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AUSTRALIA: CSIRO says new facility boosts gas hydrates research
Thursday, 19 June 2008

(EnergyAsia, June 19, Thursday) --- CSIRO, Australia’s leading science agency, said its newly commissioned flow loop facility will help researchersfind solutions to predict and control gas hydrates formation in offshore oil and gas production pipelines.

The only one of its kind in Australia, the facility can simulate gas-liquid flows at high pressures and low temperatures - conditions that oil and gas pipelines are subjected to in deep-sea environments.

(Adsense)) Gas hydrates are 'ice-like' crystals composed of gas and water that can form in oil and gas offshore pipelines. Hydrates can block pipelines, disrupt production and, at worst, cause flow lines to burst, leading to costly, time-consuming and potentially dangerous repair operations.

According to CSIRO’s Edson Nakagawa, the flow loop will be used to study gas hydrates formation, growth and transportability.

"It also has the capability to test different types of hydrates inhibitors and analyse how they affect the formation of hydrates under different conditions," said Dr Nakagawa, who leads the Wealth from Oceans National Research Flagship's marine-based industries research.

The flow loop will be used in a flow assurance project that forms part of the Flagship's Platform-Free Fields program. The project takes a holistic approach to understanding the formation of hydrates in gas pipelines.

"Our first objective is to develop a model to enable operators to predict the formation and flow of hydrates in gas pipelines and therefore anticipate potential gas hydrates problems. This will lead to improvements in the design and operation of pipelines," Dr Nakagawa said.

"Improving knowledge and models of gas hydrates behaviour will save industry millions of dollars in hydrates inhibitors and related operational costs."

The project is an international collaboration between the Flagship, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Curtin University of Technology, Institute Francais du Pétrole (IFP), the Western Australian Energy Research Alliance (WA:ERA) and industry.
 
SINGAPORE: Petrofac to manage training centre on Jurong Island
Wednesday, 18 June 2008

(EnergyAsia, June 18, Wednesday) --- Petrofac, the international oil & gas facilities provider, has reached an agreement with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) to manage and operate the Chemical Process Technology Centre (CPTC). Owned by the EDB, CPTC is a world-class technical training centre located on Jurong Island, Singapore’s oil and gas hub.

CPTC has been designed to meet the needs of the energy, chemical and process engineering industries. It incorporates a live hydrocarbon processing plant, specialist equipment laboratories, fully equipped classrooms and a 200-seater auditorium.

The centre was conceptualised and executed by industry players, in close collaboration with the Singapore government and educational institutions in Singapore.

CPTC will be managed and operated by Petrofac’s training arm, Petrofac Training, focusing on the skills assessment and development of operations and maintenance personnel for the oil, gas and petrochemical industries.

With the advantage of a hydrocarbon process plant on site, Petrofac Training will conduct competence-based operations and maintenance training, including shift rotation, permit to work with task risk assessments, start up and shutdown exercises, emergency response and fire drill exercises, thereby offering a unique environment to meet the training and competence assessment needs of its customers.

Phil Costelloe, regional director for the Asia Pacific region, said: “This agreement to manage and operate CPTC is aligned with EDB’s objective of building and enhancing a world-class workforce for industry. It is a significant regional achievement and fits well with our business strategy to support one of the industry’s most critical challenges - growing, developing and maintaining competent workforces.”

With more than 30 years of experience in supporting the energy industries through the provision of competence-led training and consultancy solutions, Petrofac Training is well equipped to manage and conduct the delivery of training at the centre.

Leigh Howarth, managing director of Petrofac Training, said: “Petrofac Training is committed to developing competent local workforces globally. We are confident CPTC will be recognised as a regional and global centre of excellence and a market leader in competence-based technical training.”

Aberdeen-based Petrofac Training is a leading provider of training and consultancy solutions to the global oil and gas industry. A division of Petrofac, the international total facilities solutions business, Petrofac Training employs more than 400 people worldwide.
 
