flooding Response; Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2017. https://doi.org/10.2118/185487-MS. (4) Delamaide, E. Comparison of Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Polymer Flood in Heavy Oil - Field Results; Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2016. https://doi. org/10.2118/180852-MS. (5) Poulsen, A.; Shook, G. M.; Jackson, A.; Ruby, N.; Charvin, K.; Dwarakanath, V.; Thach, S.; Ellis, M. Results of the UK Captain Field Interwell EOR Pilot; Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2018. https://doi.org/10.2118/190175-MS. (6) Wang, D.; Zhang, J.; Meng, F.; Liu, H.; Li, L.; Han, B.; Qi, L. Commercial Test of Polymer Flooding in Daqing Oil Field Daqing Petroleum Administrative Bureau; Society of Petroleum Engineers, 1995. https://doi.org/10.2118/29902-MS. (7) Wang, D.; Cheng, J.; Wu, J.; Wang, G. Experiences Learned after Production of More than 300 Million Barrels of Oil by Polymer Flooding in Daqing Oil Field; Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2002. https://doi.org/10.2118/77693-MS. (8) Anand, A.; Al Sulaimani, H.; Riyami, O.; AlKindi, A. Success and Challenges in Ongoing Field Scale Polymer Flood in Sultanate of Oman - A Holistic Reservoir Simulation Case Study for Polymer Flood Performance Analysis & Prediction; Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2018. https://doi.org/10.2118/190431-MS. (9) Juri, J.-E.; Ruiz, A.; Serrano, V.; Guillen, P.; Thill, M.; Kichick, L.; Alonso, P.; Lucero, A.; De Miranda, V.; Mac Donald, W.; Figueroa, E.; Robina, N.; Vera, M.; Figueroa, E.; Di Pauly, F.; Rojas, W.; Ojeda, N. A Successful 18%STOOIP 4-Injector Polymer Pilot Expands To 80 New Injectors In 6 Years Adopting A Modular Concept In Grimbeek Fluvial Reservoirs; International Petroleum Technology Conference, 2020. https://doi.org/10.2523/IPTC-20285-MS. (10) Delamaide, E.; Let, K. M. S.; Bhoendie, K.; Paidin, W. R.; Jong-A-Pin, S. Interpretation of the Performance Results of a Polymer Flood Pilot in the Tambaredjo Oil Field, Suriname; Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2016. https://doi.org/10.2118/181499-MS. (11) Sieberer, M.; Clemens, T.; Peisker, J.; Ofori, S. Polymer Flood Field Implementation - Pattern Configuration and Horizontal versus Vertical Wells; Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2018. https://doi.org/10.2118/190233-MS. (12) Batonyi, A.; Thorburn, L.; Molnar, S. A Reservoir Management Case Study of a Polymer Flood Pilot in Medicine Hat Glauconitic C Pool; Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2016. https://doi.org/10.2118/179555-MS. (13) Guo, H.; Dong, J.; Wang, Z.; Liu, H.; Ma, R.; Kong, D.; Wang, F.; Xin, X.; Li, Y.; She, H. 2018 EOR Survey in China-Part 1; Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2018. https://doi. org/10.2118/190286-MS. (14) Juri, J.; Ruiz, A.; Schein, F.; Serrano, V.; Thill, M.; Guillen, P.; Tosi, A.; Pacchy, M.; Soto, L.; Therisod, A.; Paura, M.; Lauro, P.; Alonso, P. Grimbeek Successful Polymer Pilot Extends to 80 Injectors in Factory-Mode Development at CGSJ Basin; European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers, 2019; Vol. 2019, pp 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3997/22144609.201900061.

TORQ

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The SKYTEC TORQ™ impact range consists of 6 new gloves.

These were created with wearers in mind, who demand high level dexterity in hazardous environments.

These new products are balanced with high level cut protection to prevent hand injuries before they happen.

Scan QR code with phone camera to view the range online Tel: +44 (0)161 877 4747

Email: sales@globus.co.uk

Part of

EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION

Rugged Micro-Connectors for HighReliability Petroleum Industry

By Bob Stanton Director of Technology, Omnetics Connector Corp.

Micro Connector and cable systems fit well into electronic tools used in geothermal and petroleum devices used in gravitational detection, magnetometers, and directional sense and controls as well as Measuring While Drilling. (MWD).

Directional Drilling Controls.

T

he quality of electrical signal connections and information services used in functions such as, directional drilling, electromagnetic signaling and even power routing to sensor systems can make or break the success of a drilling event. Microsized sensors and connectors must be tough enough to offer continuous signal integrity while enduring extreme forces of shock and continuous vibration. Sensor systems are often fitted snuggly deep inside the drill string system to sense and measure data from the drilling fluid being pumped down and back up the annulus of the drill string and the casing. Sensor tools in many drilling events can also experience both high temperature and pressure.

Drilling Downhole in North America, temperatures typically run from 150ºC to near 175ºC, and is handled with standard “hightemperature” connector and cable systems. In some cases, such as in Australia and the South Pacific, temperatures in downhole drilling can rise to 200 degrees centigrade and become a serious challenge. Specialty MDW connector and cable connectors must be utilized to competently operate the rig and drill system.

Position, direction and measurement data being developed while down-in-the-hole with sensors,

detectors must be processed and routed up to the control center at the surface of the rig.

Micro-Connector and cable for petroleum industry electronics often fall into a few specific categories. As noted earlier, focus is on the combination of being small simultaneously with very rugged. Pin and socket elements within the connectors handle the signal integrity and are responsible for

continuous transmission at low resistance.

This is solved in micro-connector design using highly tempered BeCu, (beryllium-copper) spring pins tightly interfacing solid cylindrical sockets. These contact elements are fitted into rugged insulator sets that hold their size and shape during temperature and pressure changes. The interconnect system’s electrical current capacity is based on the diameter of pin/sockets as well as the current capacity of the wiring. Micro and, in some cases, Nanosized connectors fit well into the down hole system because new sensor and detectors operate well on quite low voltage and current levels and offer solutions in a number of key areas of the Petroleum system.

MWD Controller boards; use a number of sensors for borehole logging and directional drilling and can include high temperature detection sensors that are critical in gas, oil and geothermal drilling applications. The micro-d connector is a small metal shelled connector with proven shock and vibration performance for years in the down-hole steering sector.

Current capacity goes to 3 amps per line.

Multiple pin/socket counts are available and the designer can specify temperature ranges from 150ºC to 200ºC. When solder attachment

Omnetics Nano-D Connectors.

is needed we often use SAC305 which is a high temp lead free solder or what is specified by the down-hole engineer. The smaller Nano-d connector fits very well onto small diameter controller and bit-steering modules. It also passes the shock and vibration rigors and can be used up to 200ÂşC range while carrying up to 1 amp per wire.

Tool Strings: Routing and Installing electronic cable in tool strings can be difficult because of small diameters and flexible connecting sections.

Cable are more easily drawn with cable using Micro-Circular and Nano-Circular connectors all along the string. They are more easily pulled with the harness through small openings in the string. Key sensor data is also protected inside the metal connector shells during use from random electrical noise. Special sensor signals can be routed with special high speed digital signal wire when needed.

Wireline Tools: Sometimes called dry line tools, will vary greatly based upon the number of conductors needed during steps like geophysical analysis and the well- development data acquisition needed about the geology below the surface, properties of a reservoir and checking for pipeline ruptures. In cased hole and other analysis applications the multiconductor cable system is needed to collect a wider range of analysis info. The cables themselves are fairly small in diameter but often need to be shielded for rugged exposure during insertion and withdrawal. Small and rugged metal connectors, such as the microcircular and micro-d style are a good choice as they offer a number of wire to wire connections and match well with the metal shielding of the overall wireline cable design. When gamma ray tools are used to check for clay volume and any increase in mineral concentration, (which leads to potential fractures), the shielded cable and metal connector can be electrically sealed for additional signal isolation. This insures best data reaching the surface.

Nano-PZN - Ruggedized.

Routing and Installing Electronic Cable.

Evolution in power and Portable geophysical tools: Highly portable geophysical instrumentation devices are being used in research and ground surveillance as well in airborne and marine to analyze a wide range of sciences from petroleum and mineral exploration to measurements of groundwater levels.

During transportation as well as in operations, the small, low weight electronics must also withstand shock, vibration and elevated temperatures as see in MWD applications.

Changes in today’s active electronics are requiring power supply integrity, but at lower level current and voltages. Similarly, new mud motor design requires lower power and smoothed levels of voltage shift. Hybrid micro-d connectors fit well in many designs and newly models of miniaturized 38999 circular connectors are solving the problem.

Conclusion: Rugged Micro and Nano-sized MWD Connector and Cable systems are making life easier for modernized petroleum electronic interconnections. Improved signal acquisition and transmission have increased the reliability of data and the installation and working with new sensor technologies being applied to the industry. Application Specific cable and connectors are readily available and quickly provided for new petroleum device and development. Our leaders in this industry have lead us to Smaller, Rugged, Quickly Adaptable Interconnects. • Omnetics / https://www.omnetics.com +1 763-572-0656 / sales@omnetics.com

35

EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION

PERFORMANCE BOOST: How the Design and Supply of Filtration Technology Protects and Improves Production Processes Any disruption to business-as-usual processes and operating performance can create major financial headaches for oil and gas producers.

That’s acutely true right now in the battle to stay on top of costs given the economic impact of Covid-19.

Delivering investment and maintenance projects on time and to budget is key to ensuring essential cost control and a sustainable operating model.

O

ne of the most critical processes in oil and gas production is water filtration and treatment.

It is pivotal in protecting both equipment and rock formations while recovering reserves, complying with environmental legislation, and ensuring high uptime of water injection systems.

UK manufacturer Amazon Filters, one of the leading suppliers of pleated and depth filters and bespoke pressure vessels, works with a growing list of oil and gas producers and service providers to help them find optimal filtration solutions.

Flexibility in supply is paramount A focus on cost reduction must be tempered with the need for equipment to perform efficiently and cost effectively over a 20-year operating life.

Locally manufactured pressure vessels can be the most appropriate way to minimise capital cost, reduce the carbon footprint of freight and ensure a high percentage of local content to support local economies.

While local expertise in vessel fabrication is widely available, expertise in housing design, filter choice, sizing and installation may be limited. Inappropriately designed filter housings can lead to very high year-on-year operating costs that can quickly dwarf any saving made on capital expense.

Amazon Filters’ Project Specialist Padrig O’Hara said: “Our dedicated, experienced proposal team works with clients to specify the most appropriate housing and filter design.

The complete assembly can then either be manufactured in the UK or the designs can be shared with a third party to manufacture locally.

A common approach to mitigate risk with filtration performance has been to manufacture the pressure vessel locally and manufacture the filter internals in the UK. “We have taken exactly this approach on a wide variety of filter installations and applications.

We apply our expertise in filter selection and sizing to optimise cartridge lifetime and filtrate quality and guarantee performance on installation.

The perceived additional complications with

36

design support documentation and approvals can sometimes put clients off taking this flexible approach but we have the project management expertise to guide customers through this process.

We provide partial or complete documentation packs in accordance with the appropriate codes depending on the scope for supply to satisfy project specifications.”

The cost of poor design With the operational and financial pressures facing the oil and gas industry in recent years, Amazon Filters has seen an increase in examples of poorly designed filter housings coming into service.

Padrig said: “We are often approached by operators to try to resolve problems in cases where the original vendors lack the expertise

The filter assembly above was designed by Amazon Filters. The scope of supply involved a diaphragm plate, cartridge support baskets, retaining plate and cartridges. The internals, manufactured in super duplex stainless steel, support and protect 82 off 60” high-flow cartridges for seawater filtration.

in filtration to diagnose the root cause and propose rectification solutions.

Poorly designed vessel internals, either not adequately sealed and located in the vessel, or not offering correct support and location to the cartridges, pose a serious threat to the integrity of the filtration process.”

As well as bypass, problems caused by poor design of internals include: •

Cartridges bursting or having to be operated to a lower differential pressure than that for which they originally designed.

•

Cartridges becoming un-seated under even small amounts of back pressure due to inadequate retention.

•

Excessive clean differential pressure due to poor flow path, which reduces the cartridges’ operational life.

•

Direct impingement of the flow onto the cartridges, with subsequent erosion and potential gross failure.

The design of the pressure vessel is itself critical, not so much to the process, but for operation.

Unlike most other vessels which are rarely opened during scheduled maintenance shutdowns, filter housings are frequently opened for replacement of spent cartridges.

With regular filter cartridge change-outs, features such as quick-release closure, properly designed davits, easy to access internals and low weight removable internal components are critical, not just to reducing the number of operator hours required for maintenance, but also to ensuring the safety of the operators.

Left: A well-designed filter housing can have its cartridges changed in less than an hour and returned to service so minimising OPEX and downtime. A poorly designed housing can need more than a day to achieve the same task.

It is far better to procure housings through a reputable filter company who designs and manufactures both filter media and housings, rather than a vessel fabricator or a supplier who only makes one or the other.

The reputable company will understand how the equipment will be used and the critical interaction between the filter cartridge and housing.

A properly designed housing may well cost more but the difference in CAPEX is vanishingly small compared to the additional operational expenses, process risk and downtime costs involved in sorting problems associated with poor design.

Padrig said: “We’ve seen many examples where the spend on disposable media in the first two years of a filtration system expected to last for 20 years or more has exceeded the costs of the housings.

And of course, cartridges are usually protecting something with far higher potential costs of replacement.

With a poorly designed housing easily doubling the cartridge usage, the additional 10-20% premium for properly designed housing can easily repay itself in the first year of operation.

