Latest News from home & Abroad

The Holy Grail of energy

Researchers from Canada and Japan appear to have unlocked the Holy Grail of energy supply after achieving test flows from a methane gas hydrate just below the seafloor off British Colombia's (BC) McKenzie Delta, some 850m beneath the waves. With BP, Chevron and Japan National Oil Corp. in support, the team at Mallik, BC confirmed that they had successfully disturbed the pressure balance keeping gas molecules trapped in iced water molecules. The Mallik team flared from ice for six days at rates akin to a coalbed methane well. Gas hydrate fields line the coasts of every continent, and are said to pack more energy than conventional natural gas for being frozen and compressed. Scientists have long calculated that they contain more energy than all the world's coal, oil and conventional gas. In 2002, an expanded consortium with seven international partners undertook a production research well program that included the drilling of a 1200m deep research well. Full-scale field experiments involved over 100 international researchers in an effort to monitor and understand the depressurizing hydates.

Valve actuation framework

Rotork has won a landmark third term framework agreement for the supply of electric valve actuators to Thames Water (UK). The exclusive agreement, described as “amongst the most prestigious contracts available to manufacturers such as Rotork”, runs for a minimum period of three years. The majority of actuators involved will be IQ and IQT models, of which Thames Water now has a huge installed base.

Compressor testing begins

More than 50 guests turned out for the start of the world's first full-scale subsea compression test at StatoilHydro's Kårstø Laboratory (K-lab) at the Kårstø gas processing plant in western Norway on 21 April. ”This is a unique technology testing endeavour crucial for assessing subsea compression as a possible solution for offshore fields like Åsgard and Mikkel,” says Rolv Herfjord, StatoilHydro Åsgard Minimum Flow Project manager. “If the testing is successful, we can assess using subsea installations instead of offshore platforms.” “K-lab is a facility that can analyse, test and qualify various types of gas processing equipment - including subsea compressors and pumps, high-pressure separation units, multi-phase meters, valves and pipeline pigs - all in full scale,” says K-lab manager Trond Austrheim, StatoilHydro Technology & New Energy. K-lab is particularly well suited to carry out full-scale testing and qualifying of subsea compressors in realistic conditions. Two compressor prototypes - a MAN Turbo and Siemens unit - will be tested at K-lab over a two-year period. The MAN Turbo unit was installed this past winter and the Siemens compressor will be ready for trials in 2009. K-lab is 100% owned by StatoilHydro, but also does projects for equipment suppliers.

Safety valves for gas cylinders

According to a senior official, all domestic gas users in Dubai will have new cylinder valves with improved safety features. The changeover will be executed with immediate effect in Dubai by Emirates Gas in partnership with Emarat. The valves and regulators are available from all authorised LPG cylinder distributors for a one-off payment of Dh40. The new valve has several advanced safety features and is being introduced after extensive research and trials. It has a short one-piece body with high impact strength. It also has a protective gasket preventing the entry of dust and water and a self-closing valve preventing accidental leaks. The regulator is equipped with an automatic cut-off mechanism to stop the flow of gas in case of a leak or cut in the rubber hose. The cylinder valve will close in case of a fire. The current cylinders when empty will be exchanged for a cylinder with a new valve by the distributor. Cylinders with this new valve can be operated only by a regulator supplied by Emirates Gas or Emarat. It is estimated that about 1000 cylinders with new valves will be changed per day.

Russia: refinery and oil port

Oleg Kolyadin, Mayor of Nakhodka, Russia, has announced that national oil company Rosneft will begin construction on an oil refinery with an approximate capacity of 428,500bpd in the Nakhodka region this spring. Rosneft President Sergey Bogdanchikov said in March that the declaration of intent for the project has been signed. Akseks has been selected as the contractor. A feasibility study has been drafted, and a site for the project has been picked. Mr Kolyadin said that upon completion of the project's first phase at the oil tanking port for the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline at Kozmino Bay, the port's annual tanking capability will increase to about 321,400bpd. A generation station will be built at the site to provide power to the refinery, port and the surrounding city. Besides the Nakhodka project, Rosneft plans to invest USD 1 billion to establish another refinery in Komsomolsk, Ukraine, by the Amur River between 2008 and 2012. Rosneft plans to produce about 2.79 million BPD of petroleum in 2010 and about 3.43 million BPD in 2015.