AUSTRALIA: IIR interview with Paul Henderson, Chief Minister of the Northern Territory
Wednesday, 18 June 2008

(EnergyAsia, June 18, Wednesday) --- The following is an excerpt of the interview conducted by Australian conference organiser IIR. Mr Henderson will open the South East Asia Australia Offshore Conference (SEAOOC) in Darwin, Australia on July 16 to 18. The interview can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV8klXD6-_E.

1. With crude oil passing $130 a barrel, natural gas a cheap alternative energy source is a hot topic these days. This must be good news for Darwin which you’re pushing as a liquid natural gas hub.

Henderson:   I wouldn’t say it’s good news for the Northern Territory. We’re the furthest removed capital city from the rest of Australia so high oil prices do affect our economy. But in terms of developing oil and gas fields in the Timor Sea and the Bonaparte Gulf in the region, yes it is very interesting and exciting times for the Northern Territory.
The (Inpex) Ichthys field has just be re-evaluated to have 500 million barrels of condensate along with 13 trillion cubic feet of gas, so getting these types of projects to Darwin is very important to my government and that’s why we’re going after the Inpex project as hard as we possibly can.


2. You already have one plant processing Timor Sea gas for export. How important is gas processing to the Northern Territory Economy?

Henderson:   It’s very important to our economy because as well as the capital investment and the ongoing jobs that the Wickham Point LNG project has created, it really sparks significant confidence in the Northern Territory’s and Darwin’s economy, and led to investment in a number of other economic sectors, so as well as a direct benefit to the economy it also generates confidence for other sectors to invest in and again that’s why we’re going after our second LNG plant as hard as we can.

3. Why Darwin? What advantages does Darwin have over other Australian centres as a liquid natural gas hub?

Henderson:   We’re gas ready. We have the only gas-ready site in the whole of northern Australia at Middle Arm. Our proximity to countries to our north, to China, to India, to Japan means that the Northern Territory is really the only site in northern Australia that investors can come to tomorrow. We have a site, we’re a capital city; we have a capital city infrastructure; and we’ve already delivered one project on time and on budget and I’m confident we can deliver more.

4. What initiatives are you taking to excite more interest in Darwin as a gas processing centre? And what’s been the response?

Henderson:   We’ve been very actively chasing the major LNG companies who are looking to develop LNG projects in Australia. We have a one-stop-shop within the Chief Minister’s Department of major projects that companies can deal with so they don’t have the run around of government agencies and we’re a ‘can-do’ government, so all of those things mean that there is a lot of interest in doing business in the NT.
Darwin LNG, ConocoPhillips have approvals to go from three million tonnes per annum production to 10 million tonnes. We’re obviously talking very closely with Woodside and would like to see Sunrise brought on shore to Darwin as well as chasing Inpex as hard as we possibly can to see their project brought to Darwin so…a ‘can-do’ government, a gas-ready site, we’re open for business and we’re promoting Darwin as a place to invest.

5. Some sections of the LNG industry say the export bubble could burst if investors are forced to comply with an emissions trading scheme and are calling for exemptions for new investment in big emitting export industries. Can you understand their view and what’s your position?

Henderson:   Climate change is certainly one of the most important environmental and economic challenges facing Australia and the world. That’s why we’ve got to get the science right and we’ve got to get the economics right. At the moment we’re undergoing community and public consultation in the Northern Territory to develop our own climate change policy.
Obviously that has to sit with the Australian Government policy but as Chief Minister I’m determined to see the economics of any decisions being in the best interests of Australia and the Northern Territory as well as getting the best environmental outcomes and that policy work is being done at the moment.

6. Given the advantages of natural gas – it’s abundant and cheap, has less greenhouse emissions than coal and oil, and the technology is proven – do you see its use one day extended widely to motor vehicles? Motorists are fed up with escalating gasoline prices.

