Twe jan 15

JANUARY 2015

more than business

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Reinventing Excellence Second generation business leader, Mr Radwan Azam, talks to Total World Energy about his plans for expanding ZAHARA Group further, with a view to becoming the undisputed market leader and the largest producer of petroleum products and derivatives in the Middle East.

TOTAL CLOV

Overcoming challenges in the ‘Golden Block’

KANFA Aragon

Topside solutions for the FLNG market

Storengy UK

Developing the Stublach project

Red Wing Shoe Company Producing quality safety gear for the past century

Cable Technology Partner Technology Comes To Life SM

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A note from the Managing Director…

As the saying goes: “With every door that closes another one opens”, but before we talk about the new, I would like to praise and thank the old. Our Editor of three years, Joe Forshaw, will be leaving the ECP family and heading onto new and exciting challenges. All of us here at ECP would like to thank Joe for all of his excellent work, well written articles and above all else, his passion to bring the latest in business excellence to our readers. I personally would like to thank Joe for his tenure and for being an instrumental part of the growth and development of ECP Ltd and our various business titles. It goes without saying that without Joe leading our editorial team, ECP would not be in the position we are today and for that I thank him whole heartedly.

From all of us here, we wish Joe all the very best for the future, you will be missed.

Now onto the new and 2015. I would like to congratulate Harriet Pattison and welcome her to her new role as Editor. Over the last year Harriet has proved herself to be at the top of her game and has helped drive ECP forward in her short time with us. Producing cutting edge articles for some of the world’s leading brands and for giving ECP a different twist and style of writing that has pleased and impressed not only us here but also our valid subscribers and of course, the companies that we have promoted. 2015 is set to be a great year for us here at ECP and I for one am very excited about seeing how far we can progress with Harriet at the helm. Just like our readers, we are all looking forward to seeing what 2015 brings to the energy sector and if 2014 was anything to go by, we will be in for one hell of a year.

David Hodgson

Joe Forshaw editor@ecp-ltd.com

EDITOR Joe Forshaw SUB-EDITOR Harriet Pattison WRITERS Rosie DeWinter Colin Chinery Tim Hands Roland Douglas Christian Jordan Ajuanne Payne STUDIO DIRECTOR Martyn Oakley DESIGNER Harvey Tarlton

RESEARCH DIRECTOR Chris Bolderstone MAGAZINE MANAGER Rick Liddiment PROJECT MANAGERS Ben Richell Kieran Shukri Jodie Rettie SALES DIRECTOR Andy Williams SALES MANAGER Daniel Marshall SALES EXECUTIVE Mark Leonard

ACCOUNTS Mike Molloy Jane Reeder MANAGING DIRECTOR David Hodgson OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Chris Bolderstone FINANCE DIRECTOR Scott Warman

2a Ardney Rise, Norwich, Norfolk, NR3 3QH, United Kingdom If you would like more information about ways in which Total World Energy can promote your business please call +44 1603 411568 or email | editor@ecp-ltd.com East Coast Promotions Ltd does not accept responsibility for omissions or errors. The points of view expressed in articles by attributing writers and/ or in advertisements included in this magazine do not necessarily represent those of the publisher. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this magazine, no legal responsibility will be accepted by the publishers for loss arising from use of information published. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrievable system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher. © East Coast Promotions Ltd 2014

PAGE 3

Contents EDITOR’S PAGE

3

NEWS

6

Out with the old, in with the new

All that’s happening in the energy industry

ENTREPRENEUR

14

INNOVATION

16

ZAHARA GROUP

18

MAGDALENA

24

CLOV

30

ADMA-OPCO

40

STORENGY UK

46

GULF DRILLING

52

BILFINGER INDUSTRIER

58

BAPCO

64

COMSIP AL A ‘ALI

66

ELIA

70

KANFA GROUP

76

UNIQUE WELLUBE

82

TSK

86

FELGUERA IHI

90

GULF PETROCHEM

94

REDWING SHOE COMPANY

98

Chris Beckett, Entrepreneur of the Year

Using the sun’s rays in a new way

Reinventing excellence

Latin American power player

Another jewel in the Block 17 crown

First oil from Umm Lulu

Introducing the Stublach project

New products to bolster performance

Revolutionising the ISP market

Modernisation for 2015

Confidence, certainty, experience

Powering Belgium

Driving the development of the FPSO

Uniquely placed

Taking advantage of the Spanish sun

Growing into new markets

Ongoing growth for this $2 billion company

Bringing the gold standard

FUTURE POWER

Honda’s FCV; an example of what is possible

PAGE 4 MAR 14

104

CONTENTS

30

26

46

82

76

98 PAGE 5

# twenews Lamprell: Delivery of fifth drilling unit to national drilling company Lamprell has announced the completion of construction on a further jackup drilling rig, the “Shuwehat”, and its delivery to Abu Dhabi’s National Drilling Company (“NDC”), safely, within budget and as scheduled.

This follows the recent announcement on 12 November when the Group received a new contract award from NDC for the construction of two further jackup drilling rigs of a similar design and high specification, which is valued at approximately US$ 365 million.

The contract for the “Shuwehat” rig was signed in April 2012 and this is the fifth in a series of eight rigs with the LeTourneau Super 116E (Enhanced) Class design which are being built and delivered

by Lamprell to NDC. This latest rig has been delivered to the client following the completion of the third and fourth rigs, the “Qarnin” and the “Marawwah” respectively, earlier this year. Lamprell has achieved another Company record with the delivery of three drilling units to one client in a single year.

The “Shuwehat” rig is the 11th Super 116E jackup drilling unit that the Group has delivered to various clients during the last six years. The jackup rig was officially named, and completion marked, at a ceremony held at Lamprell’s Hamriyah facility in the United Arab Emirates earlier today, prior to departure for operations at its drilling location in Abu Dhabi.

NDC Chief Executive Officer Mr. Abdalla Saeed Al Suwaidi

PAGE 6

commented: “Today, we proudly witness the completion of rig Shuwehat, a true technological marvel. This rig represents a great addition to the NDC fleet of modern rigs, and it will help the company maintain the highest levels of reliability and efficiency. A few years back, we partnered with Lamprell to start building offshore jack up rigs in the UAE. We are proud that we made such a strategic decision, and the four previous rigs, namely Makasib, Muhaiyimat, Qarnin, and Marawwah are working safely and drilling for ADMA-OPCO. “While we aspire to achieve our future objectives, and as we celebrate our current achievements, I’d like to extend sincere appreciation to ADNOC higher management and the NDC board of directors for their guidance and continuous support.”

Commenting on the delivery, Jim Moffat, Chief Executive Officer,

Lamprell, said: “Lamprell’s project execution this year continues to be of the highest standards and I am pleased to announce the delivery of this fifth jackup rig to NDC, our long-standing client. We have been able to prove once again our ability to complete a major project to worldclass standards of safety and quality, and we are proud to construct this latest project in the UAE, for use in the UAE, where we have such strong ties.

The “Shuwehat” rig is the third rig handed over to NDC in 2014 and we are scheduled to deliver the next NDC rig to the client within a matter of months. We believe that the recent contract award of two rigs with three options by NDC demonstrates our client’s continuing confidence in our ability to maintain our strong project execution track record on a consistent basis and we look forward to working closely with NDC in the coming years.”

NEWS

Wärtsilä receives full notice to proceed for its first LNG terminal Wärtsilä has been given full notice to proceed (NTP) from Manga LNG Oy for the supply of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Tornio, Northern Finland. Wärtsilä will commence construction on the site near the port of Tornio in January 2015.

Manga LNG Oy is a joint venture of Outokumpu Group, Svenskt Stål AB (SSAB), Skangass and EPV Energy Ltd. Wärtsilä initially announced this project in January 2014. The order, valued at approximately EUR 100 million, will be included in Wärtsilä’s order intake in December 2014.

The turnkey delivery of the first import terminal supplied

by Wärtsilä includes complete unloading, storing and regasification equipment for LNG. The capacity of the LNG storage tank will be 50 000 cubic metres.

A 10-year maintenance agreement was also signed between the parties. The first maintenance

agreement for an LNG terminal complements Wärtsilä’s service proposition and experience within dual fuel and gas engines and related equipment.

One of the main users of the imported natural gas will be the Outokumpu Tornio steel mill. A gas pipeline will be built to the nearby Röyttä industrial site, where the mill is located. Additional potential gas users are mines, factories and other industrial customers in Northern Finland and Sweden.

Railroad and truck transportation from the terminal will be available.

The terminal can also be used for LNG bunkering as well as to supply fuel for LNG-powered ships.

“The world is switching to natural gas, and we make it available in new places. With our unique turnkey offering, we are ready take a leading role in end-to-end LNG systems,” says Tore Björkman, Vice President, LNG and Nuclear, Wärtsilä Power

Plants.

Wärtsilä, recognised for its market-leading gas engine technology, provides technology and services throughout the entire LNG distribution chain. Wärtsilä’s portfolio includes liquefying technology, various gas-handling solutions, the design of LNG transport vessels, gas-fired marine propulsion solutions, LNG loading and unloading facilities, storage facilities and regasification. A gasfired power plant can be combined with an import terminal in a joint turnkey project.

LNG is replacing oil and other fuels worldwide. The environmental benefits are significant. In power generation, natural gas produces about 30 percent fewer carbon emissions than oil, while sulphur dioxide emissions are reduced by some 99 percent. LNG-fuelled ships have no sulphur emissions and 92 percent fewer nitrogen oxide emissions than vessels powered by heavy fuel oil.

Cargotec’s MacGregor secures large subsea crane order from ZPMC M a c G re g o r, p a r t o f C a r g o t e c , h a s re c e i v e d a l a r g e o rd e r

All four cranes will be fitted to a new 145m dive

S e a l i o n i s a n o ff s h o re support company that

f ro m S h a n g h a i Z h e n h u a H e a v y Industry Co Ltd (ZPMC).

The contract is for four o ff s h o re c r a n e s , i n c l u d i n g a 400-tonne SWL active heavecompensated crane capable of d e p l o y i n g 3 , 0 0 0 m o f w i re ro p e .

support vessel (DSV) under c o n s t r u c t i o n a t t h e y a rd f o r UK-based operator Sealion Shipping. Delivery of the c r a n e s t o t h e C h i n e s e s h i p y a rd i s s c h e d u l e d d u r i n g t h i rd quarter of 2016.

m a n a g e s a n d o p e r a t e s o ff s h o re s u p p o r t v e s s e l s f o r To i s a . T h e DP3 vessel is equipped for worldwide operations in the oil and gas sector and on ultrad e e p w a t e r p ro j e c t s . D e l i v e r y i s planned for early 2017.

PAGE 7

# twenews

RWE Dea increases production volumes and plans further exploration in Egypt RWE Dea doubled its oil and gas production in Egypt. North Africa is a strategic core region for Dea. The company is one of the leading foreign investors in Egypt and produces oil and gas in the country for 30 years by now.

“North Africa is one of our strategic core regions,” explained Maximilian Fellner, General Manager of RWE Dea Egypt. “In Egypt, Dea can look back upon three decades of oil production and we recently doubled our overall production in the country through getting our onshore gas project Disouq on stream. We are delighted about these success stories and will continue on this

PAGE 8

track, as we see further potential in the region,” Fellner added.

Since 1984, Dea has produced over 640 million barrels of crude as operator in the Gulf of Suez. With ongoing investments in modern technology and infrastructure Dea maintained high production levels from the three oil fields over the years.

Dea has plans for additional exploration in the Gulf of Suez.

At the East Ras Budran Offshore concession, the company plans to acquire seismic and drill an exploration well. The work program for the recently awarded two offshore concessions (the award

is subject to approval by the Egyptian authorities) will include seismic reprocessing and two exploration wells at the East Ras Fanar Offshore and one well at the Northwest El Amal concessions.

An important growth project for RWE Dea in Egypt is the Disouq onshore gas development in the Nile Delta. Dea achieved first gas last year and added the own built Central Treatment Plant to production this summer. For 2015, the company expects further production increases from Disouq up to the capacity of approximately 200 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.

NEWS

Eni enters the upstream of Portugal Eni has finalised with Petrogal, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Portuguese company Galp Energia operating in the upstream oil & gas, the farm in agreement for the acquisition of a 70% stake

and operatorship of the Gamba, Santola and Lavagante permits.

The agreement will guarantee the exploration rights for an unexplored area of 9,100 square kilometers in offshore Portugal.

The exploration permits were awarded to Petrogal in 2007 by the Portuguese State.

The agreement is part of Eni’s strategy aimed at diversifying and expanding its exploration portfolio.

PAGE 9

# twenews Russian-Chinese Energy Partnership gaining momentum Last month, the Gazprom headquarters hosted a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company’s Management Committee and Li Hui, Chinese Ambassador to Russia.

The parties addressed the issues of further bilateral cooperation. The progress with the project for supplying Russian pipeline gas to China via the eastern route was positively evaluated. It was pointed out that the project was carried on according to the deadline.

The meeting also mentioned the formulation of the Purchase

PAGE 10

and Sale Agreement for Russian gas supply via the western route.

The meeting participants stressed that the departing year was seminal for the RussianChinese relations in the energy sector and expressed their confidence that the partnership would keep on gaining momentum.

On May 21, 2014 Gazprom and CNPC signed the largest Purchase and Sale Agreement in the history stipulating Russian pipeline gas supply via the eastern route. The 30year contract provides for gas supplies to China in the amount

of 38 billion cubic meters of gas per year.

The eastern route stipulates the delivery of Russian natural gas from the Irkutsk and Yakutia gas production centres to China via the Power of Siberia gas trunkline.

On November 9, 2014 Gazprom and CNPC signed a Framework Agreement for Russian natural gas supply to China via the western route.

The western route stipulates annual gas supply in the amount of 30 billion cubic meters from Western Siberia to China via the Altai gas pipeline during 30 years.

NEWS

BP Announces First Oil from Kinnoull Field in Central North Sea BP, on behalf of the Kinnoull field co-venturers, recently announced the start of production from the Kinnoull field in the central North Sea. Kinnoull was BP’s seventh and final major upstream project start-up in 2014.

The Kinnoull reservoir, developed as part of a wider rejuvenation of the Andrew field area, is tied back to BP’s Andrew platform, 230 kilometres east of Aberdeen, and is expected to enable production there to be extended by a further decade.

In order to access the reservoir, a new subsea system has been installed, together with a 700 tonne topside processing module on the Andrew platform. Production is now carried from the Kinnoull field to the Andrew platform via a 28 kilometre subsea pipeline bundle – the longest such system in the world – for processing and onward export via the Forties pipeline system (oil) and the CATS pipeline system (gas).

The investment included extensive refurbishment of the Andrew platform to improve its integrity and operational efficiency.

Trevor Garlick, Regional President for BP’s North Sea business said: “50 years after BP was awarded its first licences in the North Sea, the successful start-up of Kinnoull demonstrates our continued commitment to maximising recovery from the basin.

“The combination of brownfield and greenfield development work – carrying out material upgrades, improving the reliability of existing facilities and retrofitting new facilities onto an existing platform – added significantly to the complexity of this

project. In successfully delivering it, we have completed one of the most challenging offshore projects BP has undertaken in the North Sea. “As we now look to continue our investments and meet the challenges of a toughening market environment, we also need to continue to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of our North Sea business.”

Production from Andrew and Kinnoull is forecast to peak at over 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, and is expected to make a significant contribution to BP’s commitment to grow its operating cash flow.

Lamar McKay, BP’s Upstream Chief Executive commented: “The Kinnoull project is significant to both our North Sea business and BP more widely and is a clear example of our strategy in action. Advances in our understanding of the reservoir structure, deployment of the very latest in UK subsea engineering skills and a major project to upgrade and

safely re-start the Andrew platform were key factors in this successful development.”

Around 90% of the project’s investment occurred in the UK and at its peak the project created employment for over 1,000 people in the UK. UK Energy Minister Matthew Hancock said: “The Kinnoull project is a great example of the continued commitment shown by the government and the offshore industry to make the most of the North Sea’s remaining resources.

Working together we are maximising the potential of our domestic oil and gas reserves, securing both jobs and energy supplies.”

BP operates and has a 77.06% interest in Kinnoull, alongside coventurer JX Nippon Exploration and Production (U.K.) Limited (22.94%).

Andrew is operated by BP, with a 62.75% interest, with co-venturers JX Nippon (27.39%) and TalismanSinopec (9.86%).

© BP plc

PAGE 11

# twenews

© sergeevspb - Shutterstock

BP and SOCAR Sign an Agreement to Explore Shallow Water Absheron Peninsula BP and SOCAR (the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan) recently signed a new production sharing agreement (PSA) to jointly explore for and develop potential prospects in the shallow water area around the Absheron Peninsula in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. This new agreement is part of the government’s plan to ensure that all of Azerbaijan’s offshore areas are fully explored.

The PSA was signed by Rovnag Abdullayev, President of SOCAR, on behalf of the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Gordon Birrell, BP’s Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.

PAGE 12

Mr Abdullayev said: “The signing of this new PSA, which clearly deepens our partnership with BP, is an important milestone for all parties involved – the government, SOCAR and BP. It marks the beginning of a new phase in our cooperation. This phase will enable us to work together to ensure the long term future for Azerbaijan’s oil and gas production through exploring new opportunities.

We look forward to this new opportunity that has a potential to contribute to maintaining oil production in Azerbaijan for many decades.”

Mr Birrell said: “BP is proud to embark on this new era of exploration in the Caspian together

with SOCAR. This opens a new stage in our partnership. This new partnership is based on BP’s extensive experience in responsibly exploring and developing in shallow water areas around the world and our expertise in using the best technology available in the industry.

So we thank the government and SOCAR for another opportunity to deploy our expertise and technology, this time in the shallow water.”

The PSA contract area stretches along the margins of the Caspian basin to the south of the Absheron Peninsula. The acreage features water depths of up to 40 meters with potential reservoir depths of 3000-5000 meters.

NEWS

Keppel Shipyard to undertake world’s first LNG floating storage and regasification conversion Keppel Shipyard Limited (Keppel Shipyard), a subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), has signed a contract with Golar LNG Limited for the conversion of an existing LNG carrier into a floating Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) storage and regasification unit (FSRU).

The total contract value is approximately Singapore $90 million.

When the conversion is completed in the second quarter of 2007, it will be the first of its type in the world. The conversion will be made based on relevant DNV class rules and international standards.

Golar LNG will work in partnership with Keppel Shipyard in the engineering, procurement and construction for the project.

The scope of work includes installation of a new forward turret, side-by-side mooring system, LNG loading arms, aft thruster with compartment and a re-gasification plant, and replacement of cargo pumps. There is also the upgrading of the existing steam power electrical and marine systems.

Mr Graeme McDonald, Group

our belief that no other system can compete with this concept in terms of timing or pricing by satisfying early or extra demand for gas.