Operators and package providers must therefore understand these risks and specify housings to the appropriate standard, and satisfy themselves that their supplier truly understands both filtration and filter housing design.”

Coalescing technology The relationship between housing design and filter is even more critical when it comes to coalescing technology, both liquid/liquid and liquid/gas. A perfectly good coalescer cartridge can be rendered useless if installed in an inappropriate housing where velocities

result in entrainment and high operating differential pressures.

Amazon Filters has launched a new range of liquid/gas coalescers, the SupaSep LG. These high-performance filters can be supplied complete in a bespoke housing or as consumable retrofits for products such as the Pall Seprasol™ and Parker Peco Dynaceptor™ range. Incorporating a patented process for application of the drainage and anti re-entrainment layers, the filters provide exceptional efficiency and drainage characteristics.

Neil Pizzey, Amazon Filters’ Managing Director, said: “We design our solutions to the client’s specific requirements combining empirical data with coalescing theory. We have over 100 years of experience in coalescer design. Our engineers work with academics at the forefront of design research. This ensures we always provide the best combination of performance and cost.”

Conclusion When selecting a process filtration supplier, it is essential to view the design in terms of OPEX and not just capital. A company that specialises in both housing and cartridge design and manufacture will ensure the solution performs to the customer’s specification in the most cost-effective manner.

Neil added: “We have invested substantially in our manufacturing capability to make sure that even in these uncertain times we can provide continuity of supply to all our customers…and some new ones too.” • To find out more about Amazon Filters’ solutions for oil and gas, visit: Amazon Filters. https://www.amazonfilters.com/industry/oiland-gas-filtration-solutions Or call: +44 (0) 1276 670 600.

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EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION

Fans for Marine and Offshore Industries Offshore oil and gas platforms incorporate a wide range of fan applications from production areas, power generation and compressor cooling. Offshore sites are built to withstand the harsh and corrosive environments in which they’re situated, and therefore components within systems must be suitable for purpose. Where hazardous gases are present, ATEX variants are required and should be specified by the system manufacturer’s maintenance manuals to advise the zone that the components should be certified to. Corrosion resistant fans that are open to the external elements should be used, special paint grades are available depending on the corrosively of the environment. This extends the life of the components and ensures the optimum performance level.

Offshore Applications Gas Turbine Enclosures Gas turbine enclosures often feature a single fan ventilation system: Enclosure ventilation is provided by a single motor-driven fan. This motor is typically 3-phase AC, high efficiency, with Class F insulation. The fan is sized to provide the airflow required to ensure that the internal air temperature around the enclosed equipment remains within acceptable limits.

Sometimes, for additional ventilation or certification requirements, a dual fan ventilation system may be required. Given that the turbine contains gas, the main aim is to reduce the risk developed from a build-up of hazardous gases by effectively ventilating, ATEX cased axial fans for both supply and exhaust of these gases are often used.

Compressor Cooling Enclosures There are two situations that can greatly reduce an engines life and efficiency; the use of dirty fuel and inadequate engine room ventilation and ventilation of engine components. In

short, engines that ingest cool air burn more efficiently than those that ingest warm air.

Engines produce a lot of heat, that’s how they operate and how they produce power. They must be adequately cooled to provide ample

ventilation for continued operation. The warmer an engine room is, the harder it is on the components and systems housed there; heat encourages accelerated aging, higher failure rates, and greater operating expense due to the system working less efficient. In addition to this, and of importance to both builders and end users, the failure to meet engine manufacturer temperature guidelines can result in denial of warranty coverage for the engine or generator.

All but the smallest engine and engine room installations will almost certainly require some form of mechanical ventilation.

Centrifugal fans rated for continuous duty are the most common type of industrial fan used to fulfil this requirement.

Why Is There A Need For Engine Room Ventilation?

Engine room ventilation falls into two categories, those required for cooling the space, and those needed for combustion. The air used to cool the compartment improves not only the combustion efficiency, but also the longevity and efficiency of gear in this space, including engines, generators,

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compressors, and electrical and electronic components, this also makes it a more comfortable place to work for ship employees.

Additionally, heat takes a toll on other components such as generator couplings, belts, motor mounts, as well as batteries. Whenever possible, it’s always preferable to locate batteries, particularly the house bank, outside engine compartments. This is an area that needs to be considered when on board as 24V DC power supplies and ATEX requirements in some instances will influence the choice of industrial fan suitable.

Depending on the engine room size and space available for ducts, mechanical ventilation frequently is required to achieve engine manufacturer requirements.

Mechanical ventilation should include both inlet, known as supply air, and exhaust air. In the ideal installation, supply air will be ducted into the engine room low, near the interior floors, and away from heat sources, while exhaust air will be drawn from the top of the space, directly over heat producers such as engines. Duct designs should, however, avoid blowing inlet air directly onto engines in that this causes cool air to rapidly heat and be dispersed around the compartment. In many occurrences, high inlet and high exhaust ventilation arrangement is among the least efficient.

Production Platforms

Offshore and Marine Grade Surface Finish

One ideal set up is to position high capacity axial fans, to insert both combustion air and cooling air alongside smaller exhaust fans which can be used to pull cooling air only. As an engine room heats up, the exhaust fans duty increases and the resulting depression ramps up the intake fans. Many boats were built previously without adequate engine room ventilation but this should be considered of paramount importance in vessel design and build.

Power generation on offshore platforms has substantial ventilation requirements. It’s often common for an offshore platform to produce its own energy, therefore, providing combustion air for fans within engine room ventilation systems that have been designed and built to remove radiated and convective heat is required. Axial fans such as the ANDB are suitable for use within engine room ventilation.

Industrial fans with special paint grades, coatings or hot dip galvanised processes are often specified in corrosive environments to ensure longevity of the product in use. Offshore and marine environments are classified according to their grade of environmental corrosivity which affects the components used in those environments.

Moisture, oxygen, temperature, air pollution and marine atmospheres containing chlorides and dirt etc. affect the rate of corrosion of steel. Corrosion and the degeneration of stainless steel structures such as industrial fans can be limited through correct material selection, organic coating paint, good surface preparation and careful consideration of the corrosivity category.

ISO 12944-5:2007, describes the types of paint and paint system commonly used for corrosion protection of steel structures such as industrial fans. It also provides guidance for the selection of paint systems available for different environments and different surface preparation grades, and the durability grade to be expected. The durability of paint systems is classified in terms of low, medium and high.

Paint grade finishes include C3 for urban and industrial atmospheres, C4 for industrial and coastal areas and C5M for marine, offshore and coastal environments. • If you are interested in any of the solutions discussed in this article, please contact Axair Fans using the information below to request a quote or to discuss how they can help.

Axair Fans UK Ltd T: +44 (0) 1782 349 430 E: sales@axair-fans.co.uk W: https://www.axair-fans.co.uk

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ATEX Fans for the Marine and Offshore Industry

Axair Fans offer a range of fans appropriate for marine and offshore applications. Fans used in these conditions are designed to withstand extreme, harsh and corrosive surroundings. All of our ATEX fans have been constructed according to the mandatory directive of the European Parliament, meaning you can be sure that they will operate safely in both hazardous or explosive environments.

Contact Axair to talk to an experienced sales engineer 01782 349 430 | sales@axair-fans.co.uk | www.axair-fans.com | @axairfans

E&P - NEWS ADNOC to continue to Focus Smart Growth through Strategic Partnerships

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is Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), today shared insights on energy market dynamics, the energy transition, and ADNOC’s future strategy during a virtual session of the Energy Intelligence Forum.

Speaking with Alex Schindelar, President of Energy Intelligence, during a leadership dialogue, H.E. Dr. Al Jaber said: “When it comes to managing the economic impact of Covid, it really comes down to the fact that we are realizing the benefits of the transformation we started four years ago. Over this period we have focused on improving our performance and strengthening our agility while always reinforcing efficiency throughout our business. Most importantly we have focused on what we can control and that is our costs.

“Going forward, we will continue to focus on developing our upstream resources and expanding our downstream footprint here in the UAE, while maximizing value through creative partnerships. In addition, we are further strengthening our marketing and trading capabilities. Last month we completed our first derivatives trade, marking the beginning of a new era for ADNOC as an active trader.”

Commenting on how ADNOC and Abu Dhabi have continued to attract investment in 2020 following ADNOC’s multi-billion dollar deals, H.E. Dr. Al Jaber said the deals were as a result of the fact that the UAE has created a safe, reliable, and stable business environment, underpinned by a unique partnership model. He noted this business environment is very attractive to the global investment community who view the UAE as a highly trusted, go-to investment destination.

H.E. Dr. Al Jaber added that “these transactions have highlighted the world-class nature of Abu Dhabi’s and ADNOC’s energy assets and infrastructure base, together with their low-risk and high return profile.”

Responding to a question on ADNOC’s strategy behind monetizing assets, H.E. Dr. Al Jaber said ADNOC’s strategy is very much focused on unlocking value and driving growth through smart, creative partnerships. He stressed ADNOC “will continue to leave no stone unturned to maximize value from across our portfolio.”

H. E. Dr. Sultan noted that while no one is in a position to predict what the shape of economic recovery will look like over the next few months given that there are multiple variables at play, the long-term structural market for oil and gas is very robust, with demand expected to increase to 109 million barrels per day over the next 25 years, in line with global economic growth.

He went on to highlight the role of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in balancing oil markets since the markets reached its low point in March while stressing the UAE is complying with its production quota agreed with OPEC plus.

“I must commend our partners in OPEC plus for their collective efforts to balance supply and demand during this critical period. As part of this effort, the UAE continues to adhere closely to all agreed cuts. In fact, we achieved well over 100 percent compliance this past month and these measures are having a positive impact on market confidence,” H.E. Dr. Al Jaber said.

Speaking on ADNOC and the UAE’s approach to COVID-19, H.E. Dr. Al Jaber explained how the country’s robust response has focused on a safety-first approach to “test early, test often and test again and again.”

“The UAE has carried out over 10 million tests so far – that’s more than one test for every citizen and resident of our country. This great public health effort makes the UAE the first country in the world where the number of COVID tests exceeds the population and it is a testament to t he careful and prudent guidance of our wise leadership,” H.E. Dr. Al Jaber said.

ADNOC has followed this example closely and the company’s strong health, safety, and environment (HSE) culture has been instrumental in handling the pandemic from a health perspective, H.E. Dr. Al Jaber

said. He explained that ADNOC has successfully managed the economic impact of Covid as a result of its transformation which was started four years ago and this has enabled the company to maintain uninterrupted operations throughout this period and deliver on its strategic objectives.

H.E. Dr. Al Jaber also shared his perspective on the energy transition and outlined how ADNOC is preparing for the future energy landscape.

He emphasized that in 2030, oil and gas will remain at the heart of ADNOC’s business model because even in the most fast-paced transition scenario, hydrocarbons will still provide over half the world’s energy needs.

He explained that this reality underscores ADNOC’s commitment to expanding its crude oil production capacity to 5 million barrels per day by 2030 while driving gas self-sufficiency for the UAE. •

Enterprise and Customers Amend Crude Oil Agreements; Enterprise Cancelling Midland to Echo 4 Pipeline

E

nterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) today announced that it and certain of its customers have amended agreements that provide Enterprise the ability to use the partnership’s existing pipelines to support its crude oil transportation agreements and to cancel the 450,000 barrels per day Midland-to-ECHO 4 crude oil pipeline project (“M2E4”). Generally, the amendments provide for the reduction of near term volume commitments in exchange for extending the term of the agreements.

The cancellation of M2E4 will reduce aggregate growth capital expenditures for 2020, 2021 and 2022 by approximately $800 million.

Based on currently sanctioned projects, we expect growth capital expenditures, net of contributions from joint venture partners, for 2020, 2021 and 2022 to be approximately $2.8 billion, $1.6 billion and $900 million, respectively. These estimates do not include capital investments associated with our proposed deep water offshore crude oil terminal (“SPOT”), which remains subject to governmental approvals. We do not expect to receive the approvals for SPOT in 2020. As a result of the cancellation, Enterprise expects to record an impairment charge of approximately $45 million to its earnings for the third quarter of 2020.

“We are very proud of our commercial team for responding and working with our customers to amend these long-term agreements,” said A. J. “Jim” Teague, co-CEO of Enterprise’s general partner. “This is another example of Enterprise working with customers for a ‘win/ win’ solution that allows our customers and Enterprise to better allocate capital during the challenging times of the current economic cycle while retaining long-term, fee-based volumes and revenues for our assets. The capital savings from the cancellation of M2E4 will accelerate Enterprise toward being discretionary free cash flow positive, which would give us the flexibility to reduce debt and return additional capital to our partners, including through buybacks.”

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. is one of the largest publicly traded partnerships and a leading North American provider of midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals. Our services include: natural gas gathering, treating, processing, transportation and storage; NGL transportation, fractionation, storage and export and import terminals; crude oil gathering, transportation, storage and export and import terminals; petrochemical and refined products transportation, storage, export and import terminals and related services; and a marine transportation business that operates primarily on the United States inland and Intracoastal Waterway systems. The partnership’s assets include approximately 50,000 miles of pipelines; 260 million barrels of storage capacity for NGLs, crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals; and 14 Bcf of natural gas storage capacity. •

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EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION

The Leap into Maritime e-Learning Solutions

By Maarit Vähäkangas (Pedagogical Advisor) Novia UAS, Technology and Seafaring, Aboa Mare.

The pandemic forced many maritime training centers to start educating online, basically overnight.

Polar Code Basic was the first course that Aboa Mare transformed into an online course. Other courses are under development, in cooperation with shipping companies.

Let us take a closer look at some e-learning solutions, focusing on the strategies we found feasible as we started delivering Polar Code Basic training online. We will also look at the advantages and challenges with online courses for course participants and training centers.