India: Koderma power project

Damodar Valley Corp. has issued a letter of acceptance to The Kirloskar Brothers for the water system package at 1000MW Koderma thermal power project stage I in Jharkhand. The total value of the contract is INR 166.77 crore. The scope of work involves supply and installation of balance of plant package. It also includes construction, erection, testing, inspection and commissioning and handing over of the project including all associated electrical civil, structural and architectural work as specified.

The Netherlands: combined-cycle power plants

Nuon aims to build two efficient gas-fired power plants at existing production locations in the province of Noord-Holland, in The Netherlands. At its Hemweg site in Amsterdam, Nuon plans to build a gas-fired power plant with a capacity of 500MWe to replace the current gas-fired power plant. In Diemen, Nuon plans to expand its facilities with a combined-heat and power plant of the same capacity. The development of these plants is reportedly part of Nuon's wider strategy to modernize its generation infrastructure. Nuon has decided to develop the locations to make use of the existing infrastructure and cooling water supply. Both plants will reportedly utilize combined-cycle gas turbine units. Nuon expects the definitive investment decision for the construction of these power plants to be taken in 18 months time.

Oman: power and desalination plant Oman Power & Water Procurement Co. said that it has short listed eight international firms for the construction of a 400MW power and water desalination plant in Salalah. The eight firms include: US-based General Electric; Spain-based Union Fenosa; Japan-based Mitsui; Japan-based Marubeni; Malaysia-based Malakoff; Australia-based Transfield Services Infrastructure; Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala; and Singapore-based SembCorp. The bids are expected to be opened on 12 May 2008, with the contract awarded three to four months later. The project will be awarded on a build, own, operate and transfer basis. The desalination plant will supply 15 million gallons of water per day. The power plant is expected to be in operation in the summer of 2009, while the desalination plant will be operational by mid-2010.

Profibus and Profinet User Conference

During the workshop sessions of the Annual UK Profibus and Profinet User Conference (24-25 June 2008 at Stratford Manor, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire), practical demonstrations of fieldbus-based system health monitoring and diagnostics will be offered. This conference will use a multi-stream presentation approach, to allow delegates to choose attendance at either the main Conference, the Workshops or the Exhibition. In parallel with the main two-day conference, which presents the latest technology developments in fieldbuses, and examples of Profibus and Profinet applications, there will be a set of workshop presentations providing a hands-on practical approach. These Workshop sessions will demonstrate the application of diagnostics and health checking tools, in four sessions covering both Profibus PA and DP installations, and Profinet installations. These are the procedures that would be used during commissioning or troubleshooting on fieldbus installations, and involve health monitoring of both the sensors and the system wiring.

VDMA sees valve market growth

According to the VDMA valves manufacturers association, the German manufacturers of industrial valves saw a nominal increase in sales of 14% in 2007. This result is even slightly better than the previous year's positive development (plus 13%). Home sales rose by 12% and foreign sales increased by 16% compared to the previous year. As in the previous year, the control valves manufacturers achieved the best result with an increase in sales of 18%. However, the manufacturers of safety/monitoring and isolating valves also recorded an encouraging increase in sales of respectively 17 and 11%. Again, this positive trend in terms of sales was countered by high costs caused by a double-digit increase of material prices (for instance unalloyed merchant / flat steel: + 22%). For 2008, the valves manufacturers association expects an increase in sales of ten percent on the domestic market and of 12% on the exports markets. As a result, total sales would rise by approximately 11%. The industry expects particular impulses from the power plant business, the petrochemical industry, the iron and steel industry, the chemical industry as well as from the shipbuilding industry. Public water supply and wastewater management remain a topic of major concern, although the general conditions for higher investment have improved.