“We have selected Keppel Shipyard as our partner due mainly to the company’s impressive track record and proven expertise with Moss Rosenberg type LNG vessels.”

Mr Nelson Yeo, Executive Director of Keppel Shipyard, said, “Being entrusted to undertake the world’s first FSRU conversion certainly strengthens our market leadership in offshore and marine conversions, especially in the areas of LNG vessels. We are committed to deliver the facility on time, on budget.”

Keppel Shipyard has a strong track record of repairing 71 vessels of Moss Rosenberg-type LNG vessel. The largest LNG repair yard outside Japan, Keppel has also completed 54 FPSO/ FSO conversion projects to date.

The proposed LNG terminal is a steel mono hull with Moss® LNG tanks arranged in the middle, with the re-gasification plant in the forward section and crew facilities with control room

The FSRU will be stationed offshore and, through a subsea pipeline, will be capable of a throughput of 2.75 BSCM per annum at variable gas send out pressures up to 85 bar.

Moss Maritime A.S has prepared the conceptual basis for the FSRU and will carry out the design and engineering for the conversion.

Golar LNG is the largest independent LNG ship owner, and currently owns a fleet of 11 vessels, with two more on order.

Golar operates vessels worldwide in well-established relationships with British Gas, Pertamina, Chinese Petroleum Corporation, Petronas, Sonatrach and Shell.

A member of Keppel Corporation Limited, Keppel O&M is a global leader in offshore rigs and ship conversion and repair as well as a specialised shipbuilder. Combining the expertise and experience of its subsidiaries, Keppel FELS, Keppel Shipyard and Keppel Singmarine, the group’s near market, near customer strategy is bolstered by a global network of 17 yards in the Asia Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, the Caspian Sea, Middle

Technical Director of Golar LNG Limited said, “Golar LNG has been developing this ‘Floating Energy Solution’ as part of our strategy to diversify into other parts of the LNG value chain and to offer customers greater flexibility. It is

and utility machinery in the aft section.

The LNG offloading tankers will be moored in a side-by-side configuration with the FSRU for efficient replenishment of the terminal.

East and the North Sea regions.

Integrating the experience and expertise of its yards worldwide, Keppel O&M aims to be a provider of choice and a partner in solutions for the offshore and marine industry

PAGE 13

A dedication to excellence Editorial: Harriet Pattison

This month, Total World Energy focuses the entrepreneurial limelight on Pacific Drilling CEO, Chris Beckett, who has over two decades of experience working within the Oil and Gas industry. “He’s grown a world-class team based on that entrepreneurial spirit, and he encourages his employees to make an impact by identifying novel approaches and seeing those ideas through to implementation,” testifies Mike Kacsmar, EY Entrepreneur of the Year Americas Program Director.

Pacific Drilling CEO, Chris Beckett has been enjoying a long and successful career in the Oil & Gas sector which started when he was in his early twenties working as a seismologist. Twenty years on and he has been involved in the first-ever commercialization process for deepsea dual gradient drilling.

Working for Seismograph Service Ltd, which was later acquired by Schlumberger Limited in the 1990’s, Beckett spent the best part of 12 years refining and improving on his international management skills.

As part of a unique project called Transition 2000, he headed the acquisition of the largest onshore seismic survey that has ever been completed in the USA.

companies and governments.

“I had a great opportunity at McKinsey to study the way in which one of the major oil companies in the U.S. was using its refining assets and look for ways to help them maximize their returns from changes in regulations,” Beckett explained in an interview with The Maritime Executive in 2012.

However it was his move to Transocean, the major offshore drilling company, which became the cornerstone of Beckett’s illustrious career. Whilst working as the Director of Business Development and Corporate Planning, Transocean entered into an agreement with an investment group which was to become Pacific Drilling. With this

Leaving Schlumberger in 2001, Beckett completed a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Rice University, Texas, leading him to work for the international firm, McKinsey & Company as a strategy consultant, providing advice to both global energy

transaction, Pacific Drilling approached Beckett to become its first employee.

Beckett accepted but of course, leaving behind a truly promising career with Transocean for a company which had no industry experience or client base was an enormous risk. Beckett

PAGE 14

however, revelled in an opportunity to build an industry-leading contract drilling company that would continue to meet the evolving and specific needs of customers, something he felt the current market was missing.

In an interview with the Oil Council, he explained: “One of the underlying premises of forming Pacific Drilling was to build a company that not only would have the newest generation of assets that met the new regulatory criteria but also would have state-of-the-art operating capabilities.”

A company with no customers, of course, is perhaps one of the biggest challenges that Pacific Drilling faced when it first started up. Beckett was intent on achieving a blue-chip customer base and so, with the dedicated persistence between him and his management team, they began to educate potential customers on the technological advantages of their drill ships and the services they could provide.

ENTREPRENEUR

It wasn’t long before Pacific Drilling secured its first contract with Multinational energy corporation, Chevron. Today, Pacific Drilling includes Petrobras and Total amongst its customers.

Speaking to the Oil Council, Beckett explained safety was integral to the successful development of Pacific Drilling and securing the reputable industry leaders it works with today: “[Safety] is our most important accomplishment, and one that we continue to prioritize every day. Our first rig, Pacific Bora, has worked over 1,000 days without a lost time incident. This is industry leading safety performance, and to me, it’s the most important metric of our success as a company. It has been achieved through developing our own, proprietary operating and safety management systems from scratch, which are designed to be state of the art and optimized for ultra-deepwater operations.”

Held last month in Palm Springs,

California, the EY Entrepreneur of the Year is the world’s most prestigious business award for influential entrepreneurs. The potential and contribution people make and how they inspire others through their vision, achievements and leadership is recognised through this program.

Currently the first and only awards platform operating on a global scale in more than 145 cities across 60 countries, the EY helps to celebrate and commemorate the entrepreneurs who are not only building but leading the way in establishing successful and dynamic businesses.

In a statement The EY said: “Merely eight years since formulating a business plan for Pacific Drilling in his living room — and less than four years since Pacific Drilling recorded revenue from its first paying client — Beckett now oversees a global company with the industry’s most modern fleet of high-specification drillships, more than 1,200 employees and annual revenues rapidly

approaching $1 billion.”

Headquartered in Luxembourg with a small team of employees, the core operations are overseen at the company’s office in Houston, Texas, where Beckett spends the majority of his time, having moved to Houston more than two decades ago.

Pacific Drilling currently has five operational drillships which is three more than it had in 2011, with a further two scheduled to enter into service by the end of the year.

Looking to the future, Chris Beckett is adamant that Pacific Drilling will remain competitive, maintaining its enviable position as the only pure play ultra-deepwater drillship company in the industry. With its high quality assets, high-specification drillships and focused operating systems, Pacific Drilling is able to provide a better quality of service.

And with Chris Beckett firmly at the wheel, his unwavering dedication to excellence is no doubt why he is EY’s Entrepreneur of the year

PAGE 15

Solar power in the SolaRoad...

Editorial: Ajuanne Payne

SolaRoad opened on the 12th November in the Northern Province of the Netherlands and is the world’s first public road surface to be embedded with solar panels. Nominated for an Accenture Innovation Award, this pilot project could pave the way to a future of financially and environmentally sustainable roadways.

So far this year at Total World Energy we have not been short of opportunities to profile exciting ‘firsts’ in the solar industry. In November we looked at The Lightning SuperBike – the world’s first electric motorcycle powered completely by solar energy. Debuted at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in June 2013, the SuperBike exceeded all expectations and went on to win, beating

powered ship and the largest of its kind.

In this issue we touch upon the increasingly talked-about subject of sustainable infrastructure. How can we innovate in our towns and cities to create environmentally friendly infrastructure for the future? Can it not only be cost effective, but profitable? Taking a step closer towards this goal are the developers of SolaRoad – TNO, The

centimetre of translucent glass and running for 70 meters, the bike path in Krommenie, in the Netherlands is the first publicly accessible solar road in the world.

The €3.5 million (£2.4m) project is expected to produce enough electricity to power two or three houses when extended to 100 meters in 2016. The team behind SolaRoad plans to direct

gas and electric powered competitors alike by an impressive 21 seconds. In August we profiled Solar Impulse – the first solar aircraft to fly through the night and around the globe. In October we reviewed the world-record setting MS Tûranor PlanetSolar, an entirely solar

Province of Noord-Holland, Ooms Civiel and Imtech.

An idea born out of a brainstorming session at TNO back in 2009, SolaRoad will harness the sun’s rays using crystalline silicon solar cells, embedded into concrete modules. Topped by one

the power generated into practical applications - such as traffic signs, streetlamps and even vehicles. Electricity can also be fed back in to the public grid for local households. Once tested the functions will be extensive and the possibilities exciting.

PAGE 16

INNOVATION

Jan-Hendrik Kremer of Imtech sums up the long term goal of the pilot saying: “Imagine that all over the world, roads are generating solar power for the lighting along the roads, matrix signs, traffic lights, for homes and neighbourhoods that lie along the road or even the vehicles driving across the roads. With SolaRoad we are on our way to this future.”

The pilot will run for three years but there are key questions that need to be answered: How does the road behave in the long term? Is the road safe and comfortable to use? How much energy will it produce?

Although the panels are predicted to generate 30% less than those on a domestic property, if a success the long term plans would be to extend the surface further. There are 140,000

is slightly tilted to help prevent dust accumulating and there is a skid-resistant coating on the safety glass. The silicon solar panels have only been applied on half the width of the cycle path to allow for testing and to save money for further developments.

In fact, the consortium is a prime example of a successful marriage between commercial business, civil concern and research institution. The roots of the passion driving them can definitely be found in a real desire to contribute to a sustainable future for the Netherlands.

“Co-creation is effective in order to achieve innovation,” said Sten de Wit of TNO. The Province Noord-Holland has set itself the target of producing 16%

using solar energy.

Although not the first to have this idea – with Scott and Julie Brusaw of US company Solar Roadways coming up with their concept in 2006, SolaRoad is the first to put the idea into practice on a public route.

The SolaRoad pilot project is just one facet of the extraordinary range of solar concepts that we are currently seeing develop. We ask ourselves - is it possible to achieve what this pilot has the potential for? We already know key developments will be made because of the SolaRoad project.

We could well be moving towards a future where we not only have high performance vehicles powered by the

km of roadways in the Netherlands – a vast amount of potential and a thrilling prospect.

One of the problems that needed to be tackled by the consortium behind SolaRoad was the build-up of dirt and pollution on the surface. The road itself

of all energy sustainably by 2020 and SolaRoad is one innovation that will contribute to this goal. According to the European Union, the gross electricity production in the Netherlands currently accounts for only 9.1% of the market, with only 1.3% of that being generated

sun; but also sustainable infrastructure to support them. As Einstein said: “You can’t solve a problem on the same level that it was created. You have to rise above it to the next level;” so what will be the next level in solar innovation?

PAGE 17

“Reinventing excellence”

Editorial: Christian Jordan

After becoming Managing Director of the multi-national ZAHARA Group while still in his twenties, Mr Radwan Azam now leads the organisation as it looks to expand its already sterling reputation in the Middle East petrochemical industry. He tells Total World Energy more about some of the expansion plans that the company is working on and how he manages an organisation that has his family at its heart…

The Middle East petrochemical

the customers to the Middle

can Middle East petrochemical

industry has seen spectacular growth over the past 30 years but petrochemical producers that want to expand domestically face major challenges. There is of course the issue of export; some of

East’s petrochemical industry, especially those in growth markets, are thousands of kilometres away, located in Africa, Asia, Europe and further afield. So as growth becomes more and more challenging, how

companies stay at the forefront of the industry? According to global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, petrochemical producers should become leaders in operating and functional efficiency.

PAGE 18

ZAHARA GROUP And one company that is way ahead of the game, already acting as a leader in operational excellence and functional efficiency is ZAHARA Group. Founded in India by current Chairman, Mr Mohamed Azam, the company is now under the control of Managing Director and second generation leader, Mr Radwan Azam. The company’s primary operations consist of manufacturing and trading in a diverse range of products related to industrial grade oils, lubricating oils, grease and fur nace oil.

Mr Radwan Azam explains more about the history of the company growing from a small petrochemical concer n to an inter national petrochemical, lubricant, refining, shipping and logistics and trading business with a global network of customers and suppliers.

“ZAHARA Group is a Middle East based downstream petrochemical company with its group corporate office in Dubai. The group was actually established back in India and we now have a base in Singapore, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and our headquarters in UAE,” he says. “The first generation entrepreneur was my father, Mr Mohammed Azam, who founded the company in the 90’s in India and he is the Chairman of the group. On a visit to the UAE, he recognised the potential for expansion in the petrochemical industry in the Middle East and

small refinery and this was one of the first private refineries to be established in the region.

We started small and have expanded drastically. Since inception, ZAHARA Group has recorded fantastic growth and has consolidated its credentials as a trusted manufacturer and trader in the downstream petrochemical industry in the Middle East.”

EVER GROWING ZAHARA Group operates under the corporate philosophy and work culture of REINVENTING EXCELLENCE; a tag line installed by Mr Radwan to ensure that the company continues on a growth path, building on what his father had already established.

“REINVENTING EXCELLENCE is a second generation invention.

I manage the whole group and my brother, Fardan, looks after operations for the company and we came up with the ‘Reinventing Excellence’ tag line.

The first

generation was a base that my father created and now in the second generation, we are reinventing and expanding the business to a new level.

We hope that the market will identify us as a company that reinvents excellence as this is a promise of attitude that we use to define our own continuous achievement,” explains Mr Radwan. “We are constantly exploring and coming up with new projects. We started in petrochemicals and now we are entering lubricants. Here we have formed a brand name and we are building a large base for manufacturing and production of lubricants and grease in the region.

“Today, we are expanding our trading division family.

We will add 60-70 people in manufacturing and 30-40 people in trading. We have a very good team and our strategy focusses on how we can add value to a quality product in a

he established a base in early 2000.

“We started our trading business by establishing a company called ZAHARA Petrochemicals in the UAE and in early 2004/05 we started a

PAGE 19

From left to right : Fardan Azam Director, Mohamed Azam Chairman, Radwan Azam Managing Director reliable and holistic manner to add credibility and value for our business partners. Our corporate strategy involves a process of continuous improvement in efficiency and quality and we always strive for the bet results,” he adds.

The company has a growing base of inter national and regional clients and ensures that each location is treated with its own focus to ensure optimal efficiency. “Every company has a different strategy and every entity in the petrochemical industry has a different focus

PAGE 20

“Since inception, ZAHARA Group has recorded fantastic growth and has consolidated its credentials as a trusted manufacturer and trader in the downstream petrochemical industry in the Middle East”

on their products in the downstream sector but we have structured planning where we focus individually on a different region so that we can extend our reach to end customers,” says Mr Radwan. “We have business associations with companies in the region like BP, Shell, ENOC, ADNOC as well as many of the power plants across Asia where we are supplying their petrochemical needs so we do work with major inter national players as well as smaller local players in the region.”

ZAHARA GROUP EXPANSION PLANS As with any business, growth has long been the number one goal for ZAHARA Group and to date it has not been extremely difficult to come by but as the operations of the group become larger and the industry, especially in the Middle East, begins to reach maturity, growth will become more difficult. This is why Mr Radwan and the rest of the management team are continually exploring new opportunities for investment.

Right now there are a number of projects that are underway or in planning stages that will allow the group to grow and develop efficiently and in a way that only impacts positively on the organisations operations.

“We have bought an existing plant in Jabel Ali and we are starting production here. We are going to be the largest production unit in the region in the Hamriyah Port in Sharjah.

Altogether, in the third quarter of 2015, we will have capacity of around 250,000MT per annum so we have developed new marketing strategies to market these brands of lube oil across GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council),” explains Mr Radwan.

“We are also developing storage terminals. One is in the Hamriyah Port and we have about 50,000 CBM of space where we are trading our products. Some of these projects are still in the planning stages but some are complete.

“Construction of our facility in Saudi Arabia is underway and we are expecting to start operations by the first quarter of 2015 - it should not be later than February or March. This is a long-running project because

of gover nment approvals and license policies but our manufacturing set-up has already been completed and we are ready for production. Legal formalities and structuring, gover nment policies and other factors have added to the timescale of this project but we will be ready by first quarter 2015.

In Saudi Arabia, we are starting with a petrochemical plant and then in the second phase we will come with lubricants.”

The company has also already started construction of a new Vacuumwhich Tankeris facility in Mumbai expected to be completed in the first or second quarter of 2015.

“The facility in Kuwait is in the planning stage and we doing some environmental studies right now so that will take some time. We are definitely looking to step into Egypt as well but tankerstages.

(3 axle) these16,500 are allIGindiesel planning Having a base in Egypt gives us huge potential in the region as there are not too many private players in the downstream industry,” Mr Radwan adds.

Away from the physical expansion of the organisation’s footprint, ZAHARA Group is also 8000 DIesel Tanker expanding its IG product range.

The move into the lubricants business has been a successful one so far and the company’s flagship brand, LUBISLE, continues to fulfil the ever growing demand for lubricants and grease in the regions of Middle East, Africa and SouthLow-Bed East Asia while maintaining

as retailers,” Mr Radwan says.

“Our lube oil brand is not yet an established brand and companies like Shell and Total have their established brands.

“We will also be focussing on our projects that are set for completion in 2015 and then we will be planning for a base in Europe where we hope to have a trading set-up in Geneva and London. This is still in the planning stage but it is a wish for the future for us.”

QUALITY FOCUS Cargoexpansion Body With so much and growth going on within ZAHARA Group, it has been vitally important for the business to remain focussed on delivering quality – quality products and services – to ensure that end users remain content and the brand maintains 45 Cbm Tipper its strong reputation. This focus on quality has been instilled in the culture of the business from founder, to management, throughout the entire work force.

Mr Radwan explains that no expansion or investment decision 2000 without MT Storage Tanks is made exhaustive consultation with advisors.

“We have a strong culture of teamwork,” he says. “Before we start with any plans we have a strong dialogue with internal advisors with whom we consult and undertake auditory research before we make any decisions.

Flat Bed Trailer We don’t look at short-term

its premium quality and ISO commitments, we have longprescribed standards. term plans where we can start Tel :+971 6 526 9107 :: Fax :+971 6 526 9106 :: Mob:+971 50 243 6658 “Our plans for the future sustainably and grow within certain P.O.product Box 499734 :: Hamariyahmarkets.

Freezone :: Sharjah :: UAE concer n our range that’s why we have launched “We have a very strong in-house Al Mafraq – Abu Dhabi – United Arab Emirates our lubeEmail oil brand where we are project and we go through : info@qasioongroup.com :: Web team : qasioongroup.com targeting only end users such many consultations to ensure that

PAGE 21

when we undertake projects, we do things to the highest possible level.”

This consultation extends throughout all outcomes from any investment decision and takes into account commercial factors as well as other considerations such as employees, the community and the environment.