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-learning combines pedagogy and technology

Some maritime courses are quite easy to transform into online courses, as other courses require more development before they can be conducted virtually. There are endless possibilities with online courses as the technology evolves and new solutions are introduced.

You can access the online material with all devices. Offline training is also enabled.

The same objectives matter in online environment as in an on-site classroom. We must define the outcome, what do we want our course participants to learn by participating in an e-learning course? What skills should they have at the end of this course?

Strategies for Polar Code Basic training in the virtual learning environment For us, it was natural to transform Polar Code Basic to an online course, as ice navigation is one of our core competences. The content and structure of the course had to be re-designed to work well in online environment, as the pedagogical method of presentation changed.

We achieved the best outcome by dividing the Polar Code Basic training content into concise segments i.e. modules. A clear module structure, along with proper description of the course outlines and content, helps the course participant to understand the objectives while studying. It is important that the course content is simple to understand at a glance.

Our course overview includes information about the duration of the course and an introduction to the different modules. There is also a test after each module to check if the student understood everything in the module, and a final exam at the end of the course.

We believe that a good e-learning course consists of compact information in a nice package, where the amount of text is limited and emphasis is laid on visualizations such as images, graphics and videos that support “E-learning training possibilities are endless as the technology evolves”, Ahti Hyppönen explains.

Ahti Hyppönen, Aboa Mare’s Lead Instructor for Polar Code training explains the Egg Code. the content. It is much more effective to learn by watching videos, than by reading written material on your own.

as an online course.

The advantage of educational videos is that a learner can pause the video and watch parts again that he or she didn’t understand the first time. In addition, course participants can watch the video regardless of time and place.

In an online environment, the course participants are obliged to take more responsibility of their learning. Responses from Polar Code instructors have shown that some parts of the teaching seem easier online.

It is for instance easier to share charts and media content online, than in a classroom.

As studying online can be quite independent, it is important to bring some interactivity to the course. There are different digital tools for supporting interactive distance learning. We have found that e.g. quizzes and polls are an easy way to bring interactivity to the online course.

Opportunities and challenges in online education

A challenge with online education might be that course participants have different IT skills or a bad network. Course participants should meet minimum internet speed and display requirements to guarantee course satisfaction. Online education works, as long as the technology is in order and everyone knows how to use it.

An e-learning course is never fully complete The feedback an instructor gives to a course participant, is just as important as the feedback the participant gives to the instructor about the course. We all develop and learn more constantly.

The syllabus is sometimes left more open in an e-learning course, so the course participants can explore and develop new ideas and cultivate their critical thinking. The instructor can also consider giving the course participants a variety of options, different ways to accomplish something. This might enhance the course participant’s learning process, as there are various learning styles.

The experience we have gained so far through the Polar Code Basic e-learning course has been instructive. We will continue to evaluate the course materials and teaching methods and develop them further where needed. As always, the best courses are achieved when developing both on-site and online courses together with our customers.

Course participants can operate simulators in a virtual classroom Course participants in different locations can participate in a virtual class and collaborate with the instructor and other course participants. For instance simulator training can be conducted in a virtual class - the participants can operate the simulator remotely, under supervision of the instructor. In virtual simulator training, the course participants can practise and solve highly realistic scenarios. Remote operations also enable us to provide Polar Code Advanced

learning materials come down. Shipping companies can save expenses by letting the employees take online courses, instead of travelling on site.

The amount of course participants may be larger in an online course, as there is no need to fit everyone into a classroom. On the other hand, if the group size becomes too large, it may be difficult for the instructor to give guidance to the participants individually. The advantage of online education is also that the costs of travel, accommodation and

If you would like to know more about how Aboa Mare Maritime Academy and Training Center can help your company and its operations, please contact us at: maritime@aboamare.fi or find us on the web at: www.aboamare.fi

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EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION

DEPRO Have Just Introduced a New Compact ROV Concept, BLUEROC. We wanted to get a better understanding about the company behind this technology and contacted Depro AS and their Chief Marketing Officer Kenneth Olsen to get better insight. Depro AS delivers multidisciplinary products and technologies to meet companies needs for remote operated tool solutions and concepts. We learn more below.

OGI: Please tell us who Depro are and the history behind the company?

Olsen: Depro was founded in 2005, originating from Bryne Mekaniske. The team who started the company set increased focus on smart engineering and smart fabrication of subsea tooling.

Kenneth Olsen, Chief Marketing Officer, DEPRO AS.

Today we have a modern new and effective office and workshop where we have multidiscipline competence and supplying products consisting of mechanical, hydraulic, and electrical technology. Depro is supplying all type of tooling and some permanent equipment for subsea use to the oil and gas industry. We have 46 employees and have a strong supplier network of whom we work closely with, with high capacity and world class competence. This gives us the opportunity to be attractive supplier to the global market and customers.

OGI: Could you tell me what Depro do and deliver, and how you serve the market?

Olsen: Our most important objective is to help our customers by fully understand what they need and what we can provide to meet their expectations. Depro have, from day one, been able to serve the customers quickly with reliable and attractive solutions. Most of our deliveries

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are connected to IMR subsea operations and ROV tooling.

As a continuation of this development the idea and concept BLUEROC was created.

Around 8 years ago, we started to develop more advanced tooling containing electrical control systems and fully electrically powered TMS system for work class ROV.

OGI: How does Depro see the future of the oil and gas business?

Olsen: I think it is important for the oil and gas industry to understand the changes

within the energy sector and the challenge we have in front of us with reduced demand for oil and gas. There will be need for oil and gas products for the rest of this century, but at a point not far away, we will pass the peak of produced volume and production decline will start. In this environment it is important for everyone to do their best to reduce negative environmental impact and develop products and systems that are more efficient and environmentally friendly.

Depro have over many years implemented measurements and actions to be in front of this and we have target to be zero emissions by 2030 and help our customers to do the same.

OGI: So how do Depro meet this change in the oil and gas market?

Olsen: Depro has invested in technology and people to be better prepared to meet the market needs for zero emission suppliers. In parallel with this initiative we are leading the company step by step into the Industry 4.0. Both those initiatives require a new mindset on how we operate, how we serve our customers and how people and machines interact to each other.

We think the most important factors to be successful in this new environment is to have a business culture that embrace and motivate our employees to use new technology to reduce waste (meaning reduced man-hours, executiontime and material), and our ability to direct our initiatives into customer value.

Olsen continues: At the same time, we believe that human interface in subsea operations will be the preferred solution many years ahead, but new technology can help to perform the operation quicker and safer, even with less experienced personnel. Depro are well prepared to take a front runner position in the subsea

market for remote operated tooling. One example of this is the BLUEROC concept which was introduced to the market this year.

OGI: Would you give us a brief description of BLUEROC? Olsen: BLUEROC is a mobile 20-foot container with a complete ROV system that is quick to mobilize and can be used on many different vessels. It contains everything needed to launch and operate the ROV (Control Room, Winch, LARS, TMS), just connect power, and you are ready to go.

Olsen continues: This product is part of Depro’s long-term strategy where we want to offer new innovative concepts that can be easily controlled remotely from land and provide high value creation for our customers. We have discussed our ideas with some customers and the response is extremely positive.

OGI: What is the biggest advantage of the new solution?

Olsen: It is the small footprint required and all parts to operate the system are assembled and connected, ready for operation. Just load

the system on a ship and start the operation without any further preparation.

The system is perfect for visual inspection, 2D and 3D scanning, and also have the opportunity to add small tooling for spot cleaning, NDT inspection, and a small manipulator arm.

The use of modern technology and control systems provides great opportunities and cost savings for customers. The system is prepared for remote control from the control room on the vessel or from shore. Since the control system is built with semi-automatic processes, the system is less sensitive to delays that could exist in the communication network.

OGI: You told us that this BLUEROC system was a cost-efficient solution, where are those savings?

Olsen: The biggest cost saving,s aside from the price to buy or rent the BLUEROC system, are connected to use of smaller vessels with lower day-rates, and less expensive personnel cost. The saving in personnel cost is connected to installation costs and operational costs.

If we compare BLUEROC with traditional ways to install and operate the system you would need fewer people and perform the job much quicker. BLUEROC is built to be operated by standard offshore personnel with a one-week training course. One customer stated that they got more than 75% savings from the current way of performing inspections, and the investment costs were fully covered with the savings in the first campaign. Depro has big plans for the ROV solution, and a further development of the concept is already started.

OGI: Do you have any ending remarks?

Olsen: Right now, we are in a phase where we are building up a new group within our company to strengthen the operational support and we are in need for more personnel. I would recommend to have a look at our homepage, www.depro.no that way you can get more details around us as a company and what we deliver. • For more information contact: Kenneth Olsen Phone: +47 404 19 938 Email: ko@depro.no

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EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION

High-Quality Vibrocoring Systems SEAS Offshore Pty Ltd is a leading provider of state-of-the-art sediment sampling equipment. The company is based in Coffs Harbour, Australia and services clients worldwide. Our vibrocoring equipment was originally developed in the early 1980’s and has been further developed over the years to provide a lightweight, portable and extremely reliable sediment sampling solutions. Solutions for any sediment sampling project can be catered for by the experienced SEAS team. At SEAS we understand that every sampling job is different, so we work with our clients to design each program for best effect to meet our clients’ specific requirements.

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ur lightweight and portable equipment enables us to sample in areas that are inaccessible to many other systems, such as shallow lakes, tidal estuaries, and near-shore coastal environments. The various SEAS VC

models allow sediment types in to be reliably sampled in environments which can be difficult or prohibitive for outer vibrocoring equipment.

The VC700 4.4Kw system combined with variable frequency control allows the operator to adjust the vibration frequency to suit the sediment type. The ability to vary the frequency provides a range of 5kN – 60kN drive force. In a unit as compact as the VC 700 this is a leader in the field. The VC700 was recently used with reliable success in sampling the dense iron sands offshore northern Luzon, Philippines. The project delivered over 600 core samples to six meters in length with high recovery rates.

SEAS also manufacture and operates a number of sediment sampling systems. Box Core systems, Piston core systems and Grab samplers.

The SEAS Large Box core system provides a box sample 50cm x 50cm x 50cm (0.125m³).

The Box core samples provide large undisturbed sediment samples suitable for environmental studies, macro benthic fauna analysis and geotechnical analysis.

The SEAS Piston Coring System has proved reliable in collecting quality core samples to

46

compliment pipeline and cable route surveys. The system when combined with SEAS Vibrocoring equipment provided core sampling options for a variety of sediment types Our deep water vibrocore system pushes the limits of vibrocore sampling to 3000m, well beyond the capabilities of most of our competitors. When coupled with our multicore MPS3000 platform our deep water VC2000T provides a unique opportunity to acquire samples in an efficient and costeffective manner. The MPS3000 system can collect 10 core samples from one deployment off the vessel. The MPS3000 system can host numerous additional sensors to meet client specifications. With real-time video feedback the coring procedure can be closely monitored.

The cameras fitted with pan & tilt function can be turned outward to monitor the seafloor surface environment enabling valuable benthic habitat assessment. The MPS3000 has both low light black & white cameras in addition to a colour focus and zoom camera with additional lighting. • For further information regarding any of SEAS equipment please contact: info@seasoffshore.com or visit our website: www.seasoffshore.com

EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION

Indispensable to the Industry For 50 years, Destec Engineering Ltd. has delivered high quality and innovative engineering solutions to industry challenges. Specialising in ‘High Pressure Containment’ and ‘On-Site Machining’, the company has developed both products and services for the oil and gas and power industry. Formed in 1969, Destec now takes pride in its most versatile and a very wide range of in-house designed and manufactured portable machine tools.

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ith their distributors spread across the world in six continents, Destec has become indispensable to the oil and gas industry.

The company is committed to the design and manufacture of portable machine tools, where accuracy is of paramount importance. Destec has a fully equipped machine workshop with a wide selection of CNC lathes, vertical boring and milling machines. Powered by an experienced design staff who are actively engaged in the design and development of their products, Destec provides supporting calculations and stress analysis for their products and use inhouse developed computer programmes.

Serving clientele all across the oil, chemical and petrochemical related industries, power generation, steel, marine and others, Destec’s well-equipped team backed by the most modern design and manufacturing equipment works closely with the clients to reduce costs.

Destec Engineering has designed, developed and built special purpose machines for the oil, petrochemical and nuclear industries. Their multi-disciplined trained technicians combined with the years of expertise provide the best onsite services which not only significantly reduces the personnel on the field but also is less harsh on the client’s pockets.

Known for their quality assurance, their clients are drawn to the versatility and adaptability of

G Range Clamp Connector.

their products coupled with accuracy. Destec serves the client’s needs best through their cost-efficient solutions and their perfect surface finished products ensure that they hold well in-situ. Over the years, they have generated a sense of trust in their clients with their quality-assured products and onsite services.

Destec stands tall as a onestop solution for all the machinery requirements.

This implies cutting down significantly on the costs of stripping down, transporting to a machine shop, returning to site, and reassembly. That is why their clients rely on trustworthy services of taking a special-purpose machine to the job instead.

Destec’s products are the most-trusted by the oil and gas industry with their years of experience on the use of high-pressure and high-temperature metal-to-metal static sealing. Their engineers are driven by quality assurance and follow established codes and standards for design modifications. Destec’s

Destec Metal to Metal Seal Rings.

on-site machining service uses portable machines to carry out those modifications and re-build on site.