Profibus water project management training

The Endress+Hauser two-day Profibus Project Management Seminar offers delegates real experience in the implementation and management of Profibus projects for the water and wastewater industry. The seminar covers Profibus technology, components and operation, and also provides solid “how to” advice coupled with live demonstrations. The cost of the two-day seminar is GBP 465 per person (inclusive of VAT). This includes lunch and refreshments, a complimentary memory stick containing all seminar presentations, notes and sample documentation together with a certificate of attendance. The next seminar in this series is from 24-25 April 2008. The seminar includes: Profibus DP and PA: Principles of operation. Networking components and selection. Design rules and practical considerations. Hazardous area considerations; Project Management: Managing every phase of a Profibus project. Documentation recommendations. Design process from conceptual to FAT, SAT. Worked studies from the water industry; Life Cycle Management: Cyclic and acyclic data exchange between components. Types of asset management systems. Benefits you should expect; Building asset management into your architecture. Live demonstrations; and System Test and Health Check: Network testing and commissioning. Why you should have health checks. Network health check using typical test specification. Tool used; Live demonstrations.

H2O acquires

H2O Innovation, a provider of membrane technologies and biological processes, has acquired Wastewater Technology Inc., a manufacturer of patented bioreactors, activated sludge, and MBR (membrane bioreactor) technologies. The acquisition brings patented wastewater treatment technologies to H2O, with a project list of 70 wastewater treatment systems installed throughout the US, eastern Europe, and China for the municipal, commercial, and industrial sectors. H2O will also gain 15 manufacturing agents and representatives.

Gulltopp well sets record

StatoilHydro has drilled a well almost 10km long and almost completely horizontal. Titled the Gulltopp well and located on the Gullfaks field, the well provides the company with valuable knowhow and great revenues. The drilling equipment on Gullfaks A must be reinforced several times in order to complete the record-long and almost horizontal well. The red-letter day on the Gullfaks A platform in the North Sea was 8 April 2008. The most complicated well in StatoilHydro's history was successfully completed and hydrocarbons were flowing up through the well at 9910m. This is thus the longest producing well in the world drilled from an offshore platform. The Gulltopp well is a result of the distance from the nearest platform. It is 10km from Gullfaks to the oil discovery. Gulltopp will, together with other prospects in the area, secure continued Gullfaks operations towards 2030. An extensive plan for how to extend the life of the field, which came on stream back in 1986, has been developed. The 10km drill pipe was controlled from the drilling rig at the sea surface. It was run 150m down to the seabed, and then kilometre after kilometre through various types of rock strata.

Model 6081-P wireless pH transmitter

Emerson Process Management has added the Rosemount Analytical® Model 6081-P wireless pH transmitter to its growing Smart Wireless plant solutions. Closely following approval of the WirelessHART standard, the new field device is the industry's first wireless pH/ORP transmitter. The new wireless Model 6081-P measures both pH and ORP and is compatible with most Rosemount Analytical pH and ORP sensors. The transmitter features two-line, 16-character display with simple and intuitive menu screens and plain language prompts in six local languages that guide the user through programming and calibration procedures. The transmitter's open, standard WirelessHART digital communications provide access to process variables and essential diagnostic and troubleshooting information. The diagnostics enable continuous monitoring for problems such as calibration error, high and low temperature warnings, glass failure, reference failure, ROM failure, sensor failure, CPU failure, glass and reference warnings. The 6081-P communicates with other wireless components in field networks within Emerson's Smart Wireless plant infrastructure. Field networks use self-organizing wireless mesh radio frequency communications technology to deliver 99% reliable communications supported by proven security. SmartPower™ technology delivers 3 to 5 year battery life for the pH transmitter and 5 to 15 year life for other Smart Wireless transmitters dependent on application.