“We have a strong environmental focus and we have made our

responsibility to the industry,” says Radwan.

It’s important to remember that after all the success and expansion of the company since its formation, ZAHARA Group is a family run business with much of its success being owed to the vision of Mr Mohamed Azam and the drive

no conflict, no nepotism and no difficulty in running the business as a family.

“This is a family run company but we changed the atmosphere to become more like a corporate entity. We have defined our roles and everybody has a different focus within the business. My father is the Chairman and overlooks the company more

predictions for the coming ten years about where we expect to stand at each level. We have a strong commitment to the environment that’s why we have a total recycling policy and we contribute a lot of environmental

and ambition of Mr Radwan and Mr Fardan. That being said, the second generation of leadership are keen to position the company as more of a corporate body with clear roles and strategies.

According to Mr Radwan, there is

as an advisor in new project developments. My brother has taken complete control of all production and technical aspects and I take responsibility for overall management; business development, trading and finances

PAGE 22

A FAMILY AFFAIR

Shah Deniz platform - Photo Shahin Abasaliyev - Statoil

ZAHARA GROUP of the company.

“I came on board early in 2006.

I was not fully involved and I was trying to learn things. I completed my Bachelor’s Degree in business administration but early on I was trying to understand the business.

My father was busy trying to develop things and implement a structure but he did want the new generation to come on board.

I took over the business more completely in 2010 but I was still learning and it took time for me to understand everything. My first strategy was to change the focus and vision of the group and become a corporate entity.

I always wanted to develop and expand what my father had started. I had always spent time in and around the business because of him and I knew that when I graduated I wanted to step into

“Having a base in Egypt gives us huge potential in the region as there are not too many private players in the downstream industry”

the business with him,” Mr Radwan explains.

And as for one of the major problems that faces many family run businesses, the succession plan, Mr Radwan says that he has no doubt that the third generation of his family will eventually take control of ZAHARA Group, further expanding it and overcoming the challenges that will arise in the future.

“We will have to mentor the next generation like my father trained me from a young age.

It’s an expanding world and with business we have our limitations but my father had limitations that we were able to overcome in the second generation so I would definitely want the third generation to come in and expand the business even further,” he concludes

PAGE 23

Sugar Cane = Power Editorial: Rosie DeWinter

Magdalena has had a successful three decades and now, as one of the largest employers in Guatemala and the largest sugar mill in the region, it is leading the field in energy as an important independent energy supplier to the Guatemalan grid. Total World Energy speaks to Jaime Alberto Morales, Head of the Energy Division of the Group, to find out what’s next for this interesting company.

Today, the sugar mill industry is a large business, not only for the never-ending need of raw sugar but also as an independent power

method is done using energy conversion. Thermal energy produced from the combustion of bagasse (cellulose fibre from

process is used as raw material, which is then transported to the boilers to be used as fuel to heat water and produce steam. High

producing industry. If you consider that sugar cane bagasse, a natural fuel source, is produced out of the sugar cane milling process as a by-product, producing sugar and power is just a natural process.

Generating electricity via this

crushed sugar cane stalks) is converted into mechanical energy in a turbine, then into electricity in the generator to be finally fed into the electrical grid for people and industry use.

Bagasse from this sugar cane

temperature and high pressure steam is produced inside the boilers to move a turbo generator and produce electricity. The steam is produced in a group of aquatubulartype boilers and delivered to a series of turbo-generators that make the

PAGE 24

MAGDALENA conversion of thermal to mechanical energy and then electricity.

A renewable fuel, sugar cane baggase can then be used for power generation, either for internal consumption or transmitted for consumption in the national electrical grid.

Total World Energy speaks to Jaime Alberto Morales, Head of Energy Division at Magdalena, which, when first purchased in 1983, was known as one of Guatemala’s smallest independent sugar mills.

THREE SUCCESSFUL DECADES Now, 30 years on and Magdalena, through a succession of investments and projects, has become the largest sugar mill in the region, conforming to the highest global industry standards. What’s more, the company is now one of the key suppliers of electricity to the ntional grid in Guatemala and in the

“Sugar cane bagasse is a renewable fuel which is used for power generation.

In the sugar industry, bagasse has been used for more than 50 years to produce steam and power.

Bagasse is the natural fuel that we have here”

regional electricity market.

Morales explains: “Sugar cane bagasse is a renewable fuel which is used for power generation. In the sugar industry, bagasse has been used for more than 50 years to produce steam and power.

Bagasse is the natural fuel that we have here.”

“Having said that, Magdalena has been leading the sugar mill and power generation Industry in the region. Magdalena has been recently appointed as one of the biggest sugar mills in the world, processing more than 42,000 tons per day of sugar cane.

“Early in the 90´s, Guatemala was needing power generation to support its growing demand, considering that most of its power generation was coming from hydroelectric stations, it was limited mainly to the rainy season.

Magdalena as other sugar mill companies were awarded with energy supply contracts to meet the

Jaime Morales Choto

PAGE 25

uncovered demand. During the last decade, sugar mill power generation has been a key component of the electrical power portfolio in Guatemala where Magdalena has been playing an important leading role,” Morales explains.

“Since the 90’s, Magdalena has been continuously investing and growing in the energy sector, expanding its generation capacity from 20 Mw at the beginning, to 200 Mw at the current times. The expansion of the sugar mill business allowed Magdalena to have more sugar bagasse and install more generation stations,” says Morales.

Magdalena is currently supplying power. Additionally, considering the current capacity, Magdalena invested in high voltage transmission lines and got interconnected in the main transmission system of the country.

In order to diversify its generation portfolio, Magdalena Group invested in other generation technologies like coal and hydroelectric power.

All this, to support the growing demand of Guatemala and other regional countries in the vicinity were

power units to run on a mix of biomass and coal to increase its generation capacity by 180 MW with the installation of three 60 MW turbo-generators capable of generating power year-round. The last 60 MW unit will be on line by the

PAGE 26

THE SUMMER MONTHS Guatemala is now one of the most important sugar cane producers in the world and consequently a significant portion of the national power demand is being covered by the renewable fuel, sugar cane bagasse.

Magdalena designed its latest

end of 2015.

The Guatemalan summer drives the start of the sugar mill season which is when fuel for power generation is produced: “The sugar cane season starts in November and ends before May, so we produce the fuel for power generation between those months,” explains Morales.

The upgraded units are designed to run on bagasse during the November to May summer harvest season and then switch to coal between the rainy season that goes from May to October. The first unit came online in November 2012, the second in June 2014 and third is scheduled for the end of 2015.

GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES During 2013, Magdalena began the installation of a new boiler with a turbo-generator for increasing the installed capacity in the power plant.

MAGDALENA Morales explains: “Magdalena saw the opportunity to continue growing in the power generation sector. Magdalena realised that they had enough sugar cane bagasse and therefore enough fuel to install the Unit B6, which has the capability of burning bagasse during the sugar mill season. When we don’t have bagasse, we can switch to coal and keep producing energy the rest of the year. Our technology allows us to maintain our emissions levels within the International Standard and local regulations.”

“So with the new units, we are now capable of supplying energy continuously to the National Grid while previously we only had seasonal units. Right now, we have just finished commissioning and entered into commercial operation with the second new block, B7.

Additionally we are now building the

“If you ask me, what was the support from government to have Magdalena investing in this country, I would say: Issuing good laws and providing enough confidence to invest for the long term”

third block, B8, and hope to have it finished by the middle of 2015.”

Morales explains that support from both the government and community has remained very positive throughout the process: “What’s happening in Guatemala is very interesting in terms of the electricity law. When Guatemala entered into a modern energy market scheme, the generation, transmission and distribution of energy went from being a government owned monopoly into a competitive open market. The power generation assets were then sold to the private sector.

“The international companies came to purchase those assets as Independent Power Producers. A similar approach was taken with the distribution companies. The new electricity issued early in the 90´s opened the door for new

PAGE 27

Blanketing: Operations to Maximum Safety with Flammable Liquids Blanketing is the application o f gas technology which consists in replacing the air by inert gas in the gas head of stored combustible liquids, in order to prevent their flammability and thereby protect the stored product and the storage facilities, against a fire or explosion. Air, and specifically the 21% oxygen content in it, represents the main risk of flammability. Additionally, it prevents oxidation and internal corrosion of storage tanks to minimize time and cost of maintenance.

It works elimination one of the essential factors to declare a fire: the presence of oxygen as oxidizer.

3 factors are required for a flammable product to reach combustion: the fuel (which can not be removed from the system as it represents the product to be stored), the oxidizer that is the oxygen present in the air, and the activation energy that even can be an electrostatic charge accumulated in the metal of the tank.

One of the actions to remove a combustion factor has been the connection of the tanks to physical ground to prevent accumulation of electrostatic charge. However, this protective mechanism is not viable in regions of high humidity which causes oxidation or corrosion of electrical ground wires and thus permissiveness to accumulate an electrostatic charge sufficient to ignite the fire inside the tank where presence of flammable gases.

For that reason, blanketing becomes the most effective and safe mechanism to protect the product and its storage tank, because in the absence of oxygen, combustion, fire or explosion can not be produced.

With the storage tank completely closed, the movement of gases mixed with nitrogen is self-regulated with pressure relief valves and vacuum break valves which allow the internal forces do not affect the integrity of the tank.

Sergio Molina Mejía. Chemist MA – MBA – MSc. Productos del Aire de Guatemala, S. A. 41 Calle 6-27 zona 8, 01008 Guatemala.

Phone 2421 0400 ext 314. Fax 2440 9696.

E-mail smolina@fabrigas.com

© Shell PAGE 28

MAGDALENA international and local investment and added new dynamics to the electricity business.

“Initially there were only a few international players in the electricity sector but right now we have various power investors.

The promotion that Guatemala did to attract investors and the new regulation brought international companies like ENEL, Duke Energy, Globelec, IC Power as well as other world class companies.

“I think that, if you as a government develop good regulations, support local and international investors for the long term and keep your promises consistently, you will attract more and more companies interested in investing and in the growth of your country. If you ask me, what was the support from government to have Magdalena investing in our country, I would say: Issuing good laws and providing enough confidence to invest for the long term,” Morales adds.

Having worked in the oil and energy market for more than 15 years, Morales explains that Magdalena has turned into a real energy company: “We have a commercial team that trades our power, we have a regulatory and market team focused on the behaviour of the local and regional market and in any change of the regulatory frame. Additionally we have a project development group focused on new business opportunities in hydroelectric, solar, thermal and other technologies.

With our current energy division team, Magdalena is looking to grow

in the region with new operations and with more electricity exports.

We want to be the preferred choice for any distribution company or large industrial consumer for the supply of its energy needs. ” Continuing to stand as the largest sugar mill in the region, one of the largest employers in Guatemala and representing one of the most important enterprises in the country today, Morales simply concludes: “The Energy Market in Guatemala is now at a mature stage, and therefore we need to explore other opportunities in the region to continue with our growth.”

A SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE With such a successful and innovative history behind Magdalena, Morales explains that a significant milestone for the company was to jump in the power sector; being in the sugar industry and getting in the power industry was a natural step.

“The sugar mill and power generation businesses do not conflict each other,” he explains.

“The sugar mill production means taking sugar cane and passing it through different mill stages to get the cane juices. As part of this production processes you get the bagasse, the bagasse is then used to produce high pressure steam and steam moves turbines and generates power. Once steam has passed through the turbines, low pressure steam is reused in the sugar mill processes, which is called cogeneration.”

PAGE 29

Success in the ‘Golden Block’ Editorial: Christian Jordan

The deepwater CLOV project, in Block 17 off the coast of Angola, has been hailed as a true success for operator Total and other shareholders. After reaching first oil in June 2014, the project is now being handed over to the local production team to operate for the next 20 years. Project Director, Francois Bichon and other senior managers tell Total World Energy more about this important development and what it has done for the local economy…

Located 150 to 270 kilometers off

after first oil from the block,

field was setting records and

the coast of Angola lays a 4000 km2 area known as the jewel in the Angolan energy industry; a region where oil production developments have set global benchmarks for the industry; a region where, less than a decade

its cumulative production had reached over one billion barrels.

It is of course Block 17; the ‘Golden Block’.

Block 17’s story began back in ’96 after the discovery of the Girassol field. By 2001, this

producing 200,000 barrels per day. By 2007, much progress had been made in the region and the FPSO operating the Girassol field received tie-backs from the Jasmim and Rosa fields, and eventually the Dalia field was

PAGE 30

CLOV

© Total E&P Angola – Photo Kostadin Luchansky

started, bringing the block’s total output to around 500,000 barrels per day. In 2011, the Pazflor project came online and this added a further 220,000 barrels per day to cumulative production.

In June 2014, the CLOV (Cravo, Lirio, Orquidea, Violeta) fields development produced its first oil and, much to the delight of Sonangol, Total, Statoil, Esso and BP, reached its plateau soon after – a plateau that it has so far managed to stick to.

“We have had some hiccups but most things have been ok.

The very good part has been oil production. When we start with all the wells, we cannot open them all at once. Opening wells has to be progressive and it depends on starting new, very complex installations. There has been progression, and that has been better than what was anticipated. It’s not that we’re producing more; we ramped up production quicker than what

the reservoir starts emptying we inject water to maintain pressure and fill the void left when the oil is extracted; this has gone well. What has gone less well is gas export. We need some gas for electricity generation but the rest of what we produce is exported to Angolan LNG which is a new LNG plant built by a group headed by Chevron onshore. Unfortunately this plant has had some problems. We have nowhere to send the gas but

However, even though the CLOV development has lived up to the success of the previous projects on the block, there has been many ups and downs to ride-out as Francois Bichon, CLOV Project Director, explains:

was planned – we don’t reach more than the maximum but we reached the maximum quicker and that was the very good aspect.

“Water injection has been fairly good and as planned. Because

other developments on Block 17 or on the block 2 have injection so the plan was to send the gas to them and they would inject it.

But then came another problem – our compressors have electric motors and we have found a

PAGE 31

defect on these motors and our compressors are not working meaning we cannot export the gas,” says Bichon.

FPSO Manager, Patrick Vallot says that the issue is mechanical and does not affect oil production and he fully expects the issue to be resolved quickly.

“We had a failure in August and when we opened the motor, we found that there was mechanical damage to the rotor.

After investigation, we found that there were some critical rotation speed frequencies where vibration or resonance damaged the contact piece of the rotor and this caused mechanical rupture internally. This came after around 400 hours of running so it was not immediate. It came after the accumulation of hours of operation at the critical speed.

“All of the motors need to be repaired and they drive our compressors which allow us to export gas. The problem is not as critical with the water injection pump because it takes place at a frequency which the pump does not normally reach so we can operate them as they are but ultimately they have lost integrity and will need to be replaced.

On December 4th 2014, refurbished motors were installed into one of the gas export trains, allowing gas export to operate properly. It is expected that the second export train will receive refurbished motors very soon and export will reach its planned level.

CLOV FPSO The CLOV FPSO, although featuring a number of innovations and improvements, has been designed to be similar to the other FPSO’s operating in Block

PAGE 32

17. This, according to Vallot, was deliberate as the organisation looks to replicate a proven model for success “If you look at it, it very much looks like its predecessors. CLOV FPSO has been contracted by the same shipyard, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME), as Pazflor and Pazflor has been a constant reference during this contract.

We have tried to make maximum use of what was learnt on Pazflor.

For instance, the living quarters on CLOV are a carbon copy of Pazflor. In terms of design, CLOV is very similar but we have introduced a few improvements to the fine details.”

Construction of the FPSO was undertaken by DSME at its yard in Okpo, Korea. However, construction work was also undertaken at the Paenal Yard in Porto Amboim, Angola.

“Our contract started in July 2010 and we started with engineering,” explains Vallot.

“The first steel cut was for the hull in July 2011 and the FPSO left Korea in August 2013. The final construction and integration phase was at Paenal in Angola and when this was finished, the FPSO sailed away from Paenal in January 2014. Then we moved into the offshore phase.

The FPSO was moored and we completed the hook up and commissioning until first oil in June. Overall it was 47 months from effective date until first oil there were no significant delays.”

Overall, the CLOV project has garnered much local involvement and interest and Vallot says that work at the Paenal yard has demonstrated the high level of quality that is now offered by the country’s offshore sector.

“The experience we’ve had with Paenal yard has been extremely positive,” he says. “We started with Paenal when the yard upgrade was beginning. They were still developing facilities and that has been ongoing beside the CLOV project. It has been very successful as the whole scope of activity, which has been much higher than previous projects, has been completed on time, with very good HSE records and to great quality. We can only give very positive feedback to Paenal yard.”

The CLOV FPSO will work on Block 17 for the next 20 years and the hope is that it can be used for further production in the region when it is finished on CLOV. However, if, in 20 years’ time, the FPSO is no longer required, it is likely that it will be redeployed.

“I’m not sure about the future of the FPSO. It very much depends on our team and if they can find some opportunities to extend the life of the FPSO with more production but that is for the exploration team,” says Vallot. “Typically, if there is not, the FPSO would be decommissioned and re-used or dismantled. That is the beauty of an FPSO; it’s very easy to decommission compared to a fixed facility.”

FLAMELESS FLARING One of the innovations that has been installed on the CLOV FPSO is a flameless flare. As part of the group-wide drive by Total to reduce gas wastage, the flameless flare is designed with a combination of valving and rupture disks or very thin plates calibrated to pressure. When the pressure becomes too high, the

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valve opens or the rupture disks break and releases the gas to the flare which uses pellets to ignite automatically.

“It’s a concept that comes from an attempt to reduce the global emissions for Total, it’s part of an overall emission reduction plan which has been going on over the past years and this concept is part of this continuous attempt to reduce gas emissions and also water emissions and all emissions to reduce the environmental impact of our development,” Vallot explains. “By recovering more gas and flaring less gives you economic benefits because its valuable gas being saved.

Also, there is a safety issue as you want your flare to be absolutely reliable.

“For Total, this system is not new. Usan in Nigeria was the

Another innovation for CLOV is the use of a subsea multiphase pump system. The pump system will optimise recovery of hydrocarbons from parts of the Orquidea and Violeta oil fields, two of CLOV’s four reservoirs where pressure conditions are less favourable and the oil more viscous. The rock in the two fields is from the Miocene epoch and creates different conditions for production.

CLOV SURF and SPS Manager, Frédéric Coudeville, says that the pumps are not yet operational but are being installed and normally this is not a lengthy process.

“We have used some similar pumps on Pazflor but this is the first time we have used this specific type of booster pump for

for production. We need to install the pumps and we need to commission the full system with the umbilical and the topside power system. The plan is to use these pumps two years after first oil,” he explains.

There will be two pumps, one of which will be used as a back-up, and there are plans for similar systems to be used in the future as an essential solution for improving recovery rates in mature oilfields.

