News

Fluor Corporation (FLR) announced that Lee C. Tashjian, vice president, Corporate Affairs, will retire from the company effective 29 June 2012. Tashjian will be succeeded by R. Clifton Webb, vice president of corporate communications for Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS).

A long-term strategic alliance has been established between Caprari and Peme Gourdin, two European manufacturers specialized in water centrifugal pumps. As a result of the strongly complementary sales networks, markets and products of the two concerns, this new partnership will provide fresh opportunities for Caprari customers who will be able to count on an alternative and even wider choice of products, pumping solutions and services, than the already comprehensive range developed during almost 70 years of history and experience in the sector.

Excelerate Energy L.P. is moving forward with the development of the first floating liquefaction facility in the United States utilizing its Floating Liquefaction Storage Offloading vessel (FLSO) technology. Located in Port Lavaca, the Lavaca Bay LNG project will be situated between Galveston and Corpus Christi on the Texas Gulf Coast, and will be designed to export LNG to markets worldwide by 2017. Excelerate Energy's FLSO comprises 3 million tns per annum (MTPA) of production capacity, 250,000CUM of LNG storage, and a fully integrated gas processing plant.

A consortium including Australian investment bank Macquarie Group plans to build a 10-million-barrel oil storage terminal in Louisiana, at a cost of USD 600 million.

CB&I has received a contract valued at approximately USD 300 million, by Williams Olefins, LLC for a petrochemicals expansion project in Geismar, Louisiana. The scope of the award includes the license and basic engineering for the ethylene technology, the supply of the cracking furnaces, and the detailed engineering, procurement, and construction of the expansion project.

PTSC Mechanical and Construction Joint Stock Company (PTSC M&C) has won a major detailed engineering, procurement, construction, installation, hook-up and commissioning contract valuing USD 113 million in Vietnam. The contract has been awarded by Lam Son Joint Operating Company, a joint operating company between PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP, Vietnam) and Petronas Carigali Overseas Sdn Company (Malaysia). As per the contract, the scope of work includes 2 wellhead platforms namely Thang Long and Dong Do with topsides weighing approximately 1100 per each, 9mi infield pipeline and 87 ton PLEMs (Pipeline End Manifold) and PLET (Pipeline End Termination).

Shell, Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS), Mitsubishi Corporation, and PetroChina Company Limited are developing a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Western Canada, near Kitimat, British Columbia.

Air valves are normally required on piping systems, for example, offshore fire fighting systems, to vent air from a pipeline/riser on pump start-up and admit air back into the system under vacuum conditions. Often they are overlooked, yet play a crucial role within a pipe/pump system. It is important that they are correctly specified with their function, size and location to help in ensuring that the system is operating efficiently.