Romania: CC power plant

Petrom has signed a contract with a consortium formed by General Electric and Metka of Greece, for the construction of a power plant at Brazi, Romania. According to the contract, the consortium will build and deliver by September 2011, a gas-fired combined-cycle power plant. The value of the contract exceeds EUR 400 million. Around 20% of the plant's capacity will be used for covering Petrom's own power consumption, while the rest will be sold on the Romanian power market. The plant will be located at its Petrobrazi refinery site.

Romania: CC power plant

Petrom has signed a contract with a consortium formed by General Electric and Metka of Greece, for the construction of a power plant at Brazi, Romania. According to the contract, the consortium will build and deliver by September 2011, a gas-fired combined-cycle power plant. The value of the contract exceeds EUR 400 million. Around 20% of the plant's capacity will be used for covering Petrom's own power consumption, while the rest will be sold on the Romanian power market. The plant will be located at its Petrobrazi refinery site.

India: petrochemical unit at Bina

Bharat Oman Refinery Ltd (BORL), a 50:50 JV between Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd and Oman Oil Co., will construct a petrochemical plant near its upcoming 6 million tonnes per annum crude oil refinery at Bina in Madhya Pradesh. BORL is reported to have approached the Madhya Pradesh government, seeking 1000 acres of land to construct the petrochemical unit.

FF presentation at Reading

Foundation Fieldbus (FF) will provide a multi-vendor presentation on fieldbus systems at the Madejski Stadium on the 9th of April at a special workshop event aimed at EPC contractors in the Reading, UK area. The full programme will be chaired by Mike O'Neill of MooreHawke, who will also be involved in a full presentation discussing “Process Integrity and Control in the Field” (including status and measurement validation, fault tolerance, etc). Bill Gibbons of Yokogawa will discuss “Open Scaleable Integration” (including Hazardous Areas, high power trunk, multi-variable measurements, device testing, DDs and function blocks), followed by Travis Hesketh from Emerson, discussing Business Intelligence (including cost benefits, project savings and predictive maintenance). The “Practical implementation of FF loops using devices from multiple vendors” is the subject of a discussion led by Tony Alexander of Honeywell, illustrated by the practical demonstrations that will be available throughout the day, of working, multiple-vendor hardware connected to the various host systems. Break-out sessions will allow a hands-on examination of these aspects of the presentation content, and the speakers will be available for further discussions through the lunch and coffee breaks.

India: Vijaipur Dadri Bawana pipeline

Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) is progressing steadily with the implementation of its Rs 4000 crore Vijaipur-Dadri-Bawana pipeline project. According to the plan chalked out by GAIL, the pipeline is targeted to be completed by January 2010, and commissioned by the end of March 2010. In this regard, the gas major has initiated a number of activities to meet the completion deadline of January 2010. In this context, Piping and Instrument Diagrams have been issued for the compressor station to be based in Jhabua as well as the process data sheet for a compressor and after coolers at Vijaipur. Material Requisitions for the Rev B pipeline ball valves and coated line pipe have also been issued. The NIT for ball valves has already been issued. Also, the NIT for topographical and geotech surveys for the Jhabua and Vijaipur compressor stations has already been issued. Progress S-curves are currently under finalisation.

Canada: subsea contract

Technip has been awarded by Husky Oil Operations Ltd, a subsidiary of Husky Energy, a major engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning contract for the development of the White Rose oil field's North Amethyst Satellite. The contract is worth EUR 190 million. It includes engineering, fabrication and installation of 23.7km of flexible flowlines and 5.4km of umbilicals, the installation of manifolds and associated pipework. Technip's operating center in St. John's, Canada, will execute this contract. The flowlines will be manufactured at one of the Group's flexible pipe plants, in Le Trait, France. The umbilicals will be manufactured at one of the Group's umbilical plants, in Newcastle, UK. Offshore installation is scheduled for 2009, using Technip's vessels Deep Pioneer and Wellservicer.