Henderson:   Again, in terms of Australia’s energy market, we have a deregulated energy market and certainly the economics are going to drive decisions about what technology we’re going to invest in in the future, and that would be the same with motor vehicles. If the economics are right to run motor vehicles on gas as opposed to hydrocarbons and petrochemicals then obviously that’s going to be the path that industry goes down and of course if there’s better environmental outcomes that can only be a benefit as well.


7. Do you see the NT benefiting from a bigger national takeup of LNG?

Henderson:   I think again we have to take a good long look at Australia’s energy needs into the future. Certainly it’s an exciting time for the NT.
I’ve just come back from a major visit to Japan and China, and in China certainly where 80% of China’s electricity production is from dirty coal from Anwei province, they’re looking at more nuclear power, more LNG-produced electricity and that can only benefit the NT’s economy and certainly in Australia, most of our power generation is coal-fired, unless they get clean coal right, unless they get carbon sequestration right, I think LNG will be a very viable option for Australia into the future.

8. The NT government is an event partner for SEAAOC, the annual offshore oil and gas forum in Darwin in July. What’s your message for delegates?

Henderson:   My message to delegates would be that my government has a vision for Darwin to be the oil and gas service and supply industry hub for northern Australia and to the region. We’re also a site that is gas ready for further LNG developments; the Northern Territory is open for business; and we’re a ‘can-do’ government that will provide a one-stop shop to facilitate it. I look forward to meeting with delegates in July and certainly promoting to those delegates we’re open for business.
 
MARKETS: Purvin & Gertz launched world LNG outlook service
Monday, 16 June 2008

(EnergyAsia, June 16, Monday) --- Consultant Purvin & Gertz has announced the release of its ‘Global LNG Outlook’, a new service providing analysis on the short-term world LNG market.

The cornerstone of the service is a quarterly publication that will assess the impact of changing LNG market fundamentals and provide an in-depth perspective of the drivers of the market on a monthly basis over the next 2-3 years.

The service will examine the impact of weather, competing fuel prices and economic growth on gas demand, the competition to LNG from domestic and imported pipeline supply, the impact of movements in and out of gas storage and the effect of new gas liquefaction capacity additions on the short-term LNG market.

The service aims to analyse and understand the fundamental factors driving international gas and LNG markets and to assess their impact in terms of spot LNG and traded gas price reaction, quantification of flexible supply availability and the resulting determination of expected LNG trade patterns.

Purvin & Gertz said: “By the end of 2010 global gas liquefaction capacity is scheduled to expand by nearly 90 million tonnes or 45% of end-2007 capacity with much of this expansion occurring in the Middle East.

“This would suggest that global LNG trading patterns will change with the result that recent West-to-East trade will be reversed and marginal LNG output possibly looking for a market. However, if nothing else, recent experiences in the LNG industry have taught us that nothing is certain.

“Gas liquefaction plant construction delays and operating problems continue to cast a cloud over future LNG supply availability while the level of future demand continues to be impacted by major events such as nuclear power plant availability in Japan and hydropower output in Spain.

“The only thing of which we can be certain is that the future will be uncertain. For this reason we see a need in the global LNG market for a service of this nature. Unlike many other publications that provide a high level, anecdotal analysis of global gas markets, Global LNG Outlook provides a unique, in-depth perspective on all aspects of the short-term global LNG market. This is achieved by detailed analysis, our industry expertise, use of our comprehensive in-house databases and application of our existing modeling capabilities.”

Purvin & Gertz is an independent energy consulting firm providing technical, commercial and strategic advice.
 
CLIMATE CHANGE: Oilsands used in US refineries will lead to higher output of greenhouse gases
Wednesday, 11 June 2008

(EnergyAsia, June 11, Wednesday) --- Two green lobbies have charged that US refiners will produce much more greenhouse gases processing Canada’s oilsands than if they used ‘traditional’ crude oil.

The Washington DC-based Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) and Toronto-headquartered Environmental Defence Canada (EDC) said the emissions production increase would be the equivalent of 16 new refineries in the US.