“For the moment, the second pump is planned purely as a backup so that we are never penalised production-wise. It will be onshore and if we need to switch the pumps, it can be done quickly.

“Overall you’re looking at a 10 day operation. You need to organise everything; you need an installation vessel, you have to connect the pump and you have to depressurise the system so it will probably take 10 days,” he says.

On the Pazflor project, similar pumps have been used for subsea separation of liquids and gas but on CLOV the internal workings of the pump are different in order to deal with the more viscous oil. The system sets itself apart through its capacity to pump and tolerate a blend of fluids made up of oil, gas and water (multiphase fluid) from the oilfields, without their having been separated beforehand. Also, it is hoped that the use of the pumps will mean that optimum

first to apply this concept. As far as we are concerned, we are not in the situation to have a flameless system but as soon as we solve the compressor issue, the intention is to move towards this,” he adds.

subsea operations.

“The pumps have not been installed yet. The manifold is installed in the water and installation of the pumps is scheduled at some point in 2015 so the manifold is just a bypass

production can be maintained after approximately three years of operation.

“This installation will compensate for the gradual fall in pressure in the oil fields by helping to propel the more

Project Director: François Bichon Photo: Hervé Piraud

PAGE 34

MULTIPHASE PUMPING

CLOV viscous oil up from the seabed to the production and storage unit on the sea’s surface.

“The multiphase helico-axial structure is a high-performance design which prevents any loss of load and enables the rotor to evacuate a mix of several (even highly variable) fluids at high speed,” explains Bichon.

EXPORT BUOY Following first oil back in June, the CLOV FPSO quickly set about working to its full capability and oil is being offloaded straight from the vessel. The long-term plan is to offload oil via an export buoy that sits two kilometres away.

“The issue with the buoy is that installation is happening after first oil which means access to the site is reduced and the challenge is to optimise the installation between two tankers. You have to ensure that the sequence of operations does not affect the tankers or the FPSO,” explains Coudeville. “When you pull the Oil Offloading Lines (OOLs) between the buoy and FPSO, you have to be prepared to be working in between these two important pieces of equipment. There will be tugs, there will be vessels, and there will be diving activity around the buoy and the FPSO so everything requires perfect coordination.

“Today the buoy is moored against the fabrication yard quay.

Fabrication has been completed and we are going through different tests. We are working

a turning table so if the tanker moves, the buoy can cope with the situation. It needs more equipment to install but safetywise, it provide huge benefits,” he adds.

The connection between the FPSO and the buoy will be made with OOLs, which Total is using for the first time on this project.

They are 24 inches in diameter and made from reinforced rubber.

They are designed to withstand pressure levels of 30 bars and last for 20 years, and because of their larger diameter, crude oil can be offloaded towards the buoy without the need for booster pumps that would normally be installed on the FPSO. The oil that is produced and offloaded is allocated among the concessionaire and the project shareholders and then sent off to markets all around the globe as Bichon explains: “We have tankers that arrive, connect to the FPSO, take typically one million barrels and then they go all over the world, depending on what the traders have concluded.

This development involves a number of partners with shares.

As each have paid their share of the investment, each gets their share of the oil but, of course, when you have a tanker, you don’t say 40% of the oil is for Total; we arrange to have one tanker for Total then the next is for the concessionaire, then the next for Statoil, the next is for Esso etc etc and then we maintain the account so that we

– it’s the traders business to sell the oil to whoever wants it.”

with the other companies who will be involved in the installation of the buoy to make sure everything is ok.

“We have a buoy on Girassol, Dalia and Pazflor so we know this system. It’s designed with

know the number of tankers that each shareholder has had. Total as the operator will decide the order of tankers and then each company will make their deals with the refineries – which may not even be their own refineries

about 18 months before first oil. We set up what we call an integration steering committee (ISC) to ensure the readiness of the affiliate to integrate CLOV facilities in the organisation. ISC meetings took place every few

HANDING OVER Total has been present in Angola since 1953. At the end of 2013, Total operated around 600,000 boe/d, making it the country’s leading oil operator. The company has vast experience in the region and is known worldwide for its deepwater expertise and, importantly for the Angolan offshore industry, Total is willing to impart its knowledge to local companies in order to continue the on-going successful development of the region.

The project team that has seen CLOV go from contract through to first oil is slowly leaving the project as responsibility for production over the next 20 years will be left with an affiliate organisation.

“We need to work out resolutions to all the small problems that are left. We have handed production and water injection over to the operations team and we have responsibility to resolve a few problems, including the compressor issue, before we finish,” says Bichon.

CLOV Field Operations Manager, Ludovic Linne has been part of the team organising the hand over process and says that it started a long time before first oil: “The handover process is something which started very early. We started about one year before the arrival of the FPSO in Angola, in October 2012,

PAGE 35

© Total E&P Angola – Photo Hervé Piraud

months and the closer we got to first oil, the more frequent they became. Senior management attend the ISC meetings and all the entities are involved because, to integrate a site like CLOV, you need human resources, HSE, drilling, logistics, finance, etc so all the entities are involved and we involved the senior management to ensure that all actions are properly cascaded to the different entities,” he explains.

“I was in charge of the field operations team and control of the operations until the first offloading and after that, it was decided to transfer the operational responsibility of

CLOV personnel within the Block 17 organisation,” says Linne. “For instance, I had set up in my team an onshore support organisation to support production activities so there was around 25 engineers and most of these people have been transferred to the Block 17 field operation organisation. This is very important to help maintain experience and knowledge within the Block 17 organisation.”

Before handing over to the Block 17 organisation, Linne and rest of the field operations team created a list of tasks that still need to be addressed before the FPSO is 100% complete. This is a common process during the hand over procedure on large

the remaining construction activities (if there are any), such as painting, repairs or activities where you are still waiting for materials, and pass it to the affiliate. You would not do this if there are still major activities left to be completed – you only do this when you’re nearly at the end of the project and the final activities are just waiting on simple things.

“For commissioning activities, we have handed over around 100 activities to the affiliate but you have to put that into perspective because there were tens of thousands of activities across the project so what is remaining is minimum scope compared to

the FPSO to the Block 17 field organisation,” he adds.

The handover process has seen Total personnel join the Block 17 operational team, ensuring that expertise remains part of the project.

“We have tried to integrate

projects and the tasks are usually menial.

“The affiliate is always concerned that the project is demobilising too quickly so you have to prepare properly by organising workshops and an exhaustive list to transfer

what the contractor has already done,” he explains.

Vallot, who is soon to head for a new position in the North Sea, says that, so far, the handover has gone very well and the project team are finishing up with their final activities: “It’s a

PAGE 36

Shah Deniz platform - Photo Shahin Abasaliyev - Statoil

CLOV complex operation that takes into account construction, commissioning and other aspects so it has been done in stages from August and it’s still going on. We still have some issues that are being taken care of by the project team.”

The method of handing over this large scale operation from project team to Block 17 operational team is a method that has been a proven success in past operations. The whole process was done in exactly the same way on for Pazflor and Linne says that when a process works so well, there is no need to change it.

“The ISC was set up in the same way on Pazflor, the handover of activities were done in the same way, and we really worked hand-in-hand with the Pazflor project and there was no reason not to reuse the method that was successful on Pazflor.

We did not try and reinvent the wheel, we followed the methodology and we have been successful,” he says.

PLANS FOR 2015 It is clear that there is an air of positivity surrounding the CLOV project. Since first oil, apart from the issue with gas export, everything has gone

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extremely well and showed that the experience from previous projects has been invaluable.

It looks as though this positivity will continue as we move through the new year; the project has already exceeded expectations in terms of reaching its plateau and the challenge now is to maintain this level by drilling more wells.

The ultimate plan is to have 34 wells; 19 oil producers and 15 water injectors. Right now, there is 11 producers and four water injectors and Bichon explains that drilling will go on until all 34 are complete.

“We have two drilling rigs and we have had them since the beginning of 2013 and they have both drilled and will drill continuously. One will stop before the other but the last one will stop in September 2016.

They are drilling one each, one well takes about two months, so we are going at a rhythm of one new well every month.

“When they are drilled and the Christmas trees are installed, then we have to connect them and that takes another two months. Today we have 11 producers, four injectors and two more wells are drilled but not yet connected. During the next year, given more information from the

wells and more information about the reservoir, the geologists might want to drill one more producer or one more injector so it might be adjusted but right now the plan is 19 and 15.

“We are able to start full production with just nine wells. We don’t even need the injectors at the beginning.

As time passes, the reservoir starts emptying and these nine producers start decreasing so we have to add more at other reservoir locations to maintain the full flow at 160,000 bpd so we don’t need all the wells at the beginning, it wouldn’t help,” he says.

On 30th September 2014, oil production reached 168,000 bpd, the design peak for the CLOV FPSO, and has managed to maintain that level ever since. “This is certainly one of the greatest achievements of this project,” explains Linne.

“We have been at around 95% availability since the beginning and this is ongoing.

This is excellent for a start-up, especially in a field that has been operating for a number of years.

What is interesting is that there was basically no learning curve.

Normally, you can expect to start with around 70% or 80% and it increases little by little as you

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PAGE 37

go through trouble shooting. We started, right from the beginning, with a very good availability and we have maintained it. The reason for this is the simplicity of the process.

“Another success has been the readiness of the operator.

If there is a problem that needs attention, the operators have been quick to respond avoiding a full cascade and shut down.

“Another factor is the quality of the commissioning. If this is not done properly, you will pay the price and spend more time trouble-shooting.

“The last success is the drilling where sufficient wells were drilled before first oil – not

CLOV – AN ANGOLAN PROJECT Ever since its first steps in Angola, Total has committed itself to helping the country develop. After the Angolan civil war eventually came to end in 2002, Total was firmly rooted in the region and was perfectly positioned to help develop the economy. Bichon says that he has seen major changes in the country in the 15 years that he has been working on Angolan projects: “There is a lot to do, lots of things to build. I worked in Angola 15 years ago and it was a very different place, still in war.

Luanda was much less developed so we have seen major changes.

activity, the money from the oil was needed for reconstruction after the war. Today, the level of education has risen and the government want the jobs to go to local people across all levels, especially in management roles.”

Of all of the projects on Block 17, CLOV has seen the most local involvement with more than 10 million man-hours of work (Dalia had 2.5 million and Pazflor 3.7 million) and it is expected that the next Total project, Kaombo, will have more than 14 million man-hours of local work.

Like Bichon, Coudeville and Linne have also found working closely with local people and contractors a successful process.

all connected but they were drilled. This means we have avoided sim-ops (simultaneous operations) like having to disconnected or connect and halt production while doing so,” he adds.

There is a lot of aspiration for work from local people and a lot of aspiration for local involvement from government and international companies. 15 years ago, the interest was in revenues.

There was not a lot of economic

“We have worked in different locations around the country and so far the quality has been good.

There have been minor delays but overall we have delivered on time and I believe that this package has been a success,” says

PAGE 38

CLOV Coudeville.

“We have a request from the local authorities to nationalise the organisation as much as possible so our target was to start with at least the same nationalisation ratio as the other FPSO on Block 17. This is what we achieved. For instance, on the production team, all of the operators and chief operators are 100% Angolan positions and 50% of the supervisory positions are Angolan. The start-up team is more international but this is only during the early stages of production,” says Linne.

Overall, since achieving first oil, the CLOV project has been a success on so many levels. The experiences gained from Girassol and Pazflor have provided the perfect platform to build on and, for the Project Director,

the main challenges have been organisational.

“Each project has different characteristics,” says Bichon.

“The first deepwater project on Block 17, Girassol, although I only worked on it for a small amount of time, really was a groundbreaking project.

Everything was a problem and all the solutions had to be invented from scratch. You have to use all your engineering skills to look for new solutions to technical problems in a new environment. CLOV is the fourth deepwater project on Block 17 so we know, more or less, what we have to build. The challenges involve planning, subcontractors, vendors and combining everyone’s work to meet at the correct time – it’s an organisational challenge.

We always try to be inventive and improve the processes but there are always issues of vendors being late or contractors having quality problems so there is always problems that need alternative solutions and with CLOV the challenge has been managing a complicated organisation rather than technical.”

Having utilised a large amount of local labour and developed many improvements for already efficient processes, CLOV will act as an example to follow; not just for Angola’s offshore industry but for deepwater projects all around the world.

The fact that the production plateau was reached so quickly and has been maintained prove that CLOV is indeed a golden project in the Golden Block

© Total E&P Angola – Photo Kostadin Luchansky

PAGE 39

Celebrating first oil production Editorial: Rosie DeWinter

With almost five decades of experience under its belt, ADMA-OPCO has proved its position in an increasingly competitive industry with a successful 2014 which saw first oil production from its Umm Lulu Field located in the Arabian Gulf‌ A major producer of oil and gas from the offshore areas of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, ADMA-OPCO prides its reputation in being an established and pioneering petroleum organisation in

ADMA-OPCO uses state-of-theart technology whilst maintaining responsibility, efficiency, the highest HSE, operational integrity and cost effectiveness standards.

CELEBRATING FIRST OIL PRODUCTION

the region. And with over 45 years of experience within oil and gas production, 2014 was a very busy and exciting year indeed.

With its mission to develop oil and gas production to ensure it maximizes sustainability towards 70% recovery,

Located in the gulf of Abu Dhabi, the Umm Shaif and Zakum fields have long been known to global oil companies for the existence of vast amounts of oil and have, in the last few decades, become both major and renowned oil and gas producers.

located in the Arabian Gulf 30km north-west of Abu Dhabi, using existing facilities of the nearby Umm Al-Dalkh Oil Field.

Developed by ADMA-OPCO, the Umm Lulu field is a joint venture of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc,

PAGE 40

At the start of October last year, ADMA-OPCO began first oil production from the Umm Lulu Field,

ABU DHABI MARINE OPERATING COMPANY 60%), BP (14.67%), Total (13.33%) and the Japan Oil Development Company (Jodco, 12%). The field is being developed as part of ADNOC’s strategic initiative to achieve 1.75 million barrels of offshore crude oil production a day by 2017, which incidentally is part of a grander scheme to increase Abu Dhabi’s total crude oil production to an exponential 3.5 million barrels a day.

The first well from the Umm Lulu field flowed at 5000 BOPD, joining the offshore production system and highlighted a significant step in achieving Abu Dhabi Oil production goals.

ADMA-OPCO plans to add 270,000 barrels per day capacity through the development of three new fields offshore with the Umm Lulu Field contributing a total of 105,000 barrels per day to this goal.

Nasr and Satah Al Razboot (SARB), two other offshore fields operated by

ADMA-OPCO, are being developed along with Umm Lulu, as part of this plan. It is planning to increase its daily crude oil production capacity from the current 600,000 barrels to approximately one million barrels by 2020.

MAJOR CONTRACTING In November last year, ADMA-OPCO signed four important contracts worth an estimated US$3.5 billion for the two offshore fields, helping to boost the output from its Nasr field offshore Abu Dhabi. The four contracts were dealt to NPCC, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Technip.

The Umm Lulu field is being developed in two phases, with the first phase including the construction of seven wellhead towers, the laying of 110 km of infield pipelines, a 32-km excess gas pipeline and a 70-km oil export line. By the end of 2015 it will achieve 22,000 barrels per day and on

its completion in 2018, up to 105,000 barrels of crude oil a day.

Totalling $3 billion, three contracts went to National Petroleum Construction Co. (NPCC), Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), and Technip, who own a 35% share, for the second phase of the project, known as the Nasr full field development project.

With Technip responsible for the engineering aspect of the development, valued at $206 million, NPCC will carry out the fabrication and installation of processing facilities at the site with a value of $792 million.

A fourth contract worth an estimated $494 million went to NPCC for work at the Umm Shaif super complex.

The Umm Shaif project will include the transfer of an additional 200 MMscfd of gas from Umm Shaif to Habshan to ensure the available gas streams are fully utilised to help increase onshore gas supply. The

PAGE 41

additional gas supply by the middle of 2016 will then be made available by production from new Khuff wells and debottlenecking.

Following the initial phase, Phase II of the development involves the installation of six new wellhead towers and the construction of a super complex. This will include six bridgelinked platforms, with a gas treatment platform, a separation platform, accommodation platform and power supply through subsea cables from facilities at Das Island and the construction of a power distribution platform at Umm Shaif.

The six platforms, associated jackets, flares and bridges will weigh more than 66,000 tons with the platforms installed using the float-over method which means a major portion of hook-up and pre-commissioning work needs to be completed onshore before it is loaded out into the sea.

This development phase will also include 90km of infield subsea pipelines, 125km of main oil lines and 100km of fibre-optic cables.

The production facilities for the

PAGE 42

development were fabricated in Sohar, Oman and were successfully transported to the Umm Lulu Field in early 2014 for installation.

A noteworthy development, the initial phase of this development marks a milestone for ADMA-OPCO with the oil to be processed by another operator. The fluid output of the field will be sent via an export pipeline to the Zirku Island for processing and Umm Lulu will be tied into ADMAOPCO’s Satah Al Razboot (SARB) offshore oil field for processing the output at the Zirku Island facilities.

COMPLETION DATE On its completion in 2018, the Full Field Development will include six new wellhead towers to host the 78 new wells, sub-sea pipelines carrying oil, water and gas, an offshore super-complex consisting of multiple processing platforms and central control by data transfer through Fibre Optic cables relating to the latest smart fields technology.

Awarded on Lump Sum basis under two separate contracts for Phase I

to NPCC, and Phase II to the Joint Venture of both NPCC and Technip.

These are currently under various phases of design and construction with plans to be installed progressively from 2015 into early 2018.

“These key projects come under the guidance of Abu Dhabi Government and the support of the SPC and the Shareholders,” said Ali Rashid Al-Jarwan, CEO of ADMA-OPCO in a statement, emphasising that the entire project is in line with ADNOC’s plans to ensure sustained oil production, while maintaining highest HSE standards.

“We are proud of our strategic and long standing partnership with NPCC, Hyundai and Technip and hope that the project would be completed as per the set schedule and quality standards.

“As part of our commitment to building the future of Abu Dhabi and UAE nationals we are investing in the advancement of the future oil and gas leadership by implementing a comprehensive, well-structured career development programme for young UAE nationals as part of the EPC

ABU DHABI MARINE OPERATING COMPANY

contracts for the new oil fields where the selected candidates will be assigned to the EPC contactors’ premises and participate within the projects’ task force,” Mr Al-Jarwan stated.

EOR AGREEMENT In October last year, ADMA-OPCO cemented its longstanding relationship with BP, signing an agreement to develop new and innovative technology for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR).

EOR refers to the techniques used for increasing the amount of crude oil that can be extracted from an oil field. Methods for enhanced oil recovery include hydraulic fracturing, steam flood and water flood injection. Using these methods means that between 30-60% of the reservoir’s original oil can be extracted compared to just 20-40% when using more secondary recovery methods.