China: Wanzhou natural gas purification plant

China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) (Beijing) has began construction on a USD 42 million natural gas purification plant in Wanzhou City, the economic center of the Three Gorges Reservoir area. The plant, on 5.3 hectares of land, will treat 2 million cum per day of raw natural gas to provide an annual natural gas purification capacity of 600 million cum. The plant will use methyl diethanolamine in natural gas desulfurization, triethylene glycol will be used in the dehydration process, and heat stress granules technology will be adopted for sulfur recycling.

China: Sinopec plans refinery

Sinopec Group has proposed building a 300,000b/d refinery in Zhejiang province. The proposal by the parent of Sinopec Corp., in conjunction with the local government, includes a 1 million tns/yr ethylene cracker. The proposal, to be considered by China's National Development and Reform Commission, is part of an effort to replace small, inefficient plants with large ones that often include chemical units to boost competitiveness.

Australia: Callide Oxyfuel project

Australian and Japanese partners, have reached an agreement for the construction of what will be Australia's first demonstration power station using clean coal technology to produce low emission electricity. Construction of the USD 206 million Callide Oxyfuel project at Biloela in Central Queensland will begin early next year with the 30MW power station scheduled to start producing electricity by the end of 2010. The project is a collaborative effort funded by the Federal Government, the Queensland Government-owned CS Energy, the Australian Coal Association's COAL21 Fund, Xstrata Coal, Schlumberger, the Japanese Government and Japanese participants, JPower, Mitsui & Co. and IHI Corp. It will see the retrofitting of a coal-fired boiler at Callide A power station with oxy-firing technology which will burn coal in a mixture of oxygen and recirculated flue gases. This will create a highly concentrated stream of carbon dioxide suitable for capture and storage deep underground in geological formations west of the power station using a process known as carbon capture and storage or geosequestration.

Turkey: gas-fired power plant

Sabanci/Verbund joint venture Enerjisa has finalised EPC contract negotiations and has given an investment decision for the construction of a 920MW gas-fired power plant project in Bandrma, Turkey by consortium Mitsubishi Heavy Industries/A-TEC PPS. Enerjisa, jointly owned and controlled by H.Ö. Sabanc Holding and Österreichische Elektrizitätswirtschafts-Aktiengesellschaft (Verbund), has finalized with the jointly liable consortium consisting of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) and Austrian A-TEC Power Plant Systems AG its EPC contract negotiations in January 2008 and has given the green light for project implementation. With the consortium Mitsubishi Heavy Industries/A-TEC PPS, Enerjisa aims for commercial operation of the Bandsrma power plant in the autumn of 2010.

Chile: power plants

POSCO Engineering & Construction Co., an unlisted unit of POSCO, has secured orders worth USD 1.31 billion to build power plants in Chile. POSCO E&C won the orders from AES Gener, a Chilean unit of the US-based power company AES Corp., to build coal power plants in Ventanas and Antofagasta. Under the contract POSCO E&C plans to undertake engineering, procurement and construction works for the facilities, which are due for completion by 2011.

Kuwait-Japan: refinery and petrochemical complex

Kuwaiti and Japanese oil companies will formally embark on their first-ever joint project to build a refinery in a third country, with Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) being expected to shoulder about USD 600 million of the funds. A signing ceremony of the joint venture deal took place in Hanoi on 7 April 2008. KPI, an international arm of state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corp., and Japan's third-biggest refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co. will evenly own a 35.1% stake in the venture to construct a USD 5.8 billion petrochemical complex with a refining capacity of 200,000bpd in northern Vietnam. State-owned PetroVietnam will hold 25.1% and Mitsui Chemicals Inc. 4.7% respectively. Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC, slated to be set up in June with a capitalization of USD 200 million, will spend two years in studying basic equipment design, economic efficiency, and finance scheme to determine whether to build the plant. If realized, construction of the refinery and petrochemical complex will start as early as 2010, aiming to be operational late 2013.