With their years of experience on the field and a passion-driven team of engineers, Destec has created a niche for its products and services which are unparalleled in the industry. •

GSB Single Bolt Connector.

king and Maintaining Making and Maintaining Right Connection the Right Connection Engineering has specialised in the

acture of high pressure Flanges, Seals Destec specialised in the nections forEngineering the Oil, Gashas & Renewable manufacture of high pressure Flanges, Seals Industries for over 50 years. & Connections for the Oil, Gas & Renewable Energy Industries for over 50 years.

PRODUCTS WE DELIVER: SERVICES WE OFFER: - Destec compact flanges - On-Site Machining PRODUCTS WE DELIVER: SERVICES WE OFFER: - DESALIGN Misalignment Flange - Bolt Tensioning - G-Range- 4Destec bolt connectors - On-Line Leak Sealing compact flanges - On-Site Machining - Compatable seals - Overlay Welding e - DESALIGN Misalignment Flang - Bolt Tensioning - GSB subsea single bolt clamps - G-Range 4 bolt connectors - NDT Services - On-Line Leak Sealing Compatible seals - Compatable seals - Overlay Welding - GSB subsea single bolt clamps - NDT Services T +44 (0) 1522 791 721 | F +44 (0) 1522 790 033 sales@destec.co.uk | www.destec.co.uk T +44 (0) 1522 791 721 | F +44 (0) 1522 790 033 sales@destec.co.uk | www.destec.co.uk

EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION

OPEC Launches 2020 Edition of the World Oil Outlook The 2020 OPEC World Oil Outlook (WOO) was launched today in Vienna, Austria, providing the OPEC Secretariat’s in-depth look at the unprecedented scale and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global energy and oil markets, an assessment of the medium- and long-term prospects, as well as analysis of various alternative scenarios and sensitivities that have the potential to impact the petroleum industry in the years ahead.

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he WOO for the first time extends its outlook to 2045, providing an additional five-year window to examine developments in energy and oil demand, oil supply and refining, the global economy, policy and technology developments, demographic trends, environmental issues and sustainable development.

In the foreword to the 14th edition, His Excellency Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, OPEC Secretary General, highlighted that the publication was published at a defining moment in the history of OPEC, a year marked by the COVID-19 crisis and the Organization’s 60th anniversary.

“In a year without precedent, we are very proud to bring you this exceptional edition of the WOO with the hope that it enriches the global energy dialogue and inspires closer cooperation,” the Secretary General said. “As we turn an important page in our history, OPEC’s commitment to securing an efficient, economic and steady supply of oil to consuming countries, and providing essential support to the global economy, is as unshakable today as it was when the Organization was founded 60 years ago.”

The videoconference launch also featured remarks by Dr Rainer Seele, CEO of the Austrian oil and gas company OMV, and Dr Jonas Puck, Academic Director of the MBA

in Energy Management programme at the Executive Academy of the Vienna University of Economics and Business.

This year’s edition of the WOO also examines the bold and decisive actions taken by 23 OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing countries in the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) in response to the unprecedented

market challenges resulting from the pandemic-related economic slump. The DoC committed to the largest and longest-ever oil production adjustments, which have helped to restore market stability since the second quarter of 2020 and provide a platform for recovery.

The WOO 2020 launch represents the culmination of months of planning, writing, review and production under unique circumstances. OPEC’s flagship annual publication was in large part carried out remotely, reflecting the global impact of COVID-19 on work environments and travel.

Like its predecessors, the WOO 2020 should be viewed as a helpful and insightful reference tool, one that underscores OPEC’s commitment to knowledge-sharing and data transparency. It also is intended to enrich the global energy dialogue and inspire closer cooperation – the hallmarks of OPEC’s 60year record of success.

OPEC was founded by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela on 14 September 1960 during a ceremony at the Al-Shaab Hall in Baghdad, Iraq. The Organization today comprises 13 Member Countries and the OPEC Secretariat is located in Vienna, Austria. •

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HEALTH, SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT

ISO Tested Antiviral Fabrics by Carrington Textiles Deliver Outstanding Performance and Launderability The UK textile manufacturer now produces antiviral fabrics proven to deactivate over 99% of enveloped viruses according to the ISO 18184:2019 standard.

Carrington Textiles has successfully tested its new Antiviral and Antibacterial Finish for fabrics under the ISO 18184:2019 ‘Determination of antiviral activity of textile product’ standard, a strategic move of the company’s R&D efforts to respond to the market’s needs in a new COVID-19 world where employees of all sectors including healthcare, construction, hospitality, armed forces and heavy industry need to be more protected than ever.

T

he textile manufacturer ran trials on its main scrub suit poly-cotton fabric, Alba 2, using the Sanitized® branded treatment that harnesses the natural antiviral and antibacterial properties of silver.

An independent laboratory carried out the ISO 18184:2019 test on Carrington Textiles’ polycotton Alba 2.

After weeks of testing at an independent laboratory in the UK by using an enveloped virus, the results show an effectiveness rating of over 99% of the antiviral properties of the fabric which deactivates viruses in two hours. Even after 50 washes at 60 degrees 98% of viruses have shown to be deactivated, meaning the protective properties of the textile will last the lifetime of the garment.

This newly tested finish delivers an antiviral fabric that is not only safe for use on face coverings, medical wear, and a wide range of workwear, but also environmentally friendly garments that -due to its best-in-class launderability and long-lasting properties- will help reduce the amount of disposable PPE that ends up in landfill.

How does it work?

The porous nature of textiles means that viruses and bacteria can be trapped within the fabric

structure, which possibly lowers the risk of the viruses being transferred. However, they will still remain viable and bacteria may also replicate within the fabric leading to unpleasant odours, amongst other things.

This revolutionary Antiviral and Antibacterial Finish by Carrington Textiles is suitable to use on any woven fabric and works

as a coating that is pressed then ‘baked’ into the fabric using specialised machines at the end of the manufacturing process.

This Antiviral Finish works as a barrier and any viruses which get trapped in the fabric structure will be deactivated and rendered harmless before they get chance to infect a host cell.

This treatment kills bacteria the same way, with the added benefit to working as a ‘built-in deodorant’ as due to its advanced technology protects against unwanted bacteria that causes unpleasant odour.

Sales Director Paul Farrell says: “Our R&D efforts to innovate and respond to the market’s needs has allowed us to have a finish available that is able to deactivate enveloped viruses and kill bacteria using technologies that are not only safe and comfortable to wear, but also offer excellent launderability benefits without compromising performance.” • Carrington Textiles Ltd +44 (0)1257 476 850

This new product offers excellent antiviral protection, launderability and durability.

NEWS - HSE Where Safety Meets Diversity

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line of flame resistant clothing (FRC), including specific designs for the female workforce.

Aniela Zarzar Torano and Fatimah Barnawi, both LP engineers who worked as leads on the project, note that effective female PPE is more than simply a smaller or larger size of the male designs, especially in the Middle Eastern region.

“Aramco’s priority has always been the protection of its people, and when the topic of gender and comfort was brought forward, we immediately set about addressing this,” says Loss Prevention Department (LPD) manager Ghassan Abulfaraj.

“A female body frame is often shaped differently and generally smaller than a male frame. Having poorly fitting safety clothing can cause risks such as reduced agility, catching on equipment, and tripping,” said Zarzar Torano.

ndustrial work wear has historically been designed around male body frames, due to the overwhelming demographic associated with this type of work up until now. With the number of women working in operational roles steadily increasing, Aramco recently took a fresh look at its range of personal protective equipment (PPE) with a view to changing this.

“A one-size-fits-all approach to PPE can undermine a safety program,” said Abulfaraj.

“PPE is essential for the protection of our employees, and an important part of this is ensuring that equipment is not only compliant from a safety perspective, but also comfortable to wear.”

Safety and gender go hand-in-hand Depending on their role, operational employees and contractors wear a range of PPE, including flame resistant clothing, boots, gloves, hard hats, safety glasses, and hearing protection.

With a goal of ensuring the safety and comfort of female personnel, Aramco initiated a project to enhance the company’s

Barnawi adds: “Another unique aspect to this project — besides that of sizing and safety — was cultural requirements. We needed to work on a design that not only covered the areas of safety and comfort, but also one that met our female employees’ requirements for modesty.”

It was this recognition that led to a partnership with DuPont, one of the world’s leading companies in terms of science and innovation, to customize an FRC line that improved comfort and met cultural requirements, all while ensuring that all safety guidelines were maintained.

Practice makes perfect Over a period of 18 months, LPD and

Du Pont worked tirelessly on a number of design concepts that not only looked to improve design and comfort from a safety perspective, but also ensure that cultural requirements were met.

Speaking to the practical aspects of a project such as this, Zarzar Torano adds: “This clothing is the final line of defense that we have in the event of a fire. As such, we had to work through numerous designs, tests and practical trials to ensure that what we were signing off on was absolutely of the highest quality.”

Abulfaraj notes that what made this project unique is that it provided an opportunity to not only accommodate the needs of Saudi Aramco’s female workforce, but also lead the way in innovation to further improve FRC safety features for female employees across the industry.

“This wasn’t simply a project where we looked to alter the size of clothing; that could be done by anyone,” Abulfaraj says. “We wanted to use this opportunity to challenge the status quo, and to ask ourselves, “How can we do this better?”

Work uniforms provide employees with a feeling of belonging and sense of identity, and this project has underlined such an ethos.

With many more females taking up roles in traditionally male-dominated industries, the need for adaptation and innovation is increasing. •

HEALTH, SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT

Dedication to Air Quality and to Your Bottom Line

OGI sits down with Andrew Balch, Director and Principal Consultant of Air Environment, out of Queensland Australia, to discuss why it is so important for companies to be monitoring their air quality. The obvious reasons are of course, to keep up with legal frameworks and responsibilities within their own communities, but as Mr Balch explains, monitoring ones environment can also be an early detection warning system for failures or leakages in a companies assets as well. Businesses should see environmental management as a potential opportunity and cost saving measure, we learn more below.

OGI: Could you tell us a bit about your credentials and experience in the oil and gas sector? Could you tell our readers the breadth of your experience, how long the company has been active, and its reach?

Balch: I have significant experience working on air quality related projects for the oil and gas sector. Over 25 years in air quality consulting, I have worked on many large projects from conventional crude oil and shale oil refining to coal seam gas extraction and processing, gas pipelines and LNG production plants.

I have been air quality’s technical lead for the development approval of many of the biggest coal seam gas exploration and processing, and LNG plant projects in Australia. This experience included leading the air assessments for five of the six LNG plants initially proposed for the Gladstone Gas Hub, including the now operating Origin Energy Australia Pacific LNG and QGC’s Queensland Curtis LNG plants on Curtis Island. I also led the air assessments for both project’s upstream CSG extraction, processing and pipeline environmental impact assessments, and several other CSG processing plants including the Origin Energy Ironbark Project. I also led air assessments for gas fired power stations.

Since starting Air Environment in 2013, I continued my work in the sector, leading the air quality component of the recently approved Santos Narrabri Gas Project. During this time, Air Environment has also worked overseas on gas and hydrocarbon processing projects for Saudi Aramco in Saudi Arabia.

In addition to its air quality consulting and assessment work, Air Environment also distributes a range of tailor-made multipollutant air quality monitors in Australia developed by the innovative Canadian company Scentroid. The range of gas and particulate sensors can be configured in stationary outdoor and indoor monitoring networks or used in portable handheld and drone mountable units. A large range of pollutant-specific sensors can be configured in each instrument for the oil and gas sector including methane, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds and carbon dioxide, to name a few.

OGI: Why is it so important for companies to be monitoring their air quality?

Balch: Businesses have both a legal and social imperative to ensure that their activities do not adversely impact the environment. All industry requires an environmental authority to operate and must comply with the conditions of approval set out by the regulator.

Such conditions typically require a business to have a good understanding of their emissions to air and ensure that these emissions do not contribute to poor air quality outcomes in the environment. How well businesses manage emissions and their impact will affect their social license. While not a legal requirement, the perception of how well a business performs in the environmental space can have a significant effect on their financial performance through negative publicity and product boycotts, among others. For the oil and gas sector, a facility’s air emissions can directly affect the health, safety and wellbeing of the local community and their own employees, while greenhouse gas emissions can affect the environment and community more subtly through climate impacts.

Additionally, air quality monitoring observations can be directly useful to businesses in the oil and gas industry as they may indicate process failures or leakage where valuable product is escaping to atmosphere.

OGI: What are some of the consequences for companies that do not effectively manage their environmental responsibilities?

Sampling Odour Emissions From Compost Windrows Using a Flux Chamber and Wind Tunnel Hood.

Balch: Environmental management is not seen as a revenue-generating activity and

Odour Assessor Conducting an Odour Test.

therefore is very easy to neglect. Businesses should see environmental management as part of the cost of doing business and doing it well can provide opportunities and cost savings.

We have seen many cases over the years where companies neglect their environmental responsibilities, however this approach always catches up with them eventually. Typically, the permitting officer for the environmental regulatory authority eventually notices the problem and starts pressuring the company to comply.

We have often seen three stages play out, known as the “Three D’s”, the denial phase, the delay phase, and the deluge phase. Initially the company denies that there is a problem, or if there is that they are culpable. A lot of energy and bad feeling is expended on all sides to demonstrate that the problem does or doesn’t exist. Eventually the regulatory authority prevails, leading to the delay phase. They admit that there is a problem but they don’t have the resources to address it. This delay phase may last for a while, with environmental impacts stacking up, but eventually the company is forced into action. During the final deluge phase money and resources are rapidly expended. The problem now must be immediately solved and cost becomes a secondary issue.

Along the way the company may face a range of options that are available to the regulator, including abatement notices, sanctions, changes to the site permit, or even closure of the facility. The company may also gain a reputation for poor compliance, leading to over-regulation by the regulatory authority and a tarnished public image. In extreme cases we have seen major projects fail due to the lack of social licence as a result of ongoing poor environmental performance.