In a joint statement, they said: “Future oil refining in the US may soon get much ‘dirtier’ -- including three times more greenhouse gas emissions in the extraction process -- as refineries place their bets on a shift away from traditional crude oil to Canadian tar sands.”

The report, ‘Tar Sands:  Feeding US Refinery Expansions With Dirty Fuel,’ said that two thirds, or the equivalent of 1.1 million barrels per day (b/d), of the currently proposed increase in US refining capacity of 1.6 million bpd would come from refining heavier, dirtier crude oil from Canadian oilsands.

More than 800,000 b/d of existing US refining capacity is to be converted to processing regular crude from oilsands, so that conventional refining capacity is expected to undergo a net decrease of over 300,000 b/d. The total net increase in refining capacity to come from oilsands would be over 1.9 million b/d, said the report.

Since the average capacity of a US refinery is 116,395 b/d, the planned 1.9 million b/d of increased oilsands capacity would be equal to constructing more than 16 new refineries dedicated to using oilsands.

The increased oilsands refining capacity includes the following: Illinois and Texas (495,000 b/d), Indiana (205,000 b/d), Louisiana (180,000 b/d), Michigan (15,000 b/d), Montana (13,000 b/d), North Dakota (65,000 b/d), Ohio (316,120 b/d), Oklahoma (44,700 b/d), South Dakota (400,000 b/d) and Wisconsin (200,000 b/d). 

Eric Schaeffer, director of EIP, said: “It is hard to imagine what else it is that the US oil industry could do to go backwards further and faster than to rely on Canadian tar sands or similar resources in the US.  Not only would this mean significantly more pollution overall, but it would substantially boost the greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming.  The US government needs to get more involved in this situation to ensure that we do not end up with an environmental setback of truly staggering proportions.”

Matt Price, project manager for Alberta/BC Energy and Climate and a member of Environmental Defence Canada, said:

“The tar sands project is the most destructive project on Earth. Nowhere else are we talking about ripping up an area the size of Florida, creating massive toxic lakes you can see from space with the naked eye, and giving off three times the greenhouse gas emissions to produce oil when compared with conventional crude.
 
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Kayan signs US$6 billion financing agreements for petrochemical complex
Wednesday, 11 June 2008

(EnergyAsia, June 11, Wednesday) --- An affiliate of the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), the Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company said it has signed US$6 billion worth of financing arrangements for 15 years with a group of banks and financial institutions to finance part of the cost of its new complex in Jubail Industrial City. The complex will be the world’s largest integrated petrochemical complex.

The financing package is diverse and includes local, regional, international, Islamic and export credit agency debt. Saudi Kayan was advised by Arab Banking Corporation, BNP Paribas and Samba.

The initial mandated lead arrangers are ABN AMRO Bank NV, Arab Banking Corporation, BNP Paribas, HSBC Bank plc and Samba Financial Group. The export credit agencies are ECGD, KEIC, K-EXIM and SACE. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is also financing the project while Al Rajhi Banking & Investment Corporation is providing an Islamic working capital facility.

Mutlaq Hamad Al-Morished, Saudi Kayan chairman and SABIC vice president for corporate finance, signed the agreements on behalf of Saudi Kayan.

The complex, currently under construction, is expected to go on-stream in the fourth quarter of 2010 with a total annual capacity of six million tonnes per year of a variety of petrochemical products including ethylene, propylene, polyethylene, polypropylene and ethylene glycol. It will also manufacture specialised products including aminoethanols, aminomethyls, dimethylformamide, dimethylethanol, dimethylethanolamine, ethoxylates, polycarbonate and acetone.

Mr Al-Morished said SABIC’s keenness to diversify the sources of financing for its projects and to optimise the utilisation of available funding sources, especially Islamic financing.

SABIC holds a 35% of the shareholding in Saudi Kayan with a private shareholder, Al Kayan Petrochemical Company, holding 20%. The remaining 45% is held by Saudi shareholders following an initial public offering last year.
 