Bina project continues unabated

BPCL has placed a series of orders to speed up the Bina Refinery project activities. Orders have been placed for pilot-operated safety valves, the pump cent horx, pressure vessels and the pipe-welded and stack analyser system. Pertinently, the orders it placed recently for eight vessels, 35 heat exchangers, 14 pumps and fans for the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) have all been realised. Bids have been received for electrical work on the Crude Distillation Unit-Vacuum Distillation Unit (CDU/VDU). Bids were also received for an electricial tender for offsites. In addition, an instrumentation tender for the Crude DistillationUnit/Vacuum Distillation Unit (CDU/VDU) has been issued. A Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) for mechanical and piping work on the Hydrocracker Unit (HCU), the Vacuum Distillation Unit and Delayed Coker Unit (DCU) has also been published. The mechanical and piping works and heater works for the CDU/VDU are under progress.

Australia: gas project

Australia-based Woodside Petroleum Ltd, the operator of the North-West Shelf Venture, said that participants in the project have approved the AUD 5 billion investment to recover the remaining low-pressure gas from the North Rankin and Perseus gas fields off the NW coast of Australia. Woodside, and the five other participants including BHP Billiton, BP Plc., Chevron Corp., Royal Dutch Shell, and Japan Australia LNG (MiMi) Pty Ltd, a joint venture of Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui and Co., all have an equal share in the project. In a separate statement BHP Billiton said it will invest USD 850 million in the project, which will deliver high-value gas supply from the North-West Shelf for another 25 years.

India: third refinery at Jamnagar

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is evaluating a plan to set up its third refinery at Jamnagar in an ambitious project to reach a total capacity of 100 million tonne per annum. It has appointed a global oil and refinery consultancy firm to evaluate the feasibility of the project, which will help capitalize the increased requirement for global crude distillation capacity. RIL has a 33 million tonne per annum refinery at Jamnagar, which is the third largest at a single location in the world. The refinery's capacity is 22.6% of India's total refining capacity. It is also setting up a second refinery near the existing one with a capacity of 29 million tonne per annum. This export-based refinery is being set up under its subsidiary Reliance Petroleum Ltd and is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2008. RIL will require a capacity addition of 38 million tonne per annum through its third refinery at Jamnagar to reach the 100 million tonne per annum capacity.

Lube oil base stock plant Larsen & Toubro has been awarded an INR 576 crore order by Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd for a 200,000tpa lube oil base stock plant, as a part of their quality up gradation project in Mumbai on a lump sum turnkey basis. The plant will consist of a raffinate hydrotreating unit, a mobil selective dewaxing unit and a hydro finishing unit. The scope of work includes residual process design, detailed engineering, procurement, supply, transportation, storage, fabrication, inspection, construction, installation, testing, mechanical completion, pre-commissioning, commissioning and performance guarantee test runs for the proposed project. Jacobs Engineering India has been retained by Hindustan Petroleum Corp. to provide services for project management consultancy and ExxonMobil Research & Engineering of USA is the process licensor.

India: hydropower projects

The Gujarat government is planning mini hydropower projects with a total capacity of 10MW along all major dams in central and south Gujarat. These plants are likely to come up on Karjan, Damanganga and Vanakbori projects in south Gujarat. The Gujarat government has planned 2 units of 1.5MW each on the Karjan project at an investment of INR 16 crore. Similarly, it would invest INR 24.40 crore in the Damanganga project to generate 5.25MW apart from 1MW that will be generated on Vanakbori.

