Honeywell Builds ICSS for BP Offshore Platform
The U.S. engineering and automation conglomerate Honeywell International said that it has been chosen to design and deliver an integrated control and safety system (ICSS) to remotely support BP’s Cassia compression platform located offshore Trinidad and Tobago.The Cassia compression project involves the installation of a new platform, Cassia C, for compressing the gas produced by the nearby existing fields in the Greater Cassia Area.BP Trinidad and Tobago (BPTT), held by BP (70%) and Repsol (30%), is the owner and operator for the Cassia C platform.
O&G Industry Aligns for Fight Against CyberCrime
Cybercrimes cost energy and utilities companies an average of $12.8 million each year in lost business and damaged equipment1. Platform operators need confidence that countermeasures can deal with bigger and more sophisticated cyber-attacks. DNV GL is now collaborating with Shell, Statoil, Lundin, Siemens, Honeywell, ABB, Emerson and Kongsberg Maritime to develop best practice in addressing this threat. Other companies are still welcome to join. Cyber security is a growing issue in the oil and gas sector since critical network segments in production sites…
Abruzzese to Head Quality & Operational Excellence at ABB
ABB has appointed Pascale Abruzzese as head of Group Quality and Operational Excellence. Abruzzese, a British national, is currently Chief of Operations for Philips International. He succeeds Bill Black who is retiring after seven years in the role. Abruzzese, born in 1966, is an acknowledged global expert in operations and quality management with more than 20 years’ experience in the areas of business transformation, operations and quality management. He was instrumental in the implementation of the Honeywell Operating System…
ClearSign Inks Tesoro Emissions System Deal
ClearSign Combustion Corp, a small company whose technology helps refiners cut nitrogen oxide emissions, has signed a deal with Tesoro Corp to retrofit a Los Angeles refinery heater with a combustion control system. The refinery, which supplies 50 percent of the jet fuel used by Los Angeles International Airport, is aiming to halve nitrogen oxide emissions by 2020, a goal set by the local air pollution control agency. U.S. companies are spending more to reduce emissions as the Obama administration steps up efforts to curb pollution.
Honeywell Unit Probed in Toxic Gas Leak in Illinois
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it has begun a special inspection at Honeywell Metropolis Works in Illinois to assess a uranium hexafluoride leak that occurred during maintenance activity on Saturday evening. No one at the facility was injured, and the company reported that no uranium hexafluoride was released past the site boundary, the commission said in a statement on Monday. Uranium hexafluoride is a toxic gas and is usually stored in large canisters. Honeywell officials indicated the leak was on the sixth floor of the plant's feed materials building, the NRC said.
Texas LNG Continues Progress in Regulatory Process
Texas LNG Brownsville LLC announced that on May 14, 2015, Resource Reports #1 and #10 were submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in accordance with the FERC NEPA Pre-fling process schedule for the proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Brownsville, Texas. Resource Report #1 – General Project Description - provides a detailed overview of Project facilities including plot plans, schedules, and required permits. Resource Report #10 – Alternatives - describes the selection process for Project location, process and power generation, and site layout configuration.
GE CEO to Meet EU Antitrust Chief Now Probing Alstom Bid
General Electric's chief executive, Jeff Immelt, will meet the EU's antitrust chief on Tuesday, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday, amid an ongoing investigation into the U.S. group's 12.4-billion-euro ($13.8 billion) bid for Alstom. Immelt will meet European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager in the afternoon, said the source. GE is now seeking to convince the European Commission to approve the Alstom deal without concessions. The company has a checkered history with the EU executive…
GE Profit Rises Despite Flagging Oil Unit Sales
General Electric Co reported a 9 percent rise in quarterly industrial profit on Friday as its businesses that sell power-generating turbines and jet engines helped offset weak sales in its oil and gas unit. Investors have been concerned that plunging oil prices will hurt GE's sales of oil equipment if customers slash spending. Orders in the unit also fell. "It's going to be an albatross ... as long as energy prices stay low," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management. GE Chief Executive Officer Jeff Immelt said the U.S.
Low Oil Prices Buoy Profits for Other Sectors
Equity investors may see a fourth-quarter earnings boost from transportation, retail and industrial companies, all seen as big beneficiaries of last year's oil price collapse. Early reports and analyst data suggest solid increases in these areas because of increased consumer spending and reduced input costs. For the whole S&P 500, any upbeat earnings surprises could offset some of the pressure expected from energy names, whose fourth-quarter profits are expected to have declined 22.1 percent from a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data.