This agreement will see BP support

ADMA-OPCO in carrying out both laboratory and field tests to evaluate Carbonate Ionic Design EOR potential in the existing company fields.

In a statement, Mr Al-Jarwan praised the continued collaboration and deeplyrooted partnership between ADMAOPCO and BP: “We are pleased to partner with our Shareholder, BP, in this important programme. EOR technologies will play a key role to meet the energy demand in Abu Dhabi in the years to come and we, at ADMA-OPCO, have an aspiration to reach an ultimate recovery factor of 70% for our fields.”

The Carbonate Ionic Design EOR study technology is similar to BP’s innovative LoSal® reduced salinity waterflooding technology. In total, more than 45 core-flood tests were performed in validating the LoSal EOR effect, before field trials began in Alaska.

The technology has now been

deployed on the Clair Ridge project in the North Sea. BP was awarded the 2014 Offshore Technology Conference Distinguished Achievement Award for the Clair Ridge LoSal EOR project, helping to recognise the company’s specialist EOR technologies.

Vice President for EOR Technology, John Peak said: “This was a valuable opportunity to deepen ADMAOPCO’s understanding of BP’s EOR technologies, and to demonstrate close collaboration between BP’s Upstream and Downstream segments. Projects like the Carbonate Ionic Design EOR help demonstrate BP’s technology, capability, and the value we can provide to our partners.”

With such a busy and successful year for ADMA-OPCO, Total World Energy looks forward to following the progress of both oil fields and upcoming developments in the future

PME Group of Companies At the heart of the energy industry in Abu Dhabi, PME Group has five distinct subsidiaries, each with their own industry-specific expertise, catering to worldwide organizations. From chemical cleaning and specialist bolting to appliance trading and solar panelling to upstream activities, drilling and related industries, PME Group has the capacity to provide both single services and turnkey solutions to all its clients through its leadership, vision and constant commitment to quality.

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PME Group has established itself not only as a tried, tested and trusted provider of products and services, but also as a driver of new initiatives and innovation.

Since it was established, PME Group has become instrumental in supporting the oil and gas, petrochemical and utilities industries with essential products and services. Through its engineering products and engineering services divisions, PME Group provides all the essential support for turnkey solutions, maximizing efficiency, minimizing costs and creating opportunities. This is the corner stone of PME Group.

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PAGE 44

Our mission is to provide quality services through technical expertise and highly skilled technicians and to supply high technology products to suit our clients’ needs.

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Petro Middle East offers a wide range of electrical, mechanical, instrumentation and process equipment.

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The £500m Stublach Project Editorial: Harriet Pattison

Total World Energy speaks to Storengy UK Managing Director, Charlotte Roule, to discuss the progress of the Stublach Project located in Northwich, Cheshire, UK. With the drilling of the first caverns beginning in April 2008 and operations commencing in September 2014, the natural gas storage project will eventually have a total storage capacity of 400 million cubic meters when it is fully operational in 2020.

Nestled within the picturesque countryside of Northwich in Cheshire is a rather exciting development project. The salt caver n storage facility, a £500m gas storage project, on completion will be the largest onshore facility of its type in the UK. W ith a total storage

PAGE 46

capacity of 400 million cubic meters (mcm) of natural gas, it will have withdrawal rates of up to 30mm³/d.

Storengy UK, a subsidiary of GDF SUEZ, is executing the Stublach project which is the first project for Storengy in the UK.

Gas storage is primarily used to meet variations in demand for, and supply of, gas. During periods of low demand, gas is injected into storage and withdrawn during periods of peak demand. The most important type of gas storage is in underground

STORENGY UK reservoirs of which there are three primary types: depleted gas fields - which are the most common and traditionally hold the greatest volumes, aquifers and salt caver ns.

All three types have individual physical and economic characteristics which in tur n gover n the suitability of a particular type of storage for a given application.

The Stublach site uses salt caver ns. Although a less common option globally, these are well-suited to natural gas storage as the injected natural gas is unable to escape from the storage facility unless it is deliberately extracted. The process of solution mining involves the pumping of fresh water down a borehole into the salt layer. Where the salt is dissolved, a void is created where the water, now saline,

is pumped back up to the surface. All the saline is used in the chemical industry in Cheshire. This process is repeated until the desired size of the caver n is achieved.

On completion, these salt caver ns offer an underground natural gas storage vessel with very high deliverability, much higher than either the aquifer or depleted reservoir options. This allows the stored gas to be withdrawn and replenished quickly, which is especially useful during short periods of unexpected demand surges.

THE STUBLACH PROJECT Total World Energy speaks to Storengy UK Managing Director, Charlotte Roule who explains Storengy now has 22 storage sites currently in operation across France, Germany

and now the UK, with 1,000 employees and 12.5 bcm storage capacity. Joining Storengy UK in January 2013, Roule previously worked for Storengy in France on Audit and Performance based activities.

This specific Cheshire location was chosen due to “a question of geology”, Roule explains. “When you’re dealing with underground gas storage there are only certain areas where you can do that. Typically for salt caver n storage, you need a layer of salt. At Stublach the salt is not as deep as we are used to in France, but it works well.

The site is also well located for access into the National Transmission Grid.”

The Stublach project, privately funded by the GDF SUEZ group, was agreed in 2007 with construction work

PAGE 47

in summer 2014 and that’s what we did,” Roule explains.

PROTECTING PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

beginning the following year.

It has been commercially operational since 2014. Gas storage is a key part of the energy transition envisaged by GDF SUEZ as a group, which means ensuring that the move to cleaner forms of generation is supported by continued provision of transition fuels like natural gas.

“So regarding construction, the first stage was about drilling the caver ns and building the surface facilities that would allow us to operate the caver ns - and doing this in a way that ensured safety for all. It went well, we had to face some difficult weather conditions which is a traditional issue on these kind of projects. We announced to the market we would be ready

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“If you come to the site, there are fields everywhere, it is very beautiful and you can see the storage site but it is mainly underground. Of course, when we were working in the fields it caused some disruption to the local farmers but we worked closely with them to minimise the extent of our works”

Roule explains the project involved securing the consent of the local authority and demonstrating that safety comes first in all activities: “As we created everything, we needed to develop systems and process which would ensure safe operations.

We were also keen to work with our neighbours, to ensure our project was accepted which was a priority for Storengy. We set up a local committee to make sure that every question could be addressed and managed, particularly for the very first stage when we drilled the caver ns.

“If you come to the site, there are fields everywhere, it is very beautiful and you can see the storage site but it is mainly underground.

Of course, when we were working in the fields it caused some disruption to the local farmers but we worked closely with them to minimise the extent of our works. It was important to have local acceptance and the understanding of our neighbours. Regarding the environment, there are some protected species in the area so we wanted to take care of those - even going further than normal obligations.

“There weren’t many concer ns in the neighbourhood. The Health and Safety Executive also spent time with us reviewing our design and safety

STORENGY UK procedures, just making sure we were doing the right thing and had identified all the risks and to ensure we managed them. Salt caver ns are safe and today, there are no concer ns.”

DELIVERING TO THE MARKET W ith operation at Stublach now underway, Roule explains the next step: “We are delivering three further caver ns right now so they are ready. So we are, by the start of 2015, at five caver ns, which is one hundred million cubic meters of capacity. By 2020, our plan is to go on creating the shape and converting the remaining caver ns.

“Generally, we create the salt caver ns in partnership

“We are delivering three further caverns right now so they are ready. So we are, by the start of 2015, at five caverns, which is one hundred million cubic meters of capacity. By 2020, our plan is to go on creating the shape and converting the remaining caverns”

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with the chemical industry which we did here. The chemical industry have a need for this brine, so it can be used for chlorine, soda or even table salt. ” Roule explains.

W ith surprisingly little capacity available on the UK market, Roule explains that if you compare the yearly volume of gas consumed to the volume in underground gas storage, the average for Europe stands at 22% compared to just 6% for the UK, so the need in the UK is evident.

“We propose our capacity on the market, which is quite unusual for facilities like ours,” Roule adds.

“We are in quite a congested area from a National Grid

SCAN ME

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point of view. This is a positive point though, especially for public investment, as there is no need if we provide storage for National Grid to invest more, so just the fact of being there can help. Further to the development of the second group of 10 caver ns, we will have to add some surface facilities in order to maintain the performance we want for the whole site.”

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A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE

“When Stublach is finished, what we do is we remain fully involved in the area and we aim at developing innovation in the wider sense with local partners”

W ith a project of such magnitude and importance, Roule explains the first step was to have geothermal experts in house in order to access the interest of the project to establish whether it is worth investing and also describes it as a good way to demonstrate distinction from other potential investors.

“After that, you need some other project skills, starting

STORENGY UK with health and safety and then including a range of skills from drilling to thermal dynamics,” Roule adds. “On the project, we had to build everything, so you will find people dealing with concrete, digging and having the holes closed. So it’s really about geoscience first of all, thermal dynamics and then electrical and mechanical engineering.

“We took a lot of experience from our operations in France and Germany. We used expertise there in helping us to understand the underground and surface facilities and the way to maximise the safe performance of the site. The commissioning and start-up activities also require specialist skills.”

Looking to the future and much of Storengy UK’s energy is focused on the aim of Stublach having 20 caverns by 2020 but Roule explains there are definitely more exciting plans in the pipeline: “When Stublach is finished, what we do is we remain fully involved in the area and we aim at developing innovation in the wider sense with local partners.

“We are currently discussing with some university partners.

It’s only the beginning but the idea is to take the benefits of this experience and see what we could do further. That’s the idea,” Roule concludes

“So it’s really about geoscience first of all, thermal dynamics and then electrical and mechanical engineering”

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An advocate for excellence in Qatar Editorial: Rosie DeWinter

With a vision to become an advocate for excellence and a world class drilling services provider, Gulf Drilling International (GDI) has become a true visionary for exponential growth since its inception in 2004. With an increasingly impressive rig fleet, GDI has recently signed a number of contracts with Qatar Petroleum, securing a busy and no doubt successful schedule for the next five years…

Over a decade ago, Gulf Drilling International Ltd (GDI), a subsidiary of Gulf International Services (GIS) the largest oilfield services company

(QP), Qatar’s national oil corporation with 60%.

In 2007, Qatar Petroleum acquired a further 25% of JDC

AN IMPRESSIVE FLEET

in Qatar, was established in the industry as the first onshore and offshore oil and gas drilling company in Qatar. Initially, it was formed as a result of a joint venture between Japan Drilling Co., Ltd (JDC) with 40% share and Qatar Petroleum

shares, bringing its total share in GDI to 70%. However, in February the following year, these shares were transferred to Gulf International Services, which in May 2008, became a public shareholding company.

has seen exponential development in the ten years since its inception.

With an ever increasing workforce which has increased from 100 employees to 1,600, the company’s rig fleet, impressively, now stands at 12 rigs.

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Now a key contractor of choice in Qatar, GDI is recognised as a growth-orientated company which

GULF DRILLING INTERNATIONAL Today, GDI’s fleet consists of six land rigs and six offshore jackup rigs but there are plans in the pipeline to further increase this to 14 drilling rigs in 2015. This new fleet formation will include eight offshore jack-up rigs, six land rigs, one accommodation jack-up rig and two lift boats.

It is clear then that GDI are focused and intent on becoming a key competitor in the industry, with aspirations to become a world class drilling service provider introducing safe, efficient and innovative drilling services.

GDI started operations by working for its single client Qatar Petroleum and now has widened its portfolio to global industry leaders including Shell, Maersk Oil, Occidental, RasGas and Dolphin Energy.

In September last year, GDI officially signed four new contracts and four contract extensions with Qatar Petroleum for the provision

“I am pleased to see this rig sail out safely to its first well location in Qatar ahead of schedule.

This marks the 5th state of the art cyber rig of GDI’s fleet and will serve to further enhance our operational capabilities while lowering the average age of our rigs”

of drilling rig services, each having a term of five years.

This includes the provision of two new offshore drilling rigs, ‘Dukhan’ and ‘Halul’ and two new land rigs GDI-7 and GDI8. The contract extensions with Qatar Petroleum also allows the continuation of services performed by four land rigs, GDI-1, GDI-2, GDI-3 and GDI-4.

THE DUKHAN LIFTBOAT The 5-year QR1.28 billion contract from Qatar Petroleum to provide offshore drilling and rig services, includes the construction of the jack-up rig, Dukhan.

Dukhan underwent its final commissioning and testing at NKOM Shipyard (Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd), where various third party equipment was installed and drill pipe loaded onto it to ensure specifications were met and Qatar Petroleum’s final acceptance was achieved.

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GULF DRILLING INTERNATIONAL These strict specifications were met and Dukhan was accepted

by Qatar Petroleum, delivered from the Keppel FELS Shipyard in Singapore in August last year before being dry towed to Qatar, it was nine days ahead of schedule, on budget with a perfect safety record.

Mr. Ibrahim J. Al Othman, Chief Executive Officer at GDI, said in a statement: “I am pleased to see this rig sail out safely to its first well location in Qatar ahead of schedule. This marks the 5th state of the art cyber rig of GDI’s fleet and will serve to further enhance our operational capabilities while lowering the average age of our rigs. The inspection and acceptance process went very smoothly, allowing drilling services to commence early than expected. I want to thank QP for their excellent support and

“The inspection and acceptance process went very smoothly, allowing drilling services to commence early than expected. I want to thank QP for their excellent support and cooperation, which made the early start of drilling operations possible”

cooperation, which made the early start of drilling operations possible.”

Built to Keppel’s proprietary KFELS B Class design, the high specification rig included numerous custom built features, including a 15,000 PSI choke system for well control, allowing it to drill wells through 30,000ft with a cantilever that can skid out 75ft from the edge of the hull to drill wells, offline stand building and 7,500 PSI mud pumps. These features allow it to work anywhere in Qatar and can accommodate up to 150 people.

Dukhan is the fourth jack-up rig to be delivered to GDI by Keppel, following Al Khor, Al Zubarah and Les-hat.

Wong Kok Seng, Managing Director of Keppel Offshore & Marine and Keppel FELS explained: “We are pleased to

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deliver another major project to GDI early, on budget and to their highest satisfaction. It is a result of the strong partnership we have built with GDI over the years on a variety of projects. Repeat customers are a testament to the quality of Keppel O&M’s products and services as well as the effectiveness of our proprietary designs. I am confident that “Dukhan” will be just as successful for GDI as the three

recently secured a contract to build a customised liftboat for GDI. We look forward to supporting GDI as they expand their offshore fleet and presence in the Middle East,” Mr Wong Kok Seng added.

Following the successful delivery of the Dukhan, GDI has signed a further contract with Qatar

intention of reducing its average age whilst maintaining technical capabilities.

Of the new contract, Mr. Al Othman said in a statement: “GDI is pleased to be signing a contract with Keppel FELS once again for this new requirement. We have built a solid relationship with Keppel FELS, who have a reputation for reliability and dependability. The majority of our rigs are of the newer, high spec variety that have

rigs we have delivered to them since 2006.

“In addition, our shipyard in Qatar, Nakilat-Keppel O&M (N-KOM), is also supporting GDI with the repair and maintenance of their rig fleet. N-KOM has

Petroleum, valued at QR825 million, for the delivery of a new jack-up drilling rig, Halul, set to be delivered in the first quarter of 2016. Halul is the fifth KFELS B Class rig to be delivered, helping to both grow and modernise the GDI’s fleet with the

been customized to meet the needs of our clients. We make it a point to work closely with our clients in order to satisfy their requirements in a cost effective manner.”

With accommodation facilities for 150 people, a cantilever outreach

© Shell PAGE 56

BUILDING SOLID RELATIONSHIPS

GULF DRILLING INTERNATIONAL of 70ft and a drilling depth of 30,000ft, Halul will be enabled by an off-line stand building and will be delivered equipped with multiple features, equipment and facilities, meeting the high standards GDI recently set for the delivery of Dukhan.

“We are pleased to have been chosen by GDI to build another benchmark jackup rig for them,” explained Mr Wong Kok Seng. “The KFELS B Class has established itself as a reliable high specification jack-up rig for the Middle East with more than 10 such rigs successfully operating there.

“In addition to providing newbuild jackups, our shipyard in Qatar, Nakilat-Keppel O&M, is also supporting GDI with the construction of a liftboat now

“The majority of our rigs are of the newer, high spec variety that have been customized to meet the needs of our clients. We make it a point to work closely with our clients in order to satisfy their requirements in a cost effective manner”

in progress and the repair and maintenance of their rig fleet. Our strong partnership has been built on a number of successful projects that have been delivered to them over the years and we look forward to continuing our support of GDI as they grow in the Middle East,” he added.

Looking to the future then and GDI is looking to continually focus on its core values to work safely, efficiently and to constantly improve performance, helping to add value to forthcoming projects.

With an authorised and issued share capital of QR739.6 million, the company plans to further enhance its share of the offshore market to 50% in 2015 with the prospect of acquiring more rigs over the coming years

PAGE 57

Increasing performance in the ISP

market Editorial: Rosie DeWinter

With a new range of Passive Fire Protection that will significantly help to increase performance and efficiency in the ISP market, Bilfinger Industrier Norge, first founded over a century ago, is further improving its position on the offshore and onshore oil & gas market.

Based in Stavanger, Norway, Bilfinger Industrier has a long and successful history which now spans across 100 years, evolving to its current form from a series of mergers and acquisitions and expansion of market share. Bilfinger Industrier is the largest of

PAGE 58

several businesses within the oil and gas division of Bilfinger SE, a major inter national engineering and services company.

Following a rebranding to BIS in the early part of 2007, it then re-branded to Bilfinger Industrier in February

last year. Starting off in the insulation space, the company has early expanded into surface protection, scaffolding and related services over the years.

Total World Energy speaks to J端rgen Liedl, Commercial Director at Bilfinger Industrier

BILFINGER INDUSTRIER NORGE and Tor Minsaas, Director Technology & Support Systems, who explain the core business of the company today is ISP (Insulating, Scaffolding and Painting services) and rope access, with an increasing focus on related products like passive fire protection or habitats.

Its product range includes prefabricated solutions for fire, acoustic, cryogenic and thermal protection, which have been tested and developed to meet the NORSOK requirements. The company holds ISO:9001, ISO:140001 and OHSAS 18001 certification.

“We have increased our focus on developing new

products in the last few years,” explains Minsaas.

“We have had our range of products for a number of years but now we have an increasing focus on creating new products that add increasing value to our customers.”

PRODUCT INNOVATION One of the most recent developments is a special product aimed at the insulating market, the Lambda Cryo Box. This is a prefabricated cryogenic

PAGE 59

insulation system which has been designed and tested to insulate valves with operating temperatures down to -163°C. The solution can be removed and reinstalled multiple times, resulting in significant cost savings.

The installation of the Lambda Cryo Box requires minimal heavy work which helps to result in the involvement of fewer personnel, so a more efficient installation and a safer working environment is met.