USA: hydroelectric plant a go

The village of Potsdam's second hydroelectric plant has received final approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and officials hope to break ground on the powerhouse this spring. The lengthy FERC process requires engineering, ecological and financial studies. The project has been in the pipeline for 15 years. Before that, a plant on the Raquette River was discussed during the energy crisis of the early 1970s. Now that the west dam powerhouse has been approved, the village will try to complete the plant within the year. The powerhouse design includes two 430kt generators, which are capable of producing 7.5 million kilowatts of energy per year. The plant will be built on village-owned land adjacent to the west dam, next to the former Riverbend Restaurant on Maple Street. It will be housed in a brick building with arched windows and a shingled roof to complement the historic downtown. The site will also feature a canoe launch site and portage trail, as part of the project's recreation plan, also approved by FERC. James E. Sheehan Contracting Corp. of Potsdam has been awarded the USD 1,456,000 general contract to build the plant, while Canadian Turbines Inc. has been awarded a USD 1,387,432 contract to supply the generators. An electrical contract has yet to be awarded, while contingency and miscellaneous costs remain.

South Africa: coal-to-liquids facility

Foster Wheeler Ltd has announced that its South African subsidiary Foster Wheeler South Africa (Pty) Ltd, part of its Global Engineering and Construction Group, has been selected by Sasol Technology (Pty) Ltd to perform a pre-feasibility study for a proposed new coal-to-liquids (CTL) facility, known as Project Mafutha in South Africa. The planned stand-alone greenfield coal-to-liquids facility would produce approximately 80,000bpd of synthetic fuel. A potential location for the facility will be evaluated as part of the study. Project Mafutha ("Mafutha" is a Zulu word for "oil") will involve an integrated CTL process comprising three key process steps for the conversion of coal into primary fuel products (gasoline and diesel); gasification of coal to synthesis gas; Sasol's proprietary low and/or high temperature Fischer-Tropsch processes; and refinery technology for converting the Fischer-Tropsch products into fuel products. The project will also include other processing units, utilities and offsite facilities necessary to support the development. Foster Wheeler's scope for the study will also include the integration of other venture elements, such as the mining operation, into the overall venture scope.

Refinery and petrochemical factory JV

China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) (Beijing) and a subsidiary of Qatar Petroleum have signed an agreement to build a 1 million-ton-per-annum refinery and petrochemical factory. Zhang Xiaoqiang, Vice Chief of China's National Development and Reform Commission, said at the signing ceremony that the demand for petrochemical products in China is high. Therefore, the country is working toward forming more joint ventures in China with foreign countries. Qatar and China will each increase energy investments in the other country. In the near future, the countries' investments in energy are expected to reach into the billions of dollars. It was reported that an initial agreement was reached by the countries as early as November 2007 regarding the construction of a large-scale petrochemical factory in China. The Qatar-China joint venture is speculated to use liquefied petroleum gas as the main raw material and to have a daily processing capacity of 200,000 barrels. The refinery's location has not yet been disclosed, but its completion date is set to be 2013.

Biofuels venture in Mozambique

Galp Energia and Visabeira Mocambique have formed a joint venture titled Mocamgalp to set up a biofuels plant in Mozambique and export vegetable oil for use as biodiesel in Portugal. According to a cooperation memorandum signed during the visit of the Portuguese president to Mozambique, Mocamgalp will find up to 150,000 hectares of land for oilseeds production and transformation into vegetable oil. Mozambique will also use biodiesel from the plant following the agreed allocation of exports to Portugal. The companies said vegetable oil will be processed at Galp Energia's plants and transformed into hydrogenated biodiesel in Portugal. Galp Energia said it would develop a sustainable form of biofuels that would not interfere with the food chain in Mozambique.

Vietnam: refinery, petrochemical complex

Japan-based Idemitsu Kosan Co. and Mitsui Chemicals Inc. will join Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) and Petrovietnam to build a JPY 600 billion petrochemical complex in Vietnam that will include a 200,000b/d refinery. The facility is due to come online in 2013. Feedstock crude will be sourced from Kuwait and fields off Vietnam. Idemitsu plans to sell the refinery's products in Vietnam and other Asian countries, while Mitsui Chemicals will obtain raw materials for synthetic fiber from the petrochemical plant, processing them at its factories across Asia. Pending government approval, the partners will set up a joint venture with the two Japanese firms holding a 40% stake and KPI and Petrovietnam holding the remaining 60%.