MALAYSIA: Proserv ties up with Tanjung Offshore Services as part of expansion move
Tuesday, 10 June 2008

(EnergyAsia, June 10, Tuesday) --- Proserv Far East Pte said it has signed a strategic agreement with Malaysian firm Tanjung Offshore Services Sdn Bhd as part of its expansion in the highly active Malaysian oil and gas market.

Proserv said it is positioning its abandonment and decommissioning unit to undertake work in removing mature and damaged offshore structures and wells. Proserv provides flexible and reactive solutions from engineering planning to project management and downhole services.

Tanjung Offshore Services Sdn Bhd, which provides marine vessels, customised engineered equipment, project management, maintenance and parts and additional support services to oil and gas markets, will be Proserv’s agent in Malaysia.

The agreement is the latest step for Proserv to create the world’s most comprehensive abandonment and decommissioning company.

To facilitate the introduction of the abandonment and decommissioning unit in Asia, Proserv has appointed Mike Urbigkit as general manager for the Kuala Lumpur operations.

He said: “The partnership with Tanjung Offshore Services is strategically important for Proserv because it’s a company that’s well established in the area, and will provide us with a new network of locations. We already have facilities in Australia and Singapore, but the base in Kuala Lumpur will give us a better reach into the large Malaysian market, placing us in a stronger position to serve existing clients and follow up new leads.”

Omar bin Khalid, Tanjung’s managing director, said: “I am extremely positive about the prospects the partnership will bring. We have targeted a number of projects for Proserv’s Abandonment and Decommissioning SBU, and there is considerable interest in its products and services.

“Already Proserv has secured one tender and two other projects of interest. With an active business development team in place, I am confident that together, a substantial hub will be established within the next 24 months.”
 
JAPAN: The Green Grid expands into Asia
Monday, 09 June 2008

(EnergyAsia, June 9, Monday) --- The Green Grid, a global consortium dedicated to advancing energy efficiency in data centers and business computing ecosystems, said it has formed two new Japan Work Groups as well as a formal relationship with The Green IT Promotion Council.

In response to industry and government demand, The Green Grid said it is extending its IT energy efficiency advocacy to Asia. The new Japan work groups will enable it to establish a unique set of best practices, metrics and technologies tailored for locally-based organisations.

The Green Grid Japanese member companies include GMO Hosting, Fujitsu Limited, Fujitsu FIP Corporation, Hitachi, Ltd., Internet Initiative Japan Inc., ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation, NEC Corporation, Nomura Research Institute, NTT COMWARE Corporation, NTT DATA CORPORATION, NTT Facilities, SOFTBANK IDC Corp and TEPCO.

“The Green Grid is responding to a long and strong history in Japan to improve data center energy efficiency,” said John Tuccillo, director of The Green Grid. “The launch of these new work groups will position The Green Grid to make strategic, tailored recommendations to Japanese businesses and organizations, with the goal to promote a sustained increase in energy efficiency.”

Reporting to the group’s technical committee, the Japan Data Collection and Analysis Work Group will be chartered with collecting and analysing data from The Green Grid’s Japanese member companies and to ensure that consortium recommendations are tailored appropriately for organisations in the country.

The Japan Communications Work Group will also promote the key findings of the technical committee to Japanese IT professionals including data centre managers, serve as a point of engagement for local organisations interested in collaborating with The Green Grid, and support local marketing and IT energy efficiency events.

The Green Grid said it also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Japan’s Green IT Promotion Council (GIPC) to exchange information and jointly work on improving IT energy efficiency. The MOU will allow both organisations to convey relevant information to their members.

GIPC President Tsutomu Handa said: “The Green IT Promotion Council recognises global warming as a crucial challenge that must be taken on immediately. Recent government initiatives, a strengthening of partnerships among industry, government and the academy, as well as this collaboration with The Green Grid, typify the enhancement of relations with organisations overseas. We have high hopes that through these efforts we will be able to make the concepts of ‘energy conservation for IT’ and ‘energy conservation by IT’ a reality.”