Gas Sampling From a Coal Seam Gas Well.

In the end it is always cheaper and easier to manage your environmental responsibilities well.

Ironically good environmental performance, and compliance with licence conditions, may become a point of difference between the company and their competitors, and save money.

OGI: What should a client expect with a typical air quality assessment, for example when assessing a gas field collection system and gas processing facility?

Balch: There are many steps to follow when assessing air quality impacts for a proposed gas field and processing facility. From the beginning, it is important to clearly define the project area and identify the receptors that will be sensitive to the development, whether these are people in the local community or other environmental receptors. Also, both operational and construction related emissions need to be considered for the assessment.

Early in the project baseline ambient air quality and meteorological monitoring should be conducted. It is important to develop a good data set for the existing state of the air environment, including local meteorology. Many proponents ignore this requirement at the start, which can hurt the project later down the track and lead to delays and other important impact assessment issues. Air quality monitoring for gas field developments should focus on the critical operational pollutant, nitrogen dioxide, but also secondary pollutants like ozone, which will be important for assessing nitrogen dioxide impacts in the air quality impact assessment.

Particulate matter (PM10) will be the main concern for the construction phase, so it is also a good idea to monitor dust to assess the baseline for the construction air assessment.

The third most critical pollutant worth monitoring is not a health concern but an important greenhouse gas emission.

Understanding the background methane concentrations in the project area and the natural and anthropogenic sources of these emissions has become an important requirement in coal seam and shale gas developments. CSG developments are often close to coal mines, which have significantly greater methane emissions than CSG production areas. Also, cattle feedlots, wastewater treatment plants and waste management facilities and landfills are also methane sources. Understanding the differences in methane emissions between these local sources and CSG developments has been important in recent projects I have conducted.

Estimating the air emissions inventory for the gas development is a critical step, including how the project will be powered and the gas processing approach. I have found that the source with the greatest emissions is not always the greatest contributor to ground level air quality impacts. Consequently, plant layout and stack design are also important considerations along with emission inventory development and emission control technology selection. The main operational emissions sources are gas compressors and power generators, regenerative boilers, pipeline compressor stations, flares and wellhead engines. Other fugitive emission

sources can include fugitive emissions from the gas gathering network. While these emissions are primarily methane, other trace hydrocarbons are also present.

This information is then used to assess the potential impact to air quality using an atmospheric dispersion model. Care should be taken to select the most appropriate model for this application. Meteorological modelling is also conducted prior to the development of the dispersion model, and this step is greatly enhanced if a year of good quality local meteorological data is available.

Gas field projects are geographically large and dispersed, and emission sources and impact areas change throughout the life of the project as gas wells are commissioned and decommissioned. So planning how you will model and assess these impacts is critical.

Through our vast experience in assessing these large projects, we have developed a thorough and robust method to assess the air impacts, while covering the entire project and allowing for the flexibility required.

OGI: And the work you do with LNG plants?

Balch: Assessing the air impact of LNG plants is more in line with typical industrial facilities.

While their footprint is large, they are typically confined to a single site and not spread out like gas fields with sensitive receptors situated between various emission sources.

As with gas field assessments, an assessment of the baseline air quality is important for LNG plant studies. However, unlike the gas fields, which are geographically spread out in rural areas with few other similar emission sources, many LNG plants are situated in industrial hubs with neighbouring industries emitting similar pollutants. In a similar way to the gas fields, air emissions sources comprise mainly fuel combustion processes so the most important pollutant for the assessment is nitrogen dioxide. A good understanding of the baseline levels of nitrogen dioxide and ozone, and the local meteorology is therefore crucial for a comprehensive air impact assessment.

Emission sources comprise routine processes such as gas turbines and power generators and non-routine processes like flares. These have very different uses and operating cycles that need to be considered carefully in the assessment scenarios. While these emissions are typically released from tall stacks, there are critical differences with modelling and assessing air quality impacts from rows of stacks in an LNG train and safety flares.

Furthermore, some LNG plants operate with a ground flare, which is very different to the more common stack flare. These are important considerations when modelling and assessing LNG plants and not all atmospheric dispersion models can adequately account for these differences.

license. Compliance monitoring programs are typically focused only on stack emissions, while odour impacts are more commonly, but not always, caused by near ground fugitive emissions and smaller, less obvious stack sources.

Odour emissions can also be highly variable across a site and from each source. For instance, fugitive area source emissions from liquid and solid surfaces such as wastewater treatment tanks or compost stockpiles can vary spatially and temporally. These variations need to be measured and understood before developing an emissions inventory for a dispersion model. Industrial processes can also operate continuously or in batch mode, with both producing variable odour emission profiles from stack sources. The point in time at which grab samples are collected for odour analysis from each of these scenarios can dramatically affect the assessment of the odour impact.

Odour monitoring requires the collection of air samples from an emission point in sample bags. Samples are then transported to the odour laboratory for analysis within 30 hours of collection. The process of analysing odour is known as dynamic olfactometry and the standard test is to determine the concentration of the odour sample in ‘odour units’. Other odour attributes can also be measured using olfactometry including the intensity of the odour relative to its concentration above detection threshold and its hedonic tone, or pleasantness and unpleasantness. A description of the character of each sample is also provided.

Dynamic olfactometry is a process whereby a panel of trained and calibrated (or screened) human assessors are presented an odour to assess at varying amounts of dilution. The dilution of the odour sample is controlled by a device called an olfactometer, which is a sophisticated instrument designed to accurately and precisely mix the odour sample with clean air and present that air to the odour assessors at a series of dilutions. This allows the detection threshold of the odour sample to be determined.

OGI: How does odour emissions monitoring work?

Air Environment operates a state-of-the art odour laboratory from its Brisbane offices.

We are able to successfully collect and analyse odour samples from sites all over Australia within timeframes mandated by relevant Australian standards.

Balch: Developing an odour monitoring plan for any site is inherently more complex than the standard emissions monitoring program for compliance with a site’s environmental

OGI: Thank you for your time. • Air Environment T: +61 7 3186 4420 E: andrew@airenvironment.com.au

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PROCESSING

Know Your Gas Quality!

By Dr. Ph. Prêtre, Mems AG.

In almost all long-term global energy scenarios natural gas is the fossil fuel whose share in the global energy mix is growing most significantly. However, the label “from yesterday, no longer up-to-date” is attached to the epithet “fossil”. Instead, everyone is talking about alternative, so-called “green”, gaseous fuels: biogas from natural or synthetic sources and hydrogen from renewable “power-to-gas” technologies. However, the latter will not be available in sufficient quantities to replace traditional natural gas for years to come. In the interconnected natural gas networks, there will therefore be more and more gas mixtures of all these sources: natural gas, conditioned biogas, LNG (liquefied natural gas), LBM (liquified biomethane), all with and without the addition of hydrogen. As a result, the gas quality can fluctuate strongly from point to point within a short time. Strong fluctuations in gas quality can also have a local origin: Boil-off gas from an LNG tank can be very different from the gas that is pumped from the bottom of the tank and vaporized, e.g. to supply a ship’s engine.

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n addition to these technical boundary conditions, stringent legislation on air pollution and greenhouse gas emission and stakeholders’ foremost interest to operate their equipment as safely and efficiently as possible all drive the need for gas quality sensing.

Figure 1

Gas quality sensing: the gasQS technology The standard tool for determining the gas quality is a process gas chromatograph (PGC), which is used to determine and output the molar composition of the sample gas (Fig. 1).

After the measurement, further parameters such as compressibility or calorific value can be determined with the appropriate calculation rules. PGC-based systems require a connection to a carrier and calibration gas. Acquisition and maintenance cost-intensive, space-consuming and discontinuously working (cycle times in the range of a few minutes) are adjectives of PGCs, because of which low-cost, robust alternatives are often sought in order to determine the gas quality even in places where this was previously not possible.

Mems AG offers microelectromechanical

Figure 2

(MEMS) sensors, which meet the requirements of speed, robustness, size and price for fixed installations (gas engines and turbines, industrial burners, combined heat and power, fuel cells) and mobile control systems of natural gas vehicles (NGV). Based on a silicon chip with integrated, micro-thermal sensing head, thermo-physical properties of a gas are measured with subsequent correlation of gas

quality factors such as calorific value, Wobbe index, methane number, compressibility or the air/gas ratio. No compositional analysis as in the case of PGC is performed, but at the same time, no knowledge of the gas composition is needed in the correlation approach.

Depending on the application, different sensor options are available, from stand-alone devices up to plug-and-play measurement systems (Fig. 2). Common to all variants is the ease of installation and integration into existing measurement and control systems.

High contents of up to 100% of hydrogen in natural gas are no more a problem than high amounts of inert gases in bio, coal mine or LNG boil-off gas.

Applications Gas engines and turbines manufacturers require minimum gas qualities for safe operation of their equipment. However, not only safe but also efficient operation of the machinery depends on gas quality. While the former aspect is handled with a minimum methane number to be guaranteed by the gas supplier, efficiency is not so easy to control if no gas quality measurement is available.

Besides determining methane number as the

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Figure 3

classical quality index, the correlation approach of the gasQS technology opens up the access to more significant engine parameters such as optimal ignition angle or exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) limit rate ( https://doi.org/10.1016/j. measurement.2016.05.098 ) for most efficient use of the gaseous fuel.

A 400 MW coastal power plant will increase its efficiency due to the installation of an outdoor gasQS measurement system as seen in Fig. 3.

Several hydrogen injection field trials are accompanied by gasQS sensors in order to monitor in real time the distribution process of hydrogen in the local gas network.

While a pair of sensors at the mixing station determines the exact amount of hydrogen added, remote sensors distributed over the local network communicate the measured gas quality via IOT-gateways to an industrial connectivity cloud that allows to manage and combine all collected data for a complete picture of the actual hydrogen concentration at any point in the network.

As in the case of hydrogen feedin, it will be important in future to know the calorific value at every point in a gas network so that each gas customer can be billed individually for the energy supplied to him.

This process is supported by reconstruction programs that calculate the gas distribution in the network based on network models. However, when implementing the system and

periodically recurring, a plausibility check of the simulation with data measured at selected points of the network is necessary (Fig. 4).

If no such software tools are applicable, deployment of gas quality sensors within highly branched and widely extended gas networks can replace the time-consuming

and thus cost-intensive, periodic gas sampling procedure for accounting purposes. Encrypted data is exchanged via cellular phone networks between sensors and a cloud-based hosting service where all data is stored and managed.

Some process industries, especially glass production, are sensitive to changing gas qualities. There is therefore a need for a fast gas quality sensor system that can detect such changes within a few seconds and thus be integrated into closed-loop control systems. Due to their small mass, chip sensors are predestined for fast measurements in comparison to process gas chromatographs, where a new measurement value is due only every few minutes.

Conclusions Gas quality sensing is no more a nice but rather need to have add-on to all process equipment that has to cope with the increasingly varying gas quality. Ready solutions for gas network operator, gas power plant managers, engine operators or process industry owners are available at low capital and operational expenditure compared to traditional process gas chromatographs. The correlation approach of Mems AG allows not only the measurement of standard gas qualities namely calorific value or methane number, but also processspecific parameters such as optimum ignition angle for gas engines or the monitoring of the mixing process when feeding hydrogen into natural gas networks. • Mems AG Telephone: +41 (0)56 470 92 00 E-mail: info@mems.ch Website: www.mems.ch

Figure 4

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PROCESSING

Digital Plant Documentation Speeds up Loop Checks Every time a process plant is newly built, modernized or expanded, its reliability has to be exhaustively tested before it can go into operation. Plant constructors or operators implement loop checks to ensure that all loops are functioning correctly, that the sensors and actuators assigned to them are correctly parameterized and that they are interacting as planned. Plants in the process industry often have several hundred loops that need to be tested by consistently following checklists. If several teams are working in shifts in order to speed up acceptance, it is almost impossible to keep an overview with paper checklists.

In this situation, digital plant documentation is the remedy.

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nyone who has been involved in commissioning a plant in the process industry is familiar with the time-consuming procedure: checklists are generated (as far as the plant planning tool allows) for the loop checks which are one of the essential preliminaries.

Then all loops have to be rigorously tested in the field. The results are noted on the checklist. At the end of the day, each employee returns a stack of checklists to the project manager. Depending on the size of the project, he accumulates files full of documents which he has to go through if he wants to get an overview of the present status of the project. If testing is being done in several shifts to speed things up, a proper handover from one shift to the next is basically not possible. If shiftwork is not used, it would be possible for the project manager to catch up on his overview after work – overnight, so to speak – and then prepare the test assignments for the next day. However, this is extremely laborious, and who wants to manage a project by working a night shift for weeks?

Everything is a great deal easier with the digital plant documentation tool LiveDOK NG by Rösberg. Many plant constructors and plant operators use the tool for documentation in the operational phase. It renders valuable services in commissioning, Factory Acceptance Tests, and of course loop checks: during checks, the tool enables data to be directly digitally recorded, meaning that the project manager has an overview of the test status in real time.

Dipl.-Ing. (BA) Martin Dubovy, Head of Plant Solutions at Rösberg Engineering GmbH.

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This enables good planning and the effective deployment of employees, and has a determining influence on the time management of a project. “I assume that by using the software, the time for loop checks can be cut by as much as half, depending on the application concerned” says Helge Laubach, Account Manager Plant Solutions at Rösberg.

Helge Laubach, Account Manager, Plant Solutions at Rösberg.

Digital checklists give an overview How does the digital documentation tool support loop checks? With I&C-CAE planning tools like ProDOK, for instance, checklists can be generated for the stored loops. These are transferred to LiveDOK in PDF format.