US Nuclear Regulators Probing Leak at Honeywell Uranium Plant
U.S. nuclear regulators are investigating a leak of uranium hexafluoride that occurred on Sunday at an Illinois plant operated by Honeywell International Inc where union workers have been locked out. Honeywell confirmed the Sunday evening leak at its Metropolis, Illinois plant, saying it was due to an equipment failure. There were no injuries and no reason to believe anyone was endangered by the leak, according to Honeywell. An inspector from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission started an investigation at the plant on Tuesday, said NRC spokesman Roger Hannah.
PES to Begin Operating Benzene Terminal in November
Philadelphia Energy Solutions plans to start operating a new benzene offtake terminal next month at its 335,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Philadelphia, two people familiar with the plans said. While most U.S. refiners are either selling benzene or refining it further, Philadelphia Energy Solutions is using the new terminal to help bring the chemical into the facility, according to an IPO document filed last month. The benzene facility is the latest step in building up infrastructure at a plant that was nearly shuttered in 2012.
Low Oil Prices Spark Caution for Diverse US Manufacturers
The shaky global economy already has pressured shares of diversified U.S. manufacturers, and many of these industrial companies face another worry: the drop in oil prices. The concern for these manufacturers is that oil and gas customers will reduce their capital spending because of fears of a lack of return with energy prices low. Two manufacturers with significant exposure to oil markets, General Electric Co and Honeywell International Inc , said in interviews they did not see any short-term impact, but that sustained lower prices could alter the picture.
White House Partners with Industry to Tackle Greenhouse Gas
The White House on Tuesday announced steps to tackle a potent greenhouse gas used in refrigeration and air conditioning, of which the United States is the world's largest producer, a week ahead of a major UN summit focused on addressing climate change. The Obama administration unveiled a batch of voluntary private sector commitments and executive actions to phase out the use of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which would result in the equivalent reduction of 700 million tonnes of carbon dioxide through 2025.
New Middle East Refinery to Produce Honeywell's Green Fuels
UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, says that its green fuels process technology has been selected by Petrixo Oil & Gas to produce renewable jet fuel and renewable diesel at a new refinery to be built in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. Petrixo will use UOP Renewable Jet Fuel process technology to process approximately 500,000 metric tons per year of renewable feedstocks into renewable jet fuel and renewable diesel, also known as Honeywell Green Jet Fuel and Honeywell Green Diesel. The process technology is capable of processing a variety of renewable feedstocks.
Ohio Governor Freezes State's Clean Energy Law
Ohio Governor John Kasich on Friday signed legislation to freeze a six-year old law that required utilities to sell increasing amounts of green energy, making the state the first in the country to roll back a clean energy mandate. Kasich, a Republican mentioned as a possible contender for the 2016 presidential race, signed Senate Bill 310, which passed in the state's legislature with strong support from some of Ohio's biggest industrial power users, such as Alcoa, and the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.
Honeywell to Automate Canadian Oil Sands Project
Honeywell Process Solutions says it was selected by Suncor Energy to provide automation systems for a new multi-billion dollar Fort Hills Oil Sands project in Alberta, Canada. Honeywell will supply technology to integrate the site’s control and safety systems, manage alarms, and provide advanced simulation software that enables critical operations planning and operator training. As the Main Automation Contractor (MAC), Honeywell will play a key role in helping the facility achieve its future productivity and operational efficiency goals. The facility is expected to be operational in late 2017.
GE In Talks To Buy Alstom's Power Arm
U.S. industrial conglomerate General Electric Co is in advanced talks to buy the global power division of struggling French engineering group Alstom SA for about $13 billion, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. Sources said a deal was backed by Alstom's main shareholder, French conglomerate Bouygues with 29 percent, and could be announced in the coming days after an Alstom board meeting on Friday afternoon. The board was due to meet again on Sunday to discuss the transaction, French daily Le Figaro said.
NASA Chief Engineer to Speak at SPE Conference
The chief engineer of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) will be the guest speaker at the opening scene-setter session and at the ‘ice-breaker’ drinks reception at the SPE Intelligent Energy Conference and Exhibition in Utrecht, the Netherlands from April 1-3, 2014. Brian Muirhead works at the forefront of the some of the greatest technical and management challenges in the world today. A recipient of two of NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medals, he recently completed his assignment as the chief architect of NASA’s Constellation project…