“The Green Grid is pleased to expand our ecosystem of industry partners by working with GIPC to promote energy efficient IT policies and educate users on steps they can take to improve IT energy efficiency,” said Jon Haas, a representative of The Green Grid. “This collaboration will allow The Green Grid to learn from and integrate established policies with best practices and metrics tailored for the Japanese IT community.”

Information on the new Japan Work Groups can be found on www.thegreengrid.org/japanese.
 
CHINA: Flowserve to supply valves for two Westinghouse AP1000T nuclear power plants
Monday, 09 June 2008

(EnergyAsia, June 9, Monday) --- Flowserve Corporation, a leading global provider of fluid motion and control products and services, said it will supply main steam isolation valves for the first two Westinghouse Electric Company AP1000T nuclear power plant projects in China as part of a multi-million dollar (USD) contract. The Flowserve valve is the first valve purchased for use with the new Westinghouse AP1000 reactor.

The new plants are to be located in Sanmen, Zhejiang province, and Haiyang, Shandong province.

The first of these new plants is expected to be operational in 2013, the second in 2014. Flowserve booked this Westinghouse order during the first quarter of 2008.

The Flowserve Edward gate valves and actuators that will be used in the project are designed to be capable of isolating, for plant safety, the Westinghouse AP1000 reactor main steam pipelines in 3 to 5 seconds, and are the largest Flowserve valves of this type ever built.

“We take great pride in earning the first valve order from Westinghouse for their new passive AP1000 nuclear power plant design, and look forward to serving this customer with additional Flowserve products in the future,” said Tom Pajonas, president of the Flowserve Flow Control Division.

“We have a leadership position in the global nuclear power industry as a result of our aftermarket experience and capabilities, our large global installed base, and our excellent performance and safety record.”

The Westinghouse AP1000 plant design is considered one of the safest designs ever built, while using 50% fewer safety-related valves, 80 percent less safety-related piping, and 85% less control cable. The new passive design also utilises gravity in lieu of mechanical equipment to provide emergency cooling water flow.

China selected Westinghouse to build four AP1000 nuclear power plants, and this contract represents the first valve production order in the world for this Westinghouse design.

Operating in more than 55 countries, Flowserve produces engineered and industrial pumps, seals and valves as well as a range of related flow management services.
 
SINGAPORE: Terrapinn’s ‘Carbon Finance Asia 2008’ to be held at Grand Hyatt from October 7 to 10.
Friday, 06 June 2008

(EnergyAsia, June 6, Friday) ---  ‘Carbon Finance Asia 2008’, an event by Terrapinn, will be held at the Grand Hyatt from October 7 to 10.

Under the Kyoto Protocol and other policies to combat climate change, projects that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases also generate a valuable new commodity.

The sale of emission reduction units or ‘carbon credits’ can significantly boost financial returns on climate-friendly projects. Carbon finance provides a means of leveraging new private and public investment into projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, thereby mitigating climate change while contributing to sustainable development.

Two billion or more of carbon credits are expected to be generated over the next five years under the Kyoto Protocol’s first stage. The trade could be worth upwards of $40 billion worldwide over that period based on current prices.

Capitalising on the success of  last year’s ‘Carbon Finance Asia’, this year’s event will continue to provide a platform for international CERs buyers and investors meet carbon project owners and developers in Asia to discuss potential deals and partnership opportunities.

The event will facilitate the meeting of buyers and sellers of CERs across Asia’s key CDM projects and showcase key CDM projects from Asia, latest carbon funds and trading activities in the Asia Pacific region.

Topics addressed include global supply and demand of carbon credits, regulation and policy developments, investment opportunities, corporate carbon footprint, CDM projects validation, verification and contracting, pricing and trading of carbon credits, acquisition of carbon credits for the different industries.

For more information on ‘Carbon Finance Asia 2008’, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
 
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