The project manager then distributes their individual tasks to the employees who are carrying out the tests, usually via a tablet.

When working through the tests they can tick off the individual steps on the checklist, and also stamp the document appropriately.

And with LiveDOK a differentiated status like e.g. “installed”, “tested” or “released” can be assigned individually to documents, depending on the project in hand. This enables people working on the project to see the status without having to open the document.

When the installation of a plant component is completed, the employee assigns e.g. the status “installed” to the document. Ideally, the employee carrying out the test is connected to the company network during testing. His

changes are then not only stored locally on his operating station but also centrally on the LiveDOK server. This gives all employees access to the current data of the plant documentation. For the project manager this means, for instance, that he can generate at the touch of a button an overview of which plant components already have the status “installed”.

Thus rather than having to wait until the end of the day’s testing and then work through countless lists, the project manager receives the exact up-to-the-minute status while the tests are running, and can plan accordingly.

If the tests are taking longer than anticipated, more manpower can be brought in at an early stage. This makes sense particularly if plant modifications are planned to be carried out during a strictly-defined time window – e.g. a scheduled plant downtime.

Use Case BASF Antwerp At BASF Antwerp, two new plant sections for the production of aniline and nitrobenzene were added at the end of 2018. When the extension work was completed, around 300 loops had to be tested in the field. For this BASF used the digital documentation tool LiveDOK. To avoid the use of paper altogether, the testers worked with tablets. This enabled them to enter all the necessary information directly on-site. Once a loop had been successfully checked, the relevant checklist received the appropriate status. If changes had to be made to individual I&C devices, these could be directly noted using the redlining palette of the documentation tool. These checklists were then returned to the planning office where they were checked, the noted changes taken over in the planning tool and a new documentation without redlining

Loop checks in view: With digital plant documentation, project leaders always have an overview of the current testing status. (Copyright: Rösberg) generated. This procedure has already proved very advantageous in practical use, because it simplifies the work, gives better results and also substantially reduces the time needed for the checks.

Independent of the operating system Because there are frequently Ex-zones in the chemical industry, Ex-approved tablets were required for this application. In situations where more Ex-proof tablets are required at peak times than in everyday business, it may make sense to hire additional Ex-safe tablets. For cases like this, in addition to their software tools and project management know-how, the automation experts from Rösberg offer suitable hardware for hire.

In past years the choice of Ex-safe tablets on the market was relatively small, but in the meantime numerous variants using different operating systems are available. Therefore the automation experts have now created LiveDOK Web, a solution that is operating system-independent and web-based, and can be used on a wide range of different mobile devices. Users do not need to install any software in order to use the web application; they simply need an internet browser on the relevant operating device.

The software solution is designed for touch operation, and works independently of the operating system, so it can be used equally well with Windows, Android or iOS devices. The user interface is responsive, i.e. it adapts flexibly to different display sizes.

Making life easier for plant constructors, too A digital plant documentation system that can be used directly on-site on mobile end devices does not only simplify plant operation.

A solution of this kind can also be very useful at the commissioning stage. It makes plant constructors’ work easier, and enables them to deliver the as-built documentation to the plant operator promptly following commissioning.

In many cases this is not just “nice to have” – it is an essential requirement. Many contracts specify that a project will only be regarded as completed, and will be only be paid for, once the current documentation has been handed over. With digital plant documentation tools, changes can already be made to the original documentation during the test phase, and the as-built documentation can be delivered directly after completion of the loop tests.

The I&C-CAE System ProDOK Modern process plants can only be effectively operated if the data from the engineering phase are also available for operation, maintenance and modernization. As-built plant reality has to reliably match the documentation at all times. Only if all data are consistent can costly new entries and the unnecessary use of engineering resources be avoided. This is exactly where the I&C-CAE system ProDOK comes in. It ensures an integrated planning process with unified rules. Because all the data are collected and exchanged within the same system, there is no more trouble with tiresome data transfer errors. Functions include basic and detail planning, functional planning, implementation planning and installation planning for new construction projects, plant alterations and extensions, as well as operational support, covering the whole life cycle of a plant. By its continuous, consistent documentation ProDOK ensures that the documentation really does reflect plant reality at all times. In combination with the real-time documentation system LiveDOK, it enables

the complete documentation to be centrally administered and maintained, simply and inexpensively. The result is a significant improvement in quality and efficiency, plus substantial savings in terms of time and costs. Security of investment is ensured by wide acceptance of the system in the process industry and the use of state-of-the-art software technology.

Hardware: Hiring instead of buying For the loop checks at BASF Antwerp, the chemical company hired the complete test environment, comprising laptops, Ex zone tablets, LiveDOK licenses and much more, from the automation experts. Users who hesitate to invest in buying the hardware and software for similar applications, because they may only need to use them once, can benefit from this complete care-free package. All components are hired out on a monthly basis. • Rösberg Engineering GmbH W: www.roesberg.com, www.LiveDOK.com E: info.ka@roesberg.com T: +49 721 95018-0

Right: LiveDOK Web can be used on a wide range of mobile devices because it is independent of any specific operating system. This means that during testing, changes can be entered in the digital documentation directly on-the-spot.

(Copyright: Rösberg)

59

PROCESSING

Sour Gas Production: The Benefits of Chemical Free Processing

By Bart Prast (PDEng., MSc.) Head of Technology, Twister BV.

Key Challenges Sour fossil resources have always posed problems for operators. If in the past, a highly sour resource might have been considered unattractive for development relative to other assets, today operators are forced to develop fields containing as much as 30% H2S following the trend of diminishing availability of easy-to-produce conventional hydrocarbon resources as well as the opening of Russia, Central Asia and the Middle East to international operators. Their sour petroleum resources have historically characterized these geographical regions, and international oil and gas companies must be ready to face the challenges of highly sour production in exchange for the opportunity to operate in these rich petroleum provinces.

Hence, the development of sour oil and gas resources is rapidly emerging as a major industrial and technological theme.

P

rocessing sour gas is characterised by the following key challenges:

•

Safety - Due to its high toxicity, H2S requires special operating procedures to ensure worker safety during drilling and in production operations. The chemicals involved traditionally in gas processing pose additional risks in handling.

•

Economics - Removing H2S in excess of the required specifications is one of the most expensive aspects of the treatment of gas streams requiring additional large installations. Specifically, in an offshore environment, this dramatically increases project costs.

•

Flexibility - Varying levels of H2S require constant monitoring and adjustment and could require different technologies depending on H2S and CO2 content for an optimum gas treatment.

Traditional chemical-based systems applied for sweet gas processing will often come with start-up and shut down delays. Contaminants such as salts, lube oil, condensate, crude oil and corrosion products are present in abundance in liquid phase and in minute “trace” amount in the gas. They continually plague operators in their glycol systems, and the symptoms of these problems are fouled equipment, foaming in the system resulting in expensive glycol losses, and insufficient process capability [1]. Shutting a plant down to thoroughly clean and repair all the equipment is a periodic necessity and very expensive. To our knowledge so far no glycol systems have been applied in major sour gas projects.

Twister addresses these key challenges as follows:

Photos Above: Twister B11 Tube and HS. Left: Twister Tube.

Twister is a combination of known physical processes, aerodynamics, thermodynamics

SAFETY The Twister technology combines dehydration and dewpointing in a closed loop system. This reduces HSE vulnerabilities, minimizes flaring and gas release, and brings an end to the risks from glycol-based systems, such as toxic H2S contamination and high H2S gas inventories.

The Twister Supersonic Separator (see Figure 1) is classified as piping due to its small volume and contains no moving parts, which results in 50% less FTE and the inherent reliability of Twister’s solutions can reduce operator intervention by 75%.

Figure 1.

and fluid dynamics that produce a robust and compact gas conditioning process. When combined with the patented Hydrate Separator - used to separate hydrates and liquids from natural gas without using chemicals - the result is low maintenance, a low sour hydrocarbon inventory and reduced equipment count.

3500 ppm/v H2S and 20 mole% CO2 on the Shell-operated B-11 600 MMSCFD production platform in Malaysia [2].

Unlike traditional glycol-based systems that often come with start-up and shut down delays, the chemical-free, fully automated Twister system delivers on-demand gas almost immediately.

The liquids produced by the Twister flow into a mono-cyclone separator which is designed to separate gas hydrates. This Hydrate Separator uses internal heating to warrant that the internal surface temperatures are well above the Hydrate Formation Temperature (HFT).

First commercially applied in 2003, Twister has been successfully dehydrating sour gas with

Twister is fully static equipment integrating expansion cooling and separation in a single device. Twister uses expansion for cooling and separation as per Figure 1 above.

ECONOMICS By combining the dehydration and dewpointing into one unit, the weight and space can be reduced significantly on offshore structures and Twister reduces complexity on offshore facilities. The absence of chemicals further reduces the size of the offshore structure and hence CAPEX. Decreasing the complexity of offshore operations by applying compact technology enables application of remote operated platforms reducing CAPEX and OPEX even further. For a typical 600 MMSCFD gas processing plant, the Twister Supersonic Separator technology can save up to topside weight savings of between 30 and 60% and CAPEX savings of a similar percentage.

When operating in chemical-free dehydration and dewpointing mode, Twister will not reduce the H2S content of the export gas, but as no longer (free) water is present in the export gas, the H2S-containing gas can be safely transported to onshore for further processing. With chemical-free gas processing using Twister technology, dehydration can typically be down to a water content of 5 lbs/ MMscf and hydrocarbon dew point of 0 °C (Cricondentherm).

Figure 2: CAPEX comparison for a 600 MMSCFD offshore processing plant Figure 4: Up to 6 Twister Supersonic Separators can be connected to the Twister Hydrate Separator.

Figure 3: OPEX comparison for a 600 MMSCFD offshore processing plant.

Figure 5: Twister Supersonic Technology - Typical flow scheme. Up to 6 Twister Supersonic Separators can be connected to a single Hydrate Separator providing turn-down capability.

FLEXIBILITY Unlike traditional glycol-based systems that often come with start-up and shut down delays, Twister delivers on-demand gas almost immediately. Twister’s light-weight, flexible gas processing solution can be scaled up to handle varying gas flow rates unconstrained by operating pressure and can be optimized for a broad variety of applications from dehydration and hydrocarbon dewpointing applications through to NGL recovery applications at higher pressure drops.

The Twister operation is not affected by variations in H2S content. The H2S content merely determines the material selection (through NACE standards) for the construction of Twister, as this will be working in a sour wet gas environment.

A basic flow scheme based on Twister technology is shown in Figure 5.

OPERATIONAL EXPERIENCE Since December 2003, Twister technology has been in continuous operation on B11, a large offshore gas production platform in the South China Sea, near Sarawak, Malaysia. It was the first sour gas development in the offshore region of Sarawak Malaysia and contains up to 3500 ppm/v H2S and 20 mol% CO2.

All traditional concepts were considered, and based on the evaluation of risks and economics

made the operator decide in 2001 to select the Twister technology as the base case, based on the following premise: •

Safety: Closed system (no H2S emissions); No chemicals.

•

Operations: Normally unattended operation; Minimum LQ facility.

•

Economics: Lowest CAPEX, lowest Life Cycle Cost (LCC), 25% less weight.

•

Simplicity: No glycol regeneration and associated operations.

•

Availability: Guaranteed uptime of >98%.

•

Flow assurance: Protection of 65 km CS pipeline (no free water).

The goal was to provide a safe gas processing solution with minimal environmental impact, while providing a significant reduction in capital and operational expenditure. Since the Twister option required a pressure drop of 35% at a nominal export pressure of 95 bar(g), a plateau pressure of 145 bar(g) was chosen, allowing for a plateau production of at least 500 MMSCFD for 5 years. Compared to TEG, Twister would bring compression investment forward from year 8 to year 6. However, these 2 years difference in NPV did not weigh up to the higher CAPEX an OPEX saving.

In 2020, the B-11 platform continues to be operated now by Petronas.

using cyclonic separation and heating coils, which melt the hydrates. The combination of these two technologies results in a closed system, low maintenance, a low sour hydrocarbon inventory and reduced equipment count. There is also no chemical degradation due to H2S, no emissions and very limited operator intervention – a significant benefit in sour gas fields. Furthermore, the fact that Twister’s supersonic gas solution dehydrates gas on the basis of expansion cooling instead of glycol absorption, as well as being a closed system, means that it is the safest means of dehydrating and dewpointing sour gas on the market today. The reduced weight and plot space on offshore platforms of Twister with the Hydrate Separator also results in significant cost savings.

The Twister Supersonic Separator technology is deployed on the initially by Shell operated B11-platform in Malaysia, and still successfully processing 600 MMscfd with higher than normal sour gas contaminant levels. • Twister BV bart.prast@twisterbv.com REFERENCES 1.

Notes MEG Regeneration Technical Meeting 18 June 2009, SPE, Port Campbell

2.

Ten Years of Twister Operations Benefits Delivered, Betting, M., Prast, B., Proceedings of the GPA Europe Technical Meeting in Leiden, May 2014.

3.

The Challenges of Qualifying a Kinetic Hydrate Inhibitor for an Offshore Sour Lean Gas Field, Rithauddeen, M.A.; AlAdel, S., Proceedings of the 9th North American Conference on Multiphase Technology, 2014.