“Over the last couple of

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“Our staff have got trade certificates in individual trades such as insulation, surface protection or scaffolding”

years we have introduced and worked with a couple of new materials which are fairly strong. Our main focus of activity in our new product range is a polymer based material called Favuseal,” Minsaas explains.

F a v u s e a l i s e x t re m e l y slim building and is able t o w i t h s t a n d t h e e x t re m e conditions that our c u s t o m e r s d e m a n d i n t o d a y ’s m a r k e t . “ I m p ro v i n g t h e p e r f o r m a n c e i n a j e t f i re , ” F a v u s e a l g e n e r a t e s e x t re m e l y low smoke development

BILFINGER INDUSTRIER w h e n i t re a c t s . E q u a l l y a s important, it is much easier to transport, easier to i n s t a l l a n d p ro v i d e s b e t t e r insulation whilst being a m u c h m o re e n v i ro n m e n t a l l y friendly option.

The technology that has been used in developing Favuseal also helps to p ro t e c t w o r k e r s o n s i t e a s i t i s h a l o g e n - f re e a n d d o e s n o t g e n e r a t e c o r ro s i v e o r t o x i c g a s e s i n t h e e v e n t o f a f i re .

THE NEW HABITAT SYSTEM I n a d dition to th e i n t ro du ctio n of n ew a nd i n n o v ative mater ials, Li e d l an d Min s aas ex plai n t ha t B i l fi n ger In du s tr ier ha s a l so an n ou n ced a n ew p re ssuri z e d

“We see global potential for our product range and customers in all regions of the oil & gas industry are giving us excellent feedback on its performance”

ha bi ta t sy ste m ; w hi c h i s po rta bl e , fl e xi bl e a nd m o re c o st e ffe c ti v e tha n pre v i o us so l uti o ns a nd i s H SE e ffi c i e nt a t the sa m e ti m e . “ We ha v e ta k e n e xi sti ng te c hno l o g y a nd i m pro v e d i t so the ne w ha bi ta t i s m o re fl e xi bl e a nd e a si e r to ha ndl e ” e xpl a i ns M i nsa a s.

T he sy ste m i s si m pl e a nd stra i g htfo rw a rd. As a n e xa m pl e , the sta ti o na ry c o ntro l uni t c a n be m o v e d o utsi de the ha bi ta t te nt a nd the re fo re ha bi ta t m a nni ng c a n be ha l v e d. T he so l uti o n c o m e s w i th ba tte ri e s tha t a re po w e rful e no ug h to run a 2 4 v o l t c o ntro l uni t, w hi c h o ffe rs si g ni fi c a ntl y hi g he r fl e xi bi l i ty i n o pe ra ti o ns c o m pa re d to a

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t y p i cal 230 Volt s ys tem . A l so, t h e c o n t rol u n it o f th e ne w h ab i t at sys tem weigh onl y 20 k g a nd a re eas y to tr ansp ort an d i ns t a ll.

THE BEST PRODUCTS? W i t h so man y u n iqu e m a t e r i a l s in pro du ction, h o w d o Bilf in g er In du s t ri e r en s ure i t remain s amongst t h e t o p i n du s tr y leaders i n an i ncre a s in gly co mpet i t i v e in d u s t r y ? “ We believe o ur p ro d u cts are th e b es t – b ecau s e th ey are ! ” ex p l a i ns Min s aas . “ We ha v e sup er b d ocu men tation , for ex a m p l e o n th e Pas s ive F i re Pro tection , th ey are ex t rem e l y well tes ted. The y ’re t es t e d with dr ain plu g s a nd in s p e c t i on h atch es an d t he d o c um e ntatio n co ver s a ra nge

“We have an agreement with Statoil on a number of installations in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea as well as the big Kalundborg refinery in Denmark”

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o f surfa c e a re a a nd m a ss, a s w e l l a s a bro a d ra ng e o f te m pe ra ture s o f the o bj e c t. ” D e spi te c o m pe ti ti v e m a rk e ts, Li e dl e xpl a i ns: “ We be l i e v e w e ’ v e g o t g re a t pro duc ts a nd a g re a t se rv i c e tha t w e de l i v e r. T he c o m bi ne d o ffe ri ng o f the se tw o pl us o ur stro ng m a rk e t po si ti o n g i v e us a n e xc e l l e nt ba si s fo r suc c e ssful furthe r de v e l o pm e nt. ”

DEDICATED MANUFACTURING In 2011, Bilfinger Industrier opened its existing head office in Stavanger and consolidated all the pre-fabrication works to this location. “We have a very advanced prefabrication workshop and we continuously invest in machinery and

BILFINGER INDUSTRIER equipment to ensure efficiency and quality of our production,” says Liedl.

“This summer we then moved out what we call the flexible product to an additional workshop in Bergen. This gives us additional capacity and room to grow and develop the business,” Minsaas explains.

W ith big frame agreements and ongoing installation and maintenance works, Liedl explains the bulk of the company’s business still lies with typical ISP services for key industry customers including Statoil and BP. “We have an agreement with Statoil on a number of installations in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea as well as the big Kalundborg refinery in Denmark. They’re a major customer and we have a very close and professional relationship with them.”

Mama’s Boys Because men listen to their mothers, Bilfinger Industrier is hanging life-size portraits of employee’s mothers on the walls at workplaces in Norway.

In dozens of workshops, factories, refineries, industrial buildings and offshore installations, the portraits look down benevolently from their gilded frames.

The portraits are part of a health and safety campaign developed by Kirsti Gerhardsen to ensure workers take their work seriously and pay attention. The accompanying brochures say it all: “Think carefully about everything that could happen. Love, Mom.”

SKILLED STAFF

MAINTAINING ITS GLOBAL REACH

W ith high expectations from its customers, it is vital that Bilfinger Industrier’s employees maintain the highest skillset.

The company currently has 1,700 skilled employees working across Norway.

“Our staff have got trade certificates in individual trades such as insulation, surface protection and scaffolding primarily,” Liedl explains. “We have well over 1,000 employees with trade certificates now and we are providing training to many people every year, both for our employees and external candidates too. These skills are very important for the ways in which we operate.”

Looking to the future, Bilfinger Industrier will concentrate on its large market share and expand further into other oil regions.

“We aim to consolidate where we are, retain our large market share in our core markets and successfully grow our product portfolio further to meet the demands from the market and the needs of our customers.” explains Liedl.

“We are looking to push our products on a global scale,” Minsaas adds. “We see global potential for our product range and customers in all regions of the oil & gas industry are giving us excellent feedback

on its performance.”

“We are part of a global business group with about 1 billion Euro in revenue in the oil & gas market,” explains Liedl. “We work together with our sister companies to expand our portfolio in other relevant oil & gas industries like the UK, the Middle East or South East Asia.”

W ith a century old history behind it and much to focus on over the coming years, it seems Bilfinger Industrier knows exactly what it is doing.

“Not only are we able to take on large projects and large customers but our staff and our delivery skills definitely remain one of our key strengths,” concludes Liedl

PAGE 63

Expertly integrated oil and gas Editorial: Tim Hands

Even now, almost 80 years after the company’s development, the Bahrain Petroleum Company is undertaking and exploring new initiatives in oil and gas field development, with new global markets continuing to open up and spark rapid advancement within the company.

The first company to discover oil in the Arabian Peninsula in 1932,

wholly owned by the Government of Bahrain, and is engaged in the

for more than 14 million barrels, while a marketing terminal and a marine

Bapco started exporting in 1934 and refining in 1936, and has spent the intervening years helping to shape the current Kingdom of Bahrain, both through the generation of wealth and through the developing of the country’s manpower. It is

many facets of the oil industry comprising refining, distribution of petroleum products and natural gas, and sales and exports of crude oil and refined products. The company boasts a 264,000 barrel-a-day refinery, alongside storage facilities

terminal are essential for its refined petroleum products, 95% of which are exports.

A significant proportion of Bapco’s exports are made widely throughout the Middle East, India, the Far East, South East Asia and Africa, while

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BAPCO its activities within the sector are extensive. Through its exploration work, far-reaching studies are carried out to explore new offshore oil and gas reserves and obtain more accurate data on existing reserves, while Bapco also refines some 260,000 barrels of crude daily. The company has more than 170 storage tanks at different sites, exporting crude to world markets and selling petroleum products both locally and internationally. It also supplies aviation fuel at the Bahrain International Airport through the Bahrain Aviation Fuelling Company (BAFCO), and provides natural gas to power plants and other industries in Bahrain.

New technologies have vastly improved performance and safety in modern oil exploration, since its beginnings in 1912 with the discovery of Cushing Field in Oklahoma, USA. While, fundamentally, the process remains the same, with an energy demand which continues to grow exponentially, oil and gas exploration and production today requires a variety of economic, social, political and environmental considerations.

Companies are charged with finding and producing increasing quantities of oil and gas, although achieving this requires much more than simply ramping up production from traditional sources. Towards this end, it has become necessary to adopt new exploration and production technologies, evolve environmental laws and regulations that vary among and within nations, and provide adequate profitability.

Bapco’s refining division,

BMP The Bapco Modernisation Project (BMP), in full swing this year, has been developed with several key objectives in mind, perhaps most pivotal of which is a revised configuration which will allow for a higher throughput, improve the product slate and increase the gross margin in order to remain competitive across a range of prices and market scenarios. There is a heavy focus here too on environmental compliance, ensuring that all new units function according to the relevant local environmental regulations, while improving energy efficiency and lowering the Energy Intensity Index (EII) of the refinery.

Bapco’s Chairman, Adel Khalil Al Moayyed, describes the rationale behind the modernisation project as such: “The objective of the BMP is to develop an optimum refinery configuration that will place Bapco amongst the most competitive refineries, as well as address environmental and efficiency issues.

The initial front-end loading phase for the BMP, corresponding to phase 1 of Bapco’s project development and execution process – detailing the business case, scope, framework and viability – has been completed in line with recommendations of a number of specialised studies and reviews.”

100,000 barrels per day, with the project management, engineering and construction firm Technip Italy set to carry out the front-end engineering and design, at a cost of around $55 million.

Dr Peter Bartlett, Bapco Chief Executive, told Gulf Daily News of how the BMP comprises a group of related projects managed in a co-ordinated way to obtain maximum benefits. “It follows a $1.2bn Strategic Investment Programme,” he described, “as a result of which the refinery is now the first in the Middle East with the capability to produce nearly 100,000 bpd of Euro V diesel and Group III lube oil base stock.”

Adel Khalil Al Moayyed reinforced just how central the Bapco Modernisation Programme is to

meanwhile, is responsible for the entire hydrocarbon supply chain which comprises the receipt, storage, processing and refining of crude as well as its storage, blending, and shipment through the Bapco Wharf.

September of this year brought a hugely significant chapter in these development plans, with the signing of a major plant upgrade deal, whose work is to be carried out over the next 16 months. This expansion aims to raise Bapco’s refining capacity by

the company’s thinking over the coming years. “Over the next six to eight years, our strategic focus for the downstream business will be entirely on the BMP. The BMP is in fact a ‘programme’ which, in project continues on page 68..

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Al A’Ali Delivery of Confidence and Certainty from our collective global Experience Pascal Bateman, Comsip Al A’Ali Middle East Regional Executive Director: “We have been present in the Kingdom of Bahrain since 1971. Comsip as Part of Vinci Energies International Oil & Gas Group and Ahmed Mansoor Al A’ALI group, is now entering into 34 years of collaboration in Bahrain.

These relationships are demonstrated by successful mobilization of large workforces, innovative local content participation, continuous improvement and significant safety milestones being achieved.”

Jean Michel Lang, Managing Director of Vinci Energies International Oil & Gas - major stakeholder of Comsip: “With the world wide group synergies, we are able to provide an extensive portfolio of expertise in the Services (Operations and Maintenance, Engineering and Inspection Maintenance, Commissioning and Flawless Startup, O&M Training with International standard), Projects (EPC Turnkey or specialized: Electrical, E&I, Utilities, ICSS, AF, HIPPS etc), Technical Assistance and some niche markets (analyzers, architecture and ergonomics).”

Promoting ‘Actemium’, our new brand, for integrated solutions focus for industrial business, our clients will have the benefits of a global and local approach with a broader offering in Process control and Automation, Electrical and Instrumentation, Mechanical and Piping and Process Utilities. Actemium offers an unequalled global range of expertise, services and references.

Pontius Hutapea, Country Manager and Comsip Al A’Ali Director: We have been active since 1971, starting with the LSFO project and in 2001 getting involved with Bapco’s Modernization of CDU and VDU. Then FCCU, Tank Farm, North process Control Building (Modernization of LSFO and FCCU Complexes) as well as LSDP, RGDP, LBOP and WWTPP. The STG project will begin with SRU Modification. We are proud to be part of Bapco History.

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SAFETY IS OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY – EVERYBODY SAFE – EVERY DAY” Our commitment is to ensure that the Bapco facility is a safe place to work. Safety drives our approach to projects, the way we work with each other and the way we interact with the communities in which we operate. There is no task so important or so urgent in our business, or our customer’s business, that it overrides the need to work safely.

OUR AMBITION IN 2015.

We are here to exceed expectations, to provide cost effective services and manage our health, safety, environment, people and community. We offer relationships in a way that other companies will have difficulty in delivering.

Modernization will not only cover new technology applied but also the development of human resources. In 2015 we will start to put in place new added value on the top of our traditional expertise.

Such Services:

• Engineering of Inspection and maintenance that will drive optimization of operational expenditure.

• Training and Competence Development will include the competency management system that will drive workforces, making them fit for purpose and placement, ensuring the right people, at the right time, in the right place.

Commissioning and start up, will include the solid preparation of operations, test procedures, up to sequence of startup and smooth handover to O&M staff.

•

Analyzer Fabrication

Projects and Products

• Proven capability in engineering to optimize the shutdown time during

revamping works by implementing “hot transfer methodology” under experienced engineers and project management team.

Customized Analyzer and Design of Blastproof Control Room and some aspects of ergonomics design.

Upgrading Blast proof building Central Control Room.

• • “Pressurized Electrical Control Room”

Comsip Al A’Ali, a company of

wishes BAPCO a successful 2015

...continued from page 65. management terms, is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain maximum benefits. It is envisaged that the BMP will be split into several individual work packages or ‘projects’ for better manageability, coordination and ease of integration with the existing refinery. The BMP is set to be the single-largest capital investment in the history of BAPCO as well as

PAGE 68

that of the Kingdom of Bahrain.”

It is precisely the foundations for growth which the company is steadily putting in place which will allow for the success of Bapco’s most ambitious project to date, at an estimated cost in excess of $5 billion.

STRONG PARTNERSHIPS Chevron Lummus Global, a joint venture between CB&I and Chevron, announced in October its winning

of a significant Bapco refinery contract in Bahrain, worth over $100 million. The scope of work includes the licence of its LC-Fining and Isocracking technologies, as well as engineering design packages, for the new residue hydrocracking and vacuum gasoil hydrocracking units for the BMP. “Chevron Lummus Global has provided hydroprocessing technologies and catalysts for the

BAPCO production of clean transportation fuels and high quality lubricant base oils at this refinery for past projects,” said Daniel McCarthy, President of CB&I’s Technology operating group.

“The objective of the BMP is to develop an optimum refinery configuration that will place Bapco amongst the most competitive refineries, as well as address environmental and efficiency issues” “The Bapco Modernisation Programme will expand the Bapco refinery capacity and introduce further depth of conversion and upgrading of heavy oil. The selection

by Bapco to be its key technology provider underlines CB&I and Chevron Lummus Global’s lead position in heavy oil upgrading,” he added.

Bapco’s commitment to environmental concerns forms an integral part of both the company’s business and culture, among such innovation and development. As part of these ongoing efforts, whereby

it aims to support and implement national initiatives in Bahrain, in collaboration with the National Oil & Gas Authority (NOGA), the company has adopted its Solar Energy Pilot Project initiative to further the usage of clean energy generation, through the application of solar energy technologies. As well as reducing national reliance on the natural gas, the project contributes to the establishment of renewed energy industries as part of the national economy in the near future, in addition to creating significant job opportunities and the providing a new industry for the domestic market. This pilot project aims to generate five megawatt solar energy units at Awali, the Refinery and University of Bahrain (UoB), at a total cost of US$ 25 million. The project has been implemented as a part of continued efforts by the National Oil & Gas Authority (NOGA) to deal with critical environment issues, through reconsideration of resource management and improved renewed energy technologies. Success has already been seen in developing and generating power through solar energy and smart grid applications which enhance the reliability of power distribution network, while the project also contributes to enhancing the efforts of sustainability and environmental preservation, and aims to ensure the transfer of knowledge, research and advanced technologies.

Bapco has engaged itself in various additional projects dedicated to

stands as one of the most intricate and vital environmental compliance projects ever undertaken by Bapco, one which has successfully reduced its sulphur dioxide emissions.

Embodying its emphasis on environmental preoccupations, Bapco’s Green School Award, in association with the Ministry of Education encourages secondary school students to participate in environmental conservation at this formative and vital age.

Among Bapco’s more successful initiatives is the Princess Sabeeka Park in Awali, inaugurated in February 2010 by Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa which serves as a notable addition to Bapco’s cannon of environmental initiatives and houses a number of rare plant species.

The company’s Environment, Health & Safety Week, the culmination of which is a highly successful Family Day, historically attended by some 26,000 visitors, is dedicated to encouraging environmental protection in Bahrain.

Adel Khalil Al Moayyed described how the project reflects the continued commitment of the Kingdom in the face of challenges around energy security, climate change and economic development, through partnerships and global cooperation towards finding long term economic solutions.

“Bapco has confirmed once again its serious commitment as a key national establishment in supporting such significant initiatives for the future of the Kingdom through the implementation of this leading

the protection of the environment.

Some of its success stories include the 100-day Energy Blitz, which has generated significant energy savings over its titular period, as well as the multi-million dollar Refinery Gas Desulphurisation Project (RGDP). This

national project.”

Evidently this is an area of serious preoccupation for Bapco, with its substantial investments to protect and nurture the environment playing in perfect harmony with its culture of development and innovation

ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS

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© Elia System Operator

Power in progress Editorial: Roland Douglas

As Belgium’s high-voltage transmission system operator, Elia operates more than 8,000 km of lines and underground cables throughout the country, ensuring the transmission of electricity from generators to distribution systems, through to the consumer.

Operating from a pivotal location in Europe, Elia is also a key player in the energy market and the interconnected electricity system. Created as a result of a legal unbundling in the

PAGE 70

electricity market, in June 2001 Elia became an independent limited liability company, and was appointed as the federal transmission system operator on 17 September 2002. Elia

today owns all of Belgium’s 150 to 380 kV grid infrastructure, alongside almost 94% of its 30 to 70 kV grid infrastructure, with an essential part too in the country’s economy, in

ELIA supplying power directly to major companies connected to the grid.