CONCLUSION Twister is particularly suited to sour gas fields. Twister provides a robust, compact gas conditioning solution characterised by condensation and separation taking place at supersonic velocity; and the Hydrate Separator isolates hydrates and liquids from natural gas without the need for chemicals

62

Downstream Leadership Forum November 19 - 20 2020, Online #DownstreamLF

Delivering Value Through Uncertainty Creating a More Sustainable, Resilient & Smarter Downstream Business Strategy

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INDUSTRY LEADING SPEAKERS ALREADY CONFIRMED INCLUDE: JIM FITTERLING Chairman & CEO Dow

MARK FLORIAN Head of Global Energy and Power BlackRock

BUILDING A RESILIENT BUSINESS MODEL

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MARK VERGNANO President & CEO Chemours

OSMAR ABIB Chairman of Global Energy Credit Suisse

Join us as we determine the future of the industry. Key topics to be addressed:

HUIBERT VIGEVENO Downstream Director Shell

ALAN GELDER VP Refining, Chemicals & Oil Markets Wood Mackenzie

DUANE DICKSON Vice Chairman, US Oil, Gas & Chemicals Leader Deloitte LLP

EMBRACING SUSTAINABLE OPERATIONS FOR A NET ZERO FUTURE UNPICKING THE ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

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OUR COMPANY Focused and competent with more than 30 years of experience in design and manufacturing of various welded heat exchangers and pressure vessels, Nexson Group covers a large range of processes and applications such as Refinery, Oil & Gas, Petrochemicals, Pulp & Paper, Mining & Steel, Power, Agro industry, Environment ...

At Nexson, we have been developing exchangers for many years. Basing our expertise on the characteristics developed in partnership with our customers, we have over the years created innovative products for all types of applications.

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Nexson Group Spiral Heat Exchanger used as Coker unit is a customized unit that can be a cooler or/ and an economizer depending on his position in the process.

The Nexson Group spiral heat exchanger used in MEG reclamation process is a low-fouling spiral heat exchanger allowing to heat the high-flow salty MEG.

In coker unit process, the goal is to convert heavy feeds to lighter products and flexigas. The main advantage of this process is to create a high-value liquid products as well as clean as flexigas which can be used in different ways either as refinery fuel or power generation.

The goal of MEG reclamation process is to put a MEG-water-salt mix in contact with a heated recycled stream of MEG in order to recover the MEG and water components.

With wide channels, compact sizes and correctly selected geometry for optimal speed of media streams, GreenSpiralTM have successfully solved the fouling problem of heat exchanger equipments in the difficult coker unit process.

Our MEG rich heater allows to heat the high-flow salty MEG :

In this position, the aim of « Slurry stripper Feed/Bottoms Nexson Group Spiral Heat Exchanger », is to use the heat of the slurry stripper bottoms to preheat the slurry stripper feed from the venturi scrubber. In the second position, the aim of the « Dilute slurry Nexson Group Heat Exchanger cooler » is to cool down the slurry stripper bottoms for the slurry stripper.

- Without fouling, a turbulent flow is created to handle tough medias. Since it is a single channel heat exchanger, if there is any cross section reduction inside the channel, flow velocity will increase, flushing out the deposits.

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PROCESSING NEWS Aramco Announces Downstream Business Reorganization

R

eorganization designed to enhance Aramco’s competitiveness and support its vision to be the world’s preeminent integrated energy and chemicals company.

The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (“Aramco” or “the Company”) today announced the reorganization of its Downstream business to support and enhance integration across the hydrocarbon value chain and better position the Company to drive financial performance, value creation and global growth.

The Company’s Downstream operating model will include four commercial business units: Fuels (includes Refining, Trading, Retail and Lubes); Chemicals; Power; and Pipelines, Distribution & Terminals.

These business units will be supported by three corporate functions: Manufacturing, Strategy & Marketing and Affiliates Affairs.

This reorganization is designed to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of Aramco’s existing Downstream assets, but does not represent a fundamental change in the overall business structure.

Abdulaziz M. Al Gudaimi, Senior Vice President of Aramco Downstream, said: “I am excited that we are launching a new operating model that we believe will help streamline our operations and reinforce our position as a major global energy and petrochemicals player. This reorganization is yet another step in Aramco’s strategy to develop a global integrated Downstream business that enhances our competitiveness by maximizing our value capture across the hydrocarbon value chain.”

The reorganization, which is expected to be in place by the end of the year, further strengthens Aramco’s industry leadership in safety, sustainability, efficiency and reliability.

Aramco has a large, strategically integrated global Downstream business that leverages the Company’s competitive Upstream position.

The Company’s Downstream strategy focuses on creating growth opportunities across the hydrocarbon chain in order to expand the Company’s sources of earnings, providing resilience to oil price volatility and capitalizing on rising demand for petrochemical products. •

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MIDSTREAM & PIPELINES

It’s Time to Move on From Dangerous Tank Cleaning Procedures OGI sits down with Fintan Duffy, Managing Director of Re-Gen Robotics Ltd, who are revolutionizing the safety of tank cleaning with their ‘No Man Entry’ automated tank cleaning system. Mr Duffy is here to dig deeper with us so we can find out more about this award winning solution and how it will disrupt the tank cleaning industry.

OGI: Could you start by explaining Re-Gen Robotics’ credentials and experience in terms of your products and services for the oil and gas sector? Could you tell our readers the breadth of your experience, how long the company has been active, and its reach?

Duffy: Re-Gen Robotics is the first and only Zone 0 EX certified, remote controlled, ‘No Man Entry’ robotic tank cleaning company, in Europe.

Launched in Spring 2019, our vision is to become the most efficient, safe and reliable tank cleaning service provider to the petrochemical industry, distinguishing ourselves from competitors through our excellent health and safety performance.

Within less than a year of launching, Re-Gen Robotics won the Safety Technology Award at the 2020 Global Tank Storage Awards, in Rotterdam, on 10th of March. Re-Gen Robotic’s technology and service was recognised for revolutionising safety in the tank terminal industry.

Over the last year we have worked with some of the benchmark oil majors, who are embracing our state-of-the-art, tank cleaning robots. These industry leaders are committed to enhancing safety and productivity in their operations and will no longer tolerate commissioning manned

crews, to clean tanks in environments that are too hazardous to be undertaken by field personnel.

Re-Gen Robotics has the solution for nonman entry tank cleaning. The robots are designed to operate in the most inhospitable environments and with specialised access cranes, remote camera systems and engineering expertise, any size or shape of tank can be cleaned.

OGI: What are some of the dangers associated with man-entry tank cleaning procedures?

Duffy: Tank entry is widely recognised as being one of the most hazardous operations in the tank cleaning business and every year as many as 200 people across Europe, lose their lives working in confined spaces.

Traditionally personnel have been required to enter hazardous oil tank environments to implement inspections, desludge and clean for product change. Seven main causes of confined space accidents are listed as asphyxiation, poisoning, engulfment, oxygen deficiency, drowning, explosion, and electrocution.

Although safety regulations and industry standards are high, occasionally fatal accidents do occur, owing to human error and failure of safety devices.

Fintan Duffy, Managing Director, Re-Gen Robotics Limited.

Current Health & Safety legislation stipulates that ‘a person shall not carry out work in confined spaces, if it is reasonably practical that it can be avoided’. Companies can no longer afford to be negligent where human life is concerned and fortunately, there is a very real appetite across the board for new, safer methods of cleaning, inspection and assessment.

Almost ALL personnel who die in confined spaces are trying to rescue other workers who fainted due to lack of oxygen or exposure to toxic gases.

OGI: Could you explain in detail automated tank cleaning? The processes, what is involved, costs etc?

Duffy: By sending our revolutionary robots into dangerous confined spaces, clients are not only eliminating the dangers and liabilities associated with confined space entry but are also saving time, money and reducing operational downtime for their tanks.

Re-Gen Robotic’s unique, closed loop cleaning system can reduce cleaning time by up to 45 per cent, significantly decreasing downtime and loss of production whilst oil tanks are not operational. The tank is brought back into operation quicker and reduces the need for additional tank capacity, permit delays and additional support teams.

Safety and protection of personnel during tank cleaning services are of the utmost importance. At no time during the ReGen Robotics cleaning process is there a requirement for human presence in the confined storage container. Our technical operator remains a safe distance away in the Zone 1 control unit, where they can monitor activity and progress, through a series of ATEX cameras fixed to the robot, inside the tank being cleaned.

Re-Gen Robotics’ Robot.

The unique features of the large robot make it ideal for cleaning the storage tanks. A combination of specially designed 3,500 PSI jetting water nozzles, powered by a highpressure low flow pump, play a vital part in the cleaning process. The auger system at the front of the robot breaks down heavy sludge without the requirement to use water, thereby generating less waste. Sludge is then extracted by an ADR certified jet/vac tanker with 4,800 C/ m3 per hour vacuum capacity.

The efficiency of the clean is crucial to planning schedules and means that the tanks can be brought back into operation sooner than manual cleaning.

Using a fully contained waste removal and a 360-degree cleaning process, the waste material is transported off site using an ADR tanker and safely treated in an authorised, licensed facility.

The entire tank cleaning operation is recorded on CCTV from the ATEX cameras and is made available to the client upon completion of the works. All files are date and time stamped to ensure the process is traceable for auditing purposes.

A record of gas detection readings is also issued on completion of each vessel cleaning, produced by the onboard gas monitoring equipment.

OGI: And a bit of detail of Re-Gen Robotics’ machine?

Duffy: Re-Gen Robotics has invested over £3 million in creating three purpose-built, explosion proof robots, designed to operate in the most inhospitable environments.

The large robots are designed to fit through a standard 600mm entry hatch via an extending ramp and de-sludge, wash and clean large-scale tanks, including fixed roof and floating roof tanks.

The robot has the power to clean the largest oil tanks with no hassle and can handle heavy fuel oil, crude oil, sludge and the like. Once cleaning is complete, the robot safely exits the container via its ramp and is returned to the control unit.

The lightweight and highly portable compact unit can move through a 450mm entry hatch and is suitable for use on smaller sites and underground storage tanks and containers, including petrol forecourts, interceptors and process tanks.

Our intelligent on-board truck telemetry system track waste gives us the opportunity to collect telemetry data that can then be aggregated and analysed in order to optimise the process.

The combination unit provides real time information on all key parameters and is accessible to clients. They can evaluate

Self Contained Cranage System.

information including; Waste generation, hours worked per day, water consumption on each project, down to the jetting pressures recorded for the duration of a tank clean.

OGI: What different types of tanks can be serviced? And could you talk a bit about your services?

Duffy: Our robotic system has power to clean the largest oil tanks with no hassle and can handle heavy fuel oil, crude oil, sludge and the like. Regardless of the nature of the vessels, i.e. vertical, horizontal, over ground or underground, Re-Gen Robotics has the solution for non-man entry tank cleaning.

Our robot is designed to fit through a standard 600mm manway using externally fixed hydraulic ramps. For fixed roof tanks, high pressure, low flow jetting systems and vacuum are used to clean and ATEX CCTV and lighting are used for inspection.

On floating roof tanks, front and rear ATEX CCTV and lighting are used for internal tank navigation. Camera brackets are adjusted to a fixed height and a 360 degrees jet head is used to wash the roof. The full coverage suction head has the capability to wash the walls and the roof of tanks, affording faster turnaround times by 10% on floating roof tanks, where roof washing is included in the scope of works on tank cleans.

Auger systems are available for removal of heavy sludge in Heavy Fuel Oil tanks. Front and rear ATEX CCTV and lighting are used for internal tank navigation and an offset suction head cleans underneath heating coils.

Using magnetic or rubber tracks to enable full traction and navigation, our robotic system is capable of cleaning Coned Floor tanks. Front and rear ATEX CCTV and lighting is used for internal tank navigation, our offset suction head and powerful vacuum is used to enable suction to 9m below surface.

OGI: Finally, could you enlighten our readers of a case study where you helped a client with your solutions?

Shell UK Oil Products Ltd Re-Gen Robotics was commissioned by Shell UK Oil Products Ltd to clean two Jet A1 fuel storage tanks. Both tanks have a resin lining applied to the floor and 1m up the tank walls.

The ADR tanker was stationed 10m from the tanks and the robotic equipment was craned into position. No scaffolding or bespoke equipment was required as Re-Gen Robotics supplied the complete system to position the robot in the tank.

The operator remained in the Zone 1 control

Re-Gen Robotics ADR Certified Jetvac Tankers.

unit where they could monitor activity through a series of ATEX cameras and gas monitoring equipment fixed to the robot.

A combination of specially designed 3500 psi jetting water nozzles, powered by a highpressure low ow pump, were used in the cleaning process.

The efficiency of the clean removed the need for additional tank capacity, permit delays and additional support teams.

The waste material was transported from the site using an ADR tanker and safely treated in an authorised, licensed facility.

The cleaning operation was recorded on CCTV from the ATEX cameras and was made available to Shell upon completion of the work. All files were date and time stamped to ensure the process was traceable for auditing purposes.

A record of gas detection readings was also issued on completion of each vessel cleaning, produced by the onboard gas monitoring equipment.

The tank was cleaned without the need to spade the valves. During a manned entry clean this procedure is mandatory as it mitigates an accidental opening of the valve, inhibiting fuel from entering the tank and causing injury.

On average it would take two members of staff a full day to spade one tank, so eliminating the necessity to carry out this operation reduced tank cleaning time and tank downtime and was therefore a further cost saving for the terminal operator.

Re-Gen Robotics has been commissioned to clean further tanks for Shell, with a floating rooves, navigating approximately 40 legs within each of the tanks.

Conclusion Robotic cleaning technology is making a monumental difference to safety and is on its way to being adopted as best practice within the tank cleaning sector. There are now realistic and proven alternatives to ‘man entry’ tank cleaning. The health and safety of personnel engaged in tank cleaning is paramount. Using robotic equipment to carry out works in hazardous confined spaces is the most logical and safe way to clean tanks.

Terminal and refinery operators can be assured that they have mitigated the risks associated with confined space tank cleaning, as far as is reasonably practicable, when they engage a contractor that has invested in the right equipment to clean their tanks. • Re-Gen Robotics tel: +44 28 300 50 800 email: info@regenrobotics.com web: https://www.regenrobotics.com

MIDSTREAM & PIPELINES

Hauff – Innovative Sealing Solutions for Pipelines Pipelines form a crucial infrastructure for the transport of liquids and gases – water, waste water, oils, fuels and more. They are the backbones of the exchange network which makes the utilities available where they are required for further processing or for consumption – in industrial complexes, in commercial buildings and in homes. Pipelines traverse huge distances passing through different landscapes and climate zones, crossing roads and rivers and moving in and out of pump stations, storage tanks and buildings . At each section where a pipe passes through a barrier – moves into or leaves a building or a structure – the penetration must be sealed against ingress of water, gas, dust and vermin.

M

ost penetrations for pipes are circular, made with wall sleeves or core drill holes or formed as a recess while concreting.

The ring-like space between a pipe and the circular opening in the wall is called annular space and results from the combination of outer pipe diameter and the inside diameter of the opening, There are different approaches to sealing a certain annular space. Mechanical seals being the most common and trusted choice.

“Hauff-Technik owns the worldwide patent not only for the installation control but also for the caged nuts used in the Modular Seal GKD.”

The use of elastomers as a sealing material is well known. Among others, elastic properties and resistance to water are the two basic characteristics of rubber which make it suitable for creating a mechanical seal. The pressure plates on both sides of the rubber act as a boundary creating a defined space within which the rubber can flow and the compression is achieved with screws. The rubber when placed in the annular space and compressed mechanically flows in a defined way to fill out the space completely, thus creating a watertight and gas-tight seal.

A Modular Seal, as the name suggests, is a chain of same sized modules which can be closed to form a ring. Adjusting the number of modules used allows the same seal to be used over a certain range of annular space. Hence, most applications can be catered to only with a limited number of module sizes on stock. This flexibility makes the modular seal very practical and popular.

Modular Seals have been around for many decades. The GKD is a leap into the next generation of innovative sealing solutions.

It stands out because it is the only modular seal with an integrated installation control.

For correct installation the seal needs to be tightened till the indication windows turn completely yellow. There is no torque wrench

GKD with integrated installation control.

70

required. Installation errors related to the incorrect torque application – be it due to missing or incorrect information about the required torque or due to a missing or faulty torque wrench at site – are eliminated. The visual indication is simple, practical and reliable method to ensure correct installation.

Hauff-Technik owns the worldwide patent

GKD Rear Pressure Plate with moulded nut. not only for the installation control but also for the caged nuts used in the Modular Seal GKD. Since, the nuts are moulded into the rear pressure plate, there are no loose parts and the nuts cannot fall off or be lost. This makes the installation, which is crucial for the functionality of a seal, easier and error free. Efficiency and cost reduction are further enhanced due to faster installation as the GKD does not require any retightening.

In spite of the numerous advantages, a modular seal also has certain limitations. It can only be used to seal one pipe through one penetration. When multiple pipes go through a single penetration, custom seals are the right choice. Likewise, an annular space which is not symmetric calls for a custom-made solution.

Choosing the right sealing system calls for a thorough assessment of the prevailing application conditions. Not only the dimensions and the required tightness against gas, water and vermin, but also practical aspects like handling and access must be considered. These factors can be broadly grouped into technical, commercial and handling aspects.

Geometry and size of the opening and the pipe will determine whether a modular or a custom seal is required. Environmental conditions – exposure to sunlight, oils/fuels, corrosive environment – require certain type of materials to be used. A seal exposed to oils/ fuels, for example in an airport, should be made of NBR (acrylonitrile butadiene rubber) which has excellent chemical resistance to oils, types of grease and all commercially available fuels.

EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber) on the other hand has very good chemical resistance to almost all acids and alkaline solutions as well as salt water.

A trade-off between conflicting requirements is not uncommon. Custom seals greater than 500 mm in diameter can easily weigh 10 kg and more which makes handling and installation a challenge. Hence, for larger pipe diameters a modular seal is the first choice. But if the pipe is positioned eccentric, a custom seal is the only

option. In this case proper arrangements for lifting and installation are required.

“Whatever the need, standard or special, Hauff-Technik with over 40 years of experience has a suitable sealing solution.”

Last but not the least, a sealing solution has to be commercially viable. Features like the installation control of the GKD reduce error, thereby avoiding damage and save the cost of rework. Also, planning the penetration in advance with suitable wall sleeves allows the use of standard seals which are more cost effective than special made to measure solutions.

Whatever the need, standard or special, Hauff-Technik, with over 40 years of experience, has a suitable sealing solution. The innovative press seals from Hauff-Technik provide reliable sealing of single or multiple pipes and cables in core drills or wall sleeves.

These range from closed seal inserts for first-time installation to split seal inserts for retrofit sealing of cables and pipes that have already been laid.

Our portfolio of wall sleeve products provides the ideal solution for any type of wall and any load case. Combined with our press seals, these products create the optimum sealing solution between building and supply line. We can provide the ideal solution for every requirement and task, be it tailor-made to the millimetre or suitable for universal use on site, round, oval or even square. Quick and cost-effective. • If you are interested in any of the solutions discussed in this article, please contact Hauff-Technik GmbH & Co. KG using the information below to discuss how they can help.

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NEWS - MENA Al-Bader: First Crude Shipment to Reach Refinery August 19

K

uwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) hosted a press conference in August 3, 2017 to announce the first shipment of crude to the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemicals Complex in Vietnam, in preparation for the start of operations. Waleed Al-Bader, Deputy Managing Director for Crude and Derivatives Marketing at KPC, and Ghanim AlOtaibi, Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Asia at Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) spoke during the press conference.

The shipment carries two million barrels and is expected to reach the refinery in August 19th, Al-Bader said, adding that an additional two million barrels are set to be shipped in August 11th.

A shipment carrying four million barrels will be sent to the refinery in September, he said, adding that six more shipments carrying 12 million barrels will be sent to Vietnam during the fourth quarter of this year.

The refinery has a processing capacity of around 200,000 barrels of Kuwaiti crude a day, he noted.

The refinery was established in Nghi Son, which is located around 200 kilometers south of Hanoi, Al-Bader said. It was designed to process Kuwaiti crude by 100%, with a capacity of up to 200,000 barrels a day.

The project started in July 2013 and was completed in 43 months, he noted.

The refinery targets improving Kuwait’s oil relations with Vietnam and other global partners, Al-Otaibi said, adding that the project is one of the most important oil projects that embody the vision of KPC and its subsidiaries to reach a leading global position in the downstream industry and marketing.

The refinery and petrochemical complex project in Vietnam, which is affiliated with KPI, will realize KPC’s strategic goals and provide a safe long-term outlet for the Kuwaiti crude, he added.

Meanwhile, Al-Otaibi applauded the role of Kuwaiti young people working in the project, and their contributions which helped push progress forward. He indicated that safe operation for all producing units to achieve maximum capacity and commercial operation as soon as possible is currently the most prominent challenge, noting that KPC started retail marketing inside Vietnam with strategic partners through five stations that were built as part of a retail stations’ network to cover the local market’s demand. Al-Otaibi said that he is looking forward for long-term partnerships with other global companies similar to the Vietnam refinery project.

Notably, a joint company was established as the owner of the refinery and petrochemical complex project in Vietnam, where KPI owns a 35.1% share, Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan owns a 35.1% share, PetroVietnam owns a 25.1% share and Japan’s Mitsui owns a 4.7% share. •

Aramco Announces Downstream Business Reorganization to Enhance Performance and Support

R

eorganization designed to enhance Aramco’s competitiveness and support its vision to be the world’s preeminent integrated energy and chemicals company.

The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (“Aramco” or “the Company”) today announced the reorganization of its Downstream business to support and enhance integration across the hydrocarbon value chain and better position the Company to drive financial performance, value creation and global growth.

The Company’s Downstream operating model will include four commercial business units: Fuels (includes Refining, Trading, Retail and Lubes); Chemicals; Power; and Pipelines, Distribution & Terminals.

These business units will be supported by three corporate functions: Manufacturing, Strategy & Marketing and Affiliates Affairs.

This reorganization is designed to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of Aramco’s existing Downstream assets, but does not represent a fundamental change in the overall business structure.

Abdulaziz M. Al Gudaimi, Senior Vice President of Aramco Downstream, said: “I am excited that we are launching a new operating model that we believe will help streamline our operations and reinforce our position as a major global energy and petrochemicals player. This reorganization is yet another step in Aramco’s strategy to develop a global integrated Downstream business that enhances our competitiveness by maximizing our value capture across the hydrocarbon value chain.”

The reorganization, which is expected to be in place by the end of the year, further strengthens Aramco’s industry leadership in safety, sustainability, efficiency and reliability.

Aramco has a large, strategically integrated global Downstream business that leverages the Company’s competitive Upstream position.

The Company’s Downstream strategy focuses on creating growth opportunities across the hydrocarbon chain in order to expand the Company’s sources of earnings, providing resilience to oil price volatility and capitalizing on rising demand for petrochemical products. •

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MENA - NEWS OPEC’s World Oil Outlook to Be Launched on 8 October 2020

T

he 2020 OPEC World Oil Outlook (WOO) will be launched via videoconference in Vienna, Austria, on Thursday, 8 October 2020 at 14:00 (CEST).

OPEC’s Secretary General, HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, will present the major findings of the WOO 2020, as well as introduce a video with key messages from the publication’s 14th edition, which coincides with the 60th Anniversary of the Organization. This will be followed by a panel discussion and a Q&A with management and analysts from OPEC’s Research Division.

First published in 2007, the WOO provides an in-depth review and analysis of the global oil and energy industries, and offers a thorough assessment of various sensitivities in the medium- and long-term development of the oil industry. The publication provides insights into the upstream and downstream, supply and demand, investments, the potential impact of policies, and the environment and sustainable development. It also provides expert analysis of many of the challenges and opportunities facing the global oil industry. This year’s edition captures an extended horizon of projections up to 2045.

HE Barkindo said: “The WOO underscores the Organization’s ongoing commitment to insightful research, data transparency and the enhancement of dialogue and cooperation. We hope it contributes to a better and more enhanced understanding of the global oil and energy markets, and fosters further knowledge-sharing. This is particularly valuable given the unprecedented events of 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic upending people’s lives, and causing major disruption to economies, industries and businesses.”

This year’s publication will again be accompanied by a smart app to give increased access to the WOO’s vital analysis and energy data, as well as a comprehensive interactive version. More details on these will be provided when the publication is launched. •

JMMC Focuses on Market Stability and Full Conformity

T

he 22nd Meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) took place via videoconference on Thursday 17 September 2020, under the Chairmanship of HRH Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, and Co-Chair HE Alexander Novak, Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation.

The Committee reviewed the monthly report prepared by its Joint Technical Committee (JTC) and developments in the global oil market since its last meeting on 19 August 2020. The Committee also considered market prospects for the fourth quarter of 2020 and into 2021.

The Committee reviewed the crude oil production data for August 2020 and welcomed the positive performance in overall conformity for participating OPEC and non-OPEC countries of the DoC, which was recorded at 102% in August 2020, including Mexico as per the secondary sources.

The JMMC reiterated the critical importance of adhering to full conformity and compensating overproduced volumes as soon as possible.

The JMMC supported, and recommended, to the OPEC and NonOPEC Ministerial Meeting, the request of several underperforming participating countries in the DoC to extend the compensation period till end of December 2020, after pledging that they will fully compensate for their overproduction. This is vital for the ongoing rebalancing efforts and helping deliver long-term oil market stability.

The JMMC observed that the recovery has not been even across the world and an increase in COVID-19 cases has appeared in some countries. In the current environment, the JMMC emphasised the importance of being pro-active and pre-emptive and recommended that participating countries should be willing to take further necessary measures when needed.

The Committee thanked the JTC and the OPEC Secretariat for their contributions to the meeting.

The next meetings of the JTC and the JMMC are scheduled for 15 and 19 October 2020, respectively. •

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IMPORTANT EVENTS CALENDAR

35th International Scientific & Expert Meeting of Gas Professionals 21.10.2020 - 23.10.2020 https://susret.hsup.hr/en/ SPE Virtual Annual Caspian Technical Conference 21.10.2020 - 22.10.2020 Virtual https://www.spe.org/events/en/2020/conference/20ctc/caspian-tech SPE Virtual Norway Subsurface Conference 02.11.2020 - 03.11.2020 Virtual https://www.spe.org/events/en/2020/conference/20berg/home SPE Virtual Upstream Finance and Investments Conference 11.11.2020 - 12.11.2020 Virtual http://go.spe.org/_00903-0955l Future Oil & Gas conference and exhibition 01.12.2020 - 02.12.2020 Aberdeen, UK https://bit.ly/3a7TuAD 35th International Scientific & Expert Meeting of Gas Professionals 21.10.2020 - 23.10.2020 Congress Center of the Grand Hotel Adriatic Ul. Marsala Tita 200, 51410, Croatia https://susret.hsup.hr/en/ Energy from Waste 2020 01.12.2020 - 02.12.2020 Copthorne Tara Hotel, London, UK http://www.efw-event.com/oilgasinnovation EGYPS - Egypt Petroleum Show 2020 09.02.2021 - 11.02.2021 Egypt International Exhibition Center (EIEC) https://www.egyps.com/ Offshore Technology Conference 4-7 May 2021 Houston, Texas, USA http://2020.otcnet.org/ The 28th World Gas Conference (WGC 2021) 21.06.2021 - 25.06.2021 130 Gongpyeong-dong, Jung-gu, Daegu, South Korea https://www.wgc2021.org/

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