In addition to this vast presence in the Belgian market, Elia operates in Germany too through its subsidiary 50Hertz Transmission GmbH. The company has, over time, taken it upon itself to set up multiple initiatives aimed at promoting the development of an efficient, transparent and fair electricity market for the benefit of consumers. Its team of over 1,100 professionals in Belgium is committed not only to dealing with future challenges, but also to handling the dayto-day operation of a system considered to be one of the

most complex and reliable in Europe.

It is a complex journey which electricity takes on its way from generators to consumers, passing through an open market involving numerous players.

The electricity generators are the first parts of the chain, with the current created by these generators then injected into the transmission system. Power exchanges, which are platforms used by market players to anonymously negotiate sameday or next-day purchases and sales of electricity, are a means of providing an open market and establishing a transparent reference price for market participants. Then,

arguably of most importance, are the transmission system operators. Elia is Belgium’s only TSO, although with the electricity market also spanning across borders, and the interconnections between European transmission systems allowing countries to help each other and enabling cross-border energy exchanges, collaboration between TSOs is clearly crucial.

Distribution system operators are then tasked with reliably and efficiently running medium to low-voltage distribution systems - transmitting electricity to residential customers, undertaking public lighting, among others – while regulators must effectively police an

Š Elia System Operator

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© Elia System Operator energy market in which many collectives have a legal monopoly. This can include guaranteeing transparency and competitiveness on the energy market, checking that the market operates in line with public interest and overall energy policy, and defending consumers’ interests. These consumers are the end users, and can be anyone from individuals to major industrial players. Industrial users are often directly connected to the high-voltage grid, whereas individual users are connected to the distribution system.

Pivotal to the continued effective operation of the highvoltage grid is a constant state of evolution, where innovation is ceaselessly applied to meet the needs of consumers and the market. As a high-voltage system operator, Elia needs to

PAGE 72

“As a highvoltage system operator, Elia needs to permanently ensure that the grid is maintained and developed according to the needs of the market and the users”

permanently ensure that the grid is maintained and developed according to the needs of the market and the users.

Accommodating a growing share of electricity generated by renewable energy sources and strengthening European interconnections are two of the major challenges which Elia is facing at present, and which it is tackling through an extensive series of development projects.

The Brabo project, for example, which forms a large part of work to upgrade the Belgian electricity grid, is necessary to safeguard the energy supply to the whole of Belgium, and, in particular the Antwerp port area. A principal aim of this project is to increase import capacity from the Netherlands, with work already under way to install an additional phase-shifting

ELIA transformer in Zandvliet on the border with the Netherlands, and to upgrade the existing 150-kV line between Zandvliet and Doel to a 380-kV line. A new 380-kV line will also be built between the high-voltage substations at Zandvliet and Lillo, then, from Liefkenshoek, the existing 150-kV connection will be modernised and upgraded to 380 kV. The 380-kV network is the central aspect of the highvoltage grid and links up with the European transmission system, with an historical junction in this grid situated near the ever-economically expanding region of the port of Antwerp.

The last major grid investments in this region date back to the 1970s, however, which makes an upgrade of the grid essential to ensure the security of electricity

supply, and to enable the connection of new generation units to help cope with rising demand for electricity in this burgeoning area.

Among Elia’s many grid development plans, arguably one of the most complex and noteworthy is the Stevin project, given the go-ahead in September this year in Bruges.

The central aim of this project is to upgrade the electricity grid between Zomergem and Zeebrugge, and addresses several principal needs identified

by Elia. Firstly, the expansion of the 380 kV grid will significantly improve the electricity supply for the West Flanders region, and enable further economic development in the important growth area around the port of Zeebrugge, while the connection

of additional decentralised electricity generation in the coastal region will also be possible.

The nature of the overarching of the Stevin project entails a number of offshoots, themselves all significant standalone projects and key to achieving its goals.

The group’s North Sea project gives way to enabling offshore wind power to be brought on land, and then transmitted to the domestic market. The intention here is to develop a meshed offshore grid to ensure that the wind farms in the North Sea are optimally integrated into its onshore grid. Its creation allows these wind farms to be connected to high-voltage substations that will be installed on Alpha and Beta platforms, which will, in turn, be connected

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PAGE 73

to the onshore grid – as opposed to the current system, whereby all the different wind farms have individual connections to the onshore grid. This will give rise to a safer, more economical and more environmentallyfriendly offshore grid, and one which is just as reliable due to the grid’s structure. In a similar vein, the Horta 380 kV highvoltage substation is to be built near Zomergem, and will act as a junction between the 380 kV high-voltage AvelgemRodenhuize-Mercator line and the new 380 kV line leading to the coast in Zeebrugge.

The substation will serve as a switching station between two existing high-voltage lines, and will make possible in the medium term the expansion of the 380 kV high-voltage network from this junction to the port of Zeebrugge.

“The Elia Life+ project proves that it is possible to achieve progressive transmission of electricity in line with biodiversity”

The Stevin development itself seeks primarily to render possible the implementation of the European and Belgian energy and climate policy, according to which Europe has the goals of cutting energy consumption by 20%, reducing CO2 emissions by 20% and generating 20% of total energy from sustainable, renewable sources by 2020. Belgium’s own target is to generate 13% of the energy it consumes from renewable sources by this deadline, and key to this is employing offshore wind power.

Seven domain concessions have previously been awarded and installation of the first wind farms is under way, to be followed by the remainder as soon as Stevin is in place.

Of course, this electricity then has to be brought onto land and transmitted via the grid to

© Elia System Operator

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ELIA

© Elia System Operator distribution companies and customers.

At present, the network on the coast has voltage levels of up to 150 kV, and limited capacity, saturated by the connection of the first three offshore wind farms. The expansive growth of decentralised generation like this means that the coastal network will have to be upgraded, and the strong 380 kV backbone between the coast and the inland parts of the country, which Stevin will

the laying of the existing 150-kV line underground will start in order that the existing 150-kV lines can be broken up in 2018-2019.

The Elia Life+ project proves that it is possible to achieve such progressive transmission of electricity in line with biodiversity. A five-year European project conducted

Elia hopes to set an example for all other European transmission system operators and establish the first ecological network of its kind along the EU’s 300,000 km of power lines. This will spell the end to a maintenance policy for overhead lines which entails razing any vegetation within a corridor of roughly 50 metres beneath them –

provide, is therefore necessary, with further expansions of the 150 kV grid no longer sufficient.

Work on the new 380-kV line will start in the spring of 2015 and is to be completed by the end of 2017, during which year

by Elia, the aim is to restore the land beneath power lines, transforming it into more stable natural environments which will be easier and less costly to maintain and far better for biodiversity. Alongside this goal,

one which is both expensive for Elia and does not exactly encourage biodiversity – and instead identify various ways of managing these green corridors and highlight their financial benefit

PAGE 75

“The company that deals with gas” Editorial: Roland Douglas

Providing overall process solutions and services to the offshore oil and gas industry, The KANFA Group, and KANFA Aragon, focus is delivering tailored solutions to the worldwide FPSO and FLNG market.

KANFA Aragon managing director, Kristian Utkilen tells Total World Energy more about the growth of this innovative organisation and some of the key projects underway right now…

In October 2014, leading business information portal, Visiongain,

companies are increasingly looking to offshore solutions because of

and Offloading Vessels) and the second, FSRUs (Floating Storage

released a report on the global floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) market stating that this important sub-division of the global energy industry is now valued at $11.845bn. It also stated that, in a drive for cost efficiency, LNG

the huge costs involved in building onshore LNG facilities.

When it comes to FLNG, there are two areas of focus for industry experts; the first, LNG FPSOs (Liquefied Natural Gas Floating Production Storage

and Regasification Units). But, of course, the design and engineering involved in the construction of such a vessel is immense. Technical work of the highest standard is required to ensure efficiency, productivity and, perhaps most

PAGE 76

KANFA ARAGON importantly, safety. This is why you need a company with proven experience, a company that has a reputation for excellence (on FPSOs and on platforms); this is why you need a partner like KANFA Aragon.

Operating as an independent process design and engineering group that delivers overall process solutions and services to the offshore oil and gas industry, the KANFA Group is made up of several limited companies: KANFA Aragon, KANFA Aragon Americas, KANFA Ingenium Process, KANFA Mator and KANFA AS. Total World Energy speaks to KANFA Aragon managing director, Kristian Utkilen to find out more about the unique set of services on offer from this industry leading organisation.

“We are focussed on FLNG developments and we have competition but there is no

company that is similar to us, which combines the FLNG expertise with extensive FPSO experience. We have competition in the liquefaction technology but there are perhaps only three or four companies in the world that can provide the solutions that we can. We have competition to our overall process topside solutions but this comes from much larger engineering companies and then we deliver gas conditioning systems where there are other competitors. We are playing in many fields but other companies do not offer the range of services that we do. While we are waiting for the FLNG market to really take off, our diversity allows us to be successful in the standard offshore industry, which again contributes to our FLNG effort,” he says.

Currently, in the FLNG space, there are no floating liquefaction plants in operation although Exmar

and Pacific Rubiales, Petronas, Golar and Shell all have vessels under construction. In the FSRU space, there are only 15 units operational in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America, South America, and Southeast Asia and most are owned by Excelerate Energy, Golar LNG and Höegh LNG although several other companies have begun to enter the market.

When it comes to FLNG, industry experts expect the first vessels to be completed for operation towards the end of 2015 – the main project, which has received much media attention, is the Shell FLNG Prelude due to come online off the west coast of Australia in 2017, producing over three million tonnes of LNG produced per annum.

KANFA ARAGON KANFA Aragon, part of the KANFA Group, is a world leader

PAGE 77

in floating LNG technology and applications as well as more traditional gas processes. Using the patented Aragon Optimised Dual Expander Cycle process, the company is able to provide complete process and topside solutions for FLNG developments globally. KANFA Aragon offers EPC services for the offshore upstream oil and gas industry with a specific focus on gas and floating LNG applications. The company can provide complete topside solutions, individual equipment modules, project management services, and technical consulting with a particular focus on floating applications - standard FPSOs and FLNG. Utkilen explains that Aragon was founded by five industry experts and the partnership with KANFA helped the business to grow.

“Aragon was founded by five of us back in 2006. Shortly after we did a share emission and became 50% owned by KANFA. KANFA was an existing EPC company in the oil and gas industry in Norway so we asked them to come in to provide strength as a parent company so that we could take on larger contracts. Now the parent to the KANFA companies are Sevan Marine famous for their successful technology for circular shaped FPSOs. “Our strategy and position in the group is as the company that deals with gas - gas solutions, gas treatment, gas conditioning and LNG, particularly FLNG. We are both a technology company and an EPC provider which is quite special for a relatively small company like ours. We have our own LNG liquefaction technology which is developed especially for the offshore environment and we like to see this on-board the coming

PAGE 78

FLNG projects. Together in the KANFA Group we are used to doing both FEED and EPC for topsides for FPSOs and altogether the companies in KANFA Group have a large focus on the FPSO market.

We, as a group, have delivered several process topsides to the lease market and ship-owners like BW, Fred Olsen and Sevan Marine.

“Our strategy and position in the group is as the company that deals with gas - gas solutions, gas treatment and LNG, particularly FLNG” “The other KANFA companies are focussed on similar activities but they tend to work more with oil whereas we do gas and FLNG. 50% of KANFA Aragon is owned

by Sevan Marine and the remaining 50% is owned by management,” he explains.

Before Aragon joined up with the KANFA Group, the five Aragon founders all worked together for another company operating in a similar market and in 2006 they decided to try to make a dedicated company for gas solutions and technologies for the FPSO and FLNG market. The five split away

and Aragon was formed with success.

STRONG HISTORY, PROMISING FUTURE After becoming part of the KANFA Group in 2006, KANFA Aragon immediately went about imposing itself on the market place. One of the first major contracts that received major attention was a LNG production topside for Samsung Heavy Industries, for the world’s first FLNG production vessel, to be operated by FLEXLNG. In this project, the FLNG topside will be based on KANFA Aragon`s liquefaction technology and the contract includes the design and engineering of the liquefaction plant as well as procurement of major equipment items. According to FLEXLNG, the vessel was originally designed to have a gas processing and liquefaction topside with an LNG capacity of approximately 1.7 mtpa (million metric tons per annum) LNG. “Our client in the lease market tends to be ship-owners and this is also the market for our FLNG technology. We signed a contract with Samsung for the first FLNG topside for FLEXLNG back in 2008 and we made good connections with the ship-owner, and such companies in LNG and FPSO markets are our traditional clients but if they go for new builds instead of conversions then the business tends to end up in South Korea and the Korean yards become our clients,” explains Utkilen.

The company has welcomed some of the world’s major shipyards and “our largest clients include Samsung Heavy Industries and Hyundai Heavy Industries,” says Utkilen.

Right now, the company is focussed on delivering modules for international clients like e.g. Hyundai Heavy Industries and are in parallel

CONSTRUCTION SERVICES FOR THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY -WORLDWIDE!

KANFA ARAGON

DST A/S provides highly complex service solutions for the on- and offshore oil and gas industry.

We are specialised in total project management, fabrication and installation work worldwide.

Construction activities take place either at DST’s state of the art facilities in Denmark, or at any client specified location.

The core strength of DST is our professional and highly skilled workforce, our overall flexibility and our ability to problem solve in close dialogue with our clients.

At DST, our aim is to achieve Total Health and Quality Management, right first time, every time within an incident free environment and deliveries on time, every time.

Reference case: DST recently completed fabrication of a 'produced water treatment skid' for the Piranema Spirit off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, operated by Petrobras.

All prefab took place at DST’s state of the art facility in Esbjerg and as added value, DST performed the offshore installation of the unit.

Further more DST was awarded several other service and maintenance related jobs during this offshore endeavour.

Our competencies include: Total project management • Prefab of spools • Piping structures • Steel frames • Fabrication of manifolds • Chemical injection modules • Water treatment skids • Larger steel constructions • Flare booms • Steel landings • Aluminum walkways • Subsea structures.

DST is a grade A supplier to the North Sea Sector.

Clientreferences: EAB Engineering • Maersk Oil • DONG Energy • Pon Power • National Oilwell Vargo • KANFA Group • Hess• •BPDanfoss

For more information please contact: Sales Manager Ole Worm ow@dst-as.com T: +45 23731213

WWW.DST -AS.COM

PAGE 79

DST A/S • FALKEVEJ 7 • 6705 ESBJERG • DENMARK

delivering several FLNG Pre-FEEDs with new FEED-work to be awarded in the coming 12 months. In 2015, the company will also be looking to gain a strong stance in the global FLNG market.

“We are currently delivering a gas treatment system and a vapour recovery unit to the Aasta Hansteen SPAR platform for Statoil through our client, Hyundai. One is packaged and ready for delivery and one is undergoing testing in Poland. It is always a challenge to deliver according to all the Statoil and

“80% of employees are Master Degree level engineers so the workforce is highly educated as we are focussed on higher level engineering”

NORSOK specifications which is not the simplest, but we are there and we are ready.”

EXPANSION With the market for gas in general, and especially the FLNG services, growing each month, along with the environmental concerns that many operators now have while looking to reduce flaring and wastage, the offering from KANFA Aragon comes at a good time for the industry.

“We have a very safe technology because we don’t use hydrocarbons

© Aasta Hansteen - Statoil

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KANFA ARAGON

as the refrigerant. We use nitrogen and this means less risk of fire or explosion. Our processes are simple and safe and they are different to several other FLNG-technology providers,” explains Utkilen.

“80% of employees are Master Degree level engineers so the workforce is highly educated as we are focussed on higher level engineering and we subcontract a lot of the ‘simpler’ engineering for a good price. Here we have a mixed workforce with people coming from all over the world including places like Germany, Italy, England, the Philippines and Sweden.”

The company is looking to expand its horizons through both increasing its product and service portfolio and also through growing its geographical footprint. In April 2014, KANFA Aragon purchased a 50%

“We are currently delivering a gas treatment system and a vapour recovery unit to the Aasta Hansteen SPAR platform for Statoil through our client, Hyundai” “We found a team in the US who were set up in a similar way to what we were when we started. They are

in the same way that we established Aragon in 2006 and this is of course all part of a strategy to grow in the offshore and onshore markets - with shale gas - and also with LNG and gas treatment and FLNG in the area. They are now responsible for our projects in America. They will focus on the shale gas industry and we here in Norway we will remain focussed on offshore activities.”

Upon joining KANFA Aragon, Alfred Moujaes, President and CEO of KAA said: “Our group is very excited to join the KANFA Aragon family. We bring significant experience and added value to all current and future prospects under this umbrella. Our diversified team of engineers covers a wide range of process technologies with experience in multiple types of project execution strategies. The group’s knowledge of the western hemisphere markets and established customer relationships will expand KANFA Aragon’s reputation as a world class provider of engineering and construction services for offshore and on-shore projects.”

And as the market for LNG and FLNG continues to grow; with Visiongain forecasting strong expansion over the next five years, reaching peak levels of CAPEX in 2018; KANFA Aragon is now perfectly positioned to address the needs of all major projects requiring expertise in gas process solutions

equity interest in KANFA Aragon Americas Inc., a newly established engineering company in Houston, Texas. The remaining shares are held by management, a group of highly experienced engineering professionals in the gas processing

five very well qualified engineers who have been in the LNG market for some time and also been working with our competitors and major engineering companies,” says Utkilen.

“We met them in Houston and asked them if they want to establish KAA

and topside solutions; always adding value and providing a vital link the energy value chain. So, as momentum gathers in the FLNG market, who would bet against KANFA Aragon becoming the ‘go to name’ in the industry?

and LNG industry.

KANFA Aragon Americas Inc. (KAA) will focus on providing engineering and technology solutions for the oil and gas industry in North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean ranging from concept through EPC.

PAGE 81

Uniquely placed Editorial: Colin Chinery

Part of the dynamic Unique Maritime Group, Unique Wellube’s services are focused on plant and pipeline operability and avoidance of costly unplanned shutdowns. Global reach extends across the Middle East, North America, Africa, and the UK North Sea, and a hugely impressive growth rate looks set to accelerate following a partnership with USbased Mactech Offshore.

Formed 22 years ago with just three employees, the Unique Maritime

the marine, diving, hydrographic, oceanographic, oil & gas and

acquisitions have powered a continuous expansion of Group

Group has grown to become one of the world’s leading integrated turnkey subsea and offshore solution providers.

Specialising in offshore and onshore services including the sale and rental of equipment for

non-destructive testing sectors, the UAE-headquartered company has also developed an established manufacturing capability for the delivery of customised engineering projects worldwide.

Organic growth and targeted

services and geographical infrastructure to the point where UMG is now employing over 500 people worldwide located across seven global regions including the Middle East, UK, USA, South Africa, Nigeria, India and Singapore.

PAGE 82

UNIQUE WELLUBE All ten of the Group’s companies are well positioned to manage substantial project requirements as well as sales, rental and service support for a fast-growing international customer base.

Among them is Unique Wellube, the UAE-based specialist engineering company acquired as a wholly owned subsidiary two years ago.

SHUTDOWN AVOIDANCE Unique Wellube offers dedicated engineering services and associated products focused on plant and pipeline operability. Costly unplanned shutdowns are spared by allowing intervention and plant critical maintenance work to be carried safely and cost effectively.

Products and services range from hot tapping, line stopping, on-site machining and under pressure leak sealing, to customised firings, testing, maintenance, platform

decommissioning services and portable onsite machining sales and rentals.

Formed ten years ago, Unique Wellube grew rapidly with UMG investment providing a springboard for international expansion. When its founder John Allison retired two years ago, UMG acquired a 100 per cent holding. “Unique has always been an integral part of the Group,” says its Managing Director, Sahil Gandhi.

“With many years of combined experience backed by substantial R&D, our team of professional graduate engineers and highly skilled technicians are providing innovative solutions to meet our customers’ most demanding challenges.”

Hot tapping and line stopping services are currently the most in-demand services. “And over the last couple of years there’s been a

lot of focus on asset integrity and management, pushing the life of lines as far as they can go. There are a lot of pipe lines coming to their scrap date, and clients are looking for solutions to maintain pipe lines and keep them going for as long as possible.

“There are always different challenges of course. No one pipe line is ever carrying the same material or chemical composition, so you must come up with small innovations on almost a daily basis to ensure best performance.”

As part of UMG, Unique Wellube benefits from Group divisional interaction and resource support.

“We are a synergised Group with a widely similar customer base, so we work very closely with our diving and marine departments, not least because they, like us, are dealing with a lot of offshore EPC contractors.”

PAGE 83

and Mactech the engineering and machinery behind it. We are talking to the same clients, and this enables us both to offer a bigger package and take away the headaches and hassle of having to deal with different sub-contractors.”

Sahil Gandhi

Unsurprisingly oil & gas has been identified as a Group major expansion area. “This is where we are going to deliver most of our growth over the next five years,” says Gandhi. “We have already started the expansion process, taking the Oil and Gas Division to India, Nigeria, and the UK. “Three locations in a very short time, and hopefully next year we will be bringing in Singapore and Saudi Arabia. We see the Middle East as a major market for our products and services.”

As well as regional growth, Unique Wellube is looking to bring in complimentary products and services – a strategy that has seen the development of a major partnership with US-based Mactech Offshore, the world’s leading provider of subsea and offshore machining equipment solutions.

“Mactech is a very interactive company working with clients to come up with bespoke solutions.

They are able to react very quickly and provide high quality equipment and engineering services, and this

PAGE 84

ties in very much with our philosophy and operation. As a Group we won’t take lots of partners on, but when we do we like to think of them as our company and vice versa.”

Focussed mainly on cutting services, Mactech is the forefront name in offshore decommissioning diamond wire cutters. Ideal for cutting multi-string applications or heavy wall legs and cross members, its compact and robust design creates an ideal cutting environment, reducing setup, installation and removal time and costs.

And as part of its strategy of continuous innovation, Mactech Offshore has now introduced the revolutionary ROV Diamond Wire Saw. Designed to address economical efficiencies and advantages, it also focuses on personnel and environmental safety when cutting equipment for abandonment operations.

HEADACHE FREE ZONE “All this ties in with the range of services we provide,” says Gandhi. “We provide the services

“We have a very strong engineering team, and this is the base of our company, and as a result we are able to provide solutions our competitors are unable to do” With the oil price crash of 2014 upending the geopolitical chessboard, and Saudi Arabia’s oil minister Ali al-Naimi’s pre-Christmas claim that OPEC will not cut production even if the price falls to $20 a barrel, how does Mr Gandhi assess the challenges facing Unique Wellube?

“We are riding the wave OK at the moment. But a continuous phase of low oil prices will bring a period of slow down in the market, though for service companies like ours I think there will be a time lag before it comes through.

“But there’s still optimism in the market with a lot of the key players saying they will continue with their new and expansion projects,

UNIQUE WELLUBE

per cent, and where opportune becoming Greener in our thinking and habits.”

“I think the keys to success in this critical industry are quality, response times, and our flexibility to work around different problems and challenges. We have a very strong engineering team and an unparalleled reputation for customer service and project delivery - this is the base of our company. As a result of this, and new partnerships such as the one with Mactech, we have a very exciting time ahead and will continue to grow Unique Maritime Group to meet our customer and market demands.”

WIRE SAW ND

DIAM O

V O R able cap

WIRE SAW ND

bettering ourselves by ten to 15

see it growing exponentially. At the moment we are working in a couple of regions, but we are both ambitious companies and as we grow over the next five years you will see the Mactech-Wellube combination in many more places around the world.

“We are exhilarated to enter new markets, and growing fast in regions such as the Middle East, providing our superior range of products and making our clients happy with Unique Wellube’s efficient and cost-effective solutions.

DIAM O

especially in the Gulf States and Middle East.

“Middle East government oil majors are willing to ride out the dip in prices, but other regions and deeper water locations such as the North Sea and Brazil could suffer, with higher costs and the fact they are not backed by big government majors.”

These concerns aside, the global deep water operational expansion of recent years has seen an increasing demand for rental equipment, with Unique Wellube investing in deeper water assets for its rental pool while simultaneously boosting its design team to ensure the diving and buoyancy divisions can cope with deeper waters.

And with its strong exploration and construction focus, Unique Wellube’s portfolio has clear potential for the renewables sector. “Currently we do not have a technology like this, but we are always looking to develop.

“It’s always about finding the right opportunities, and with a lot of variations across these technologies we are monitoring them very closely to see which are the most efficient, and also the potential partners we might work with. There are many renewable technologies out there but not all are as efficient as others.

“In our own case, right across the board we are always looking at how we can become more efficient in our technology and practices,

Subsea Cutting Experts Ma c t e c h O f f s h ore p rovid es h un d red s of A merican mad e t ools a n d s e r v i c e s commit t ed t o t h e Of fs h ore S ub s ea mar ket. F rom S p lit F ra m e C u tt e r s t o Diamon d W ire S aw s , w e h ave p os it ion ed ours elves to d e s ig n , d e vel op an d appl y t h es e s p ecializ ed cut t in g t ools t o m a r i n e s e r v i c e s in t h e oil an d gas in d us t ry.

See our equipment for yourself Visit www.mactechoffshore.com P.O. Box 42647, Sharjah, UAE www.uniquegroup.com enquiries@wellube.com +971 6 5130333

3129 Hwy 90 East - Broussard, LA 70518 www.mactechoffshore.com info@mactechoffshore.com +1.337.839.2793

DYNAMIC PARTNERS Clearly, the Mactech partnership is going to be a major force in Unique’s on-going expansion. “I PAGE 85

TSK – the Spanish EPC company that is steps ahead of the rest Editorial: Ajuanne Payne

TSK Group – a Spanish company with one of the most impressive track-records for engineering, procurement and construction projects in the energy, industrial, environmental and minerals handling sectors. With 30 years of experience in the industrial and energy sectors and a worldwide expertise, we talk to Santiago Del Valle, Managing Director for Sales at the group, about milestones at the company and some of the exciting projects on the horizon for TSK. TSK Group has been in operation for nearly 30 years and specialises in turnkey industrial projects, the majority of which are within the Energy sector. It is a public limited company, established in 1986 and the result of a combination

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between the electrical engineering and electrical installations divisions at ERPO Group – the first engineering company listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange. TSK was acquired from ERPO Group by its current shareholders

in 1999 and swiftly moved on to the next stage of its progression towards being the EPC contractor they are today.

Initially focusing on turnkey installations of water treatment plants, today TSK boasts engineering, procurement and

TSK GROUP construction expertise in the fields of power generation, solar thermal installations, oil and gas, electrical and control infrastructures, solar P.V., I.T., environmental and mining projects.

Spain is a world-leader in renewable energies, has a highly developed wind-energy and hydroelectric sector and is the fourth largest manufacturer of solar technology in the world. It has on average more hours of sunshine than nearly all European countries which, along with the increased focus on renewable energy production over the last few decades, has led to Spain becoming a world leader in the field of solar technology and enterprise. It was the first country globally to require the installation of photovoltaic (PV) technology into new buildings back in 2005 and its energy

businesses are leading the industry the world over.

TSK Group have made a significant contribution to Spain’s position as one of the leading countries in renewable energy, emerging from this culture of innovation to become an engineering company at the forefront of some of the more significant energy projects in recent years. Part of this can be attributed to the company’s ability to adapt and its international reach. They have conducted projects in over 30 countries worldwide and have a turnover of over €450 million, 16% more than the previous year and with 95% of TSK Group’s business coming from outside of Spain.

“I will say that in 2003 TSK had already started its transition into the international market with setting up subsidiaries in Venezuela and

Morocco.” Explains Del Valle, who has a 20 year history with the group.

Shortly after setting up these subsidiaries, TSK Group began working in the solar photovoltaic industry and further subsidiaries were set up in Nicaragua, Chile and Brazil in 2008, when the group embarked on their first thermosolar projects. Further to this the group started expanding into the Middle East in 2010, carrying out projects in India, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh.

One significant project, which reached completion in May of last year, was the TAI Durango photovoltaic plant constructed by TSK and the first part of a solar complex that will eventually reach a total production capacity of 100MW. The TAI-I project will power 8,000 homes in the region while creating employment

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opportunities for locals.

“The project for EOSOL was very important to us and continues our work in South America. We have had a very successful experience with this company in Spain and it was great for us to participate in this project” More recently, TSK Group’s energy and development arm signed three new contracts in Brazil that will engage them in the region for the next three years.

Del Valle goes into more detail on the new developments: “We have three offices in Brazil and are very active in the region. We are participating in a project for EDP - it is a hydroelectric plant in AMAPA, close to a similar plant we worked on before.”

TSK will be involved in the electromechanical assembly of the plant, with turbines

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supplied

by Alstom.

The electricity generated will be 220MW once completed.

TSK is nearing completion on the construction of five wind farms belonging to GESTAMP, a Spanish company, and has been awarded the EPC construction of a Substation

by EDP for the wind farms the company is building in Rio Grande do Norte. The EDP project involves the evacuation of energy generated by the wind farms with a capacity of 138 KV. The company has been contracted to participate in a further five wind farms by FURNAS – a Brazilian stateowned company that produces 10% of the country’s electricity.

The total combined cost of these projects is nearly €32 million.

A number of acquisitions have been made by TSK Group over the years that have

contributed to the company’s continued growth. They are the main shareholder in listed company, Duro Felguera – another EPC contractor with similar expertise to TSK, after purchasing a 16% share back in 2000. They acquired Irelsa and Ingemas, engineering firms, in 2007.

“Currently our main area of business is in energy. In conventional energy and renewables, I can say we are one of the leaders in the market” Mr Del Valle explains, “Last year we acquired a German company, Flagsol, which specialises in solarthermal power plants” Flagsol, a German engineering company with its expertise in thermal solar plants, was acquired in 2013 and re-named TSK Flagsol Engineering GmbH. The acquisition further displays the company’s drive towards having significant expertise in all the industry sectors they service.

To date, TSK Flagsol has been involved in the construction of 10 plants in countries like Spain, Morocco, Egypt and South Africa, with a combined power of 750MW. Flagsol was involved in the construction of the world’s first parabolic trough power plants in the U.S. in the 1980’s. It is very much focused on the R&D of parabolic trough technology, the newest innovation being the HelioTrough collector – an energy-efficient and more cost effective product than what was previously available.

TSK has actively made strategic decisions in order to stay ahead of the pack and to cement its position within the

TSK GROUP ever-evolving energy market.

They describe themselves as a “strong international presence in engineering and industrial construction” and have grown to the point of directly employing 750 skilled employees with the specific technical knowledge needed for all their services.

This year, TSK will be working for EDP again in Spain to prolong the life of their coal power stations there. Working in partnership with Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, TSK will be working on the construction of DeNOx systems at two of EDP’s power stations which will not only improve efficiency, but reduce emissions of nitrous oxides by 80%.

“These are very important projects for us”, says Del Valle.

“We are in a joint-venture with Mitsubishi-Hitachi and EDP will be the first company to use a DeNOx system in Spain. It will be valuable for us to reinforce our relationship with a very important company such as Hitachi.”

It is a testament to TSK’s capabilities and the quality of their work that they have consistently worked on highprofile, tailored engineering and industrial construction projects of the last decade, in such a competitive market.

“We are a private company, which gives us more control of course. We have experience in delivering fast-track projects.”

Explains Del Valle: “another important thing to say is that we consider ourselves as an engineering company. Of course we operate within all areas when it comes to our projects – from installation to

operation and maintenance, but we are very committed to the engineering.

“In five years’ time we see ourselves as being one of the most important EPC companies in the market.”

The company plans to further consolidate and expand their operations in the Middle East in the coming years in order to better service the market there and to attract more projects within the oil and gas sector.

Most importantly, perhaps, is the human expertise needed to advance in the fairly young renewables sector, as well as maintaining their business in the more conventional energy

industries. The key to success for TSK lies very much with the knowledge and expertise of its 750 staff.

Santiago Del Valle sums up what has been central to TSK Group’s continued success: “I think the key to success has been how the business was managed. Obviously, the projects and acquisitions, etc. but the CEO, one of our shareholders, and his son is in the business as well, have really progressed the company.

It is a wonderful thing definitely.

The people are the most valuable assets of the company – and that’s the main reason for our success.”

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PAGE 89

Storage specialist entering new markets Editorial: Tim Hands

Managing Director for Felguera IHI, Pedro Floriano tells Total World Energy more about the Spanish history of this important industry player, and more about how the company is planning to move into new markets, continually growing its already sterling reputation for quality and excellence.

Felguera IHI is in a great place right now. The company provides tur nkey construction of fuel storage terminals, LNG storage tanks and storage equipment, and in recent times the business has completed some major contracts and continues to

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grow in markets where there are a number of big name players vying for market share.

Managing Director, Pedro Floriano is buoyant when describing the current state of the company, saying: “To give an idea of the expansion of

the company in the last years, at the end of 2008 Felguera IHI could be considered basically as a domestic company, with a sales figure of €30 million.

“Today, Felguera IHI is a global company with sales figures of €130 million and is

FELGUERA IHI present in several countries: Spain, Costa Rica, Panamá, Colombia, Bolivia, Perú, Chile, South Africa, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus and Turkmenistan.

“We currently employ more than 300 hundred people.”

While the oil and gas industry is constantly evolving to meet new economic and environmental challenges, Felguera IHI is perfectly positioned to offer innovative, flexible engineering and construction solutions to organisations that need a tur nkey project, provided quickly and to the highest of quality standards.

STRONG HISTORY The success of Felguera today comes from building expertise over many years in the oil and gas industry. W ith Spanish roots, the company also

draws on Japanese precision and is proud to call two of the world’s foremost companies in their industries, Duro Felguera (DF) and IHI Corporation, its main shareholders.

“The company was founded in 1962 as a storage department of DF to meet the Spanish storage needs - a multinational company which was set up in 1858 in Asturias, in the north of Spain, specialized in the execution of tur nkey projects for the energy, mining and handling and oil and gas sectors,” explains Floriano.

“In 1975, 40% of the company’s shares were acquired by the Japanese company, IHI Corporation, an industrial and technology conglomerate present on the five continents and working in the areas of energy, aerospace, logistics,

shipbuilding, development of infrastructures, offshore, engineering, etc.

“Nowadays, Felguera IHI has a worldwide presence and takes advantage of the synergies of these two big companies and their state of the art technology.”

In the early days, Felguera was focussed more on the supply of tank containers rather than construction but today the strategy definitely involves an engineering approach.

“Felguera IHI originally started activities as a tank construction company, being a mere supplier of this equipment. Over the years, the company evolved and currently is an engineering and construction company specifically oriented towards storage solutions (mainly storage terminals) and LNG

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technology (regasification and tanks). Our approach to projects is basically Lump Sum Tur n Key EPC (LSTK EPC),” says Floriano.

PLANS IN THE PIPELINE F e l g u er a IH I h as comple t e d a n i m p re s s ive po r tf o lio of p ro j ect s an d h as wo r ke d for s o m e o f th e wo r ld’s ma j or e n er g y bu s in es s es h ow e v e r, F l o r i an o details wo r k f or E NAG AS, Spain ’s n ationa l gas g r i d oper ator, as one of th e m o s t promin en t proj e c t s th a t t h e compan y h as b e e n in v o l v ed with in recen t y e a rs. “ A s fo r key pro jects , I c a n u nd er s c ore th e s even PC w al l fu l l co n tain men t L NG ta n k s o f 1 50,000 m3 e a c h f o r EN AGAS. In th is case , F e l g u er a IH I was res ponsi b l e

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fo r the c o m pl e te d e si g n, d e t ai l e d e ngi ne e ring , p roc ure me nt , t ra nsp ort a t i on, e re c ti o n, t e st i ng a nd c ommi s si o ni ng , ” he sa y s.

“In a d d i t i on, se v e ra l sto ra g e t e rmi na l s on a ful l LST K EPC b a si s w e re e xe c ut ed i n Spa i n d uri ng t he l a st y e ars, a s w e l l a s t e rmi na l e xp a nsi o ns i n ot he r c ount ri e s. Fel g ue ra I H I ha s b e c ome a re l i a bl e pa rtne r t o i mp ort a nt ut i l i t i e s suc h a s RECO P E, P ETRO P ER Ú , e tc .

“In our p i p e l i ne o f pro j e c ts t o b e d e v e l op e d , I w o ul d hi ghl i ght t he re c e nt a w a rd of a 376,000m3 S t o ra g e Te rmi na l i n P a na ma , fo r Vop a k.”

Thi s re fe rs t o a €5 6 mi l l i on c ont ra c t w o n ba c k i n Nov e mb e r 2014 for e xe c uti ng a fue l sup p l y t e rmi na l fo r shi p s a nd oi l st orag e i n Ba hi a l a s Mi na s ( p rov i nc e o f C o l ó n)

o n the Atl a nti c c o a st o f Pa na m a . T he pro j e c t w i l l be i m pl e m e nte d i n pa rtne rshi p w i th Spa ni sh fi rm FC C i ndustri a l .

T he c o m pa ny i s l o o k i ng to e xpa nd o n thi s i nte r na ti o na l e xpe ri e nc e by g ro w i ng furthe r i nto ne w m a rk e ts w hi l e a l so c o nso l i da ti ng i ts po si ti o n i n i ts e sta bl i she d m a rk e ts a s Fl o ri a no e xpl a i ns: “ C o nsi de ri ng Fe l g ue ra I H I a s a g l o ba l pl a y e r, o ur ta rg e t fo r the ne xt y e a rs c o nsi sts o f c o nso l i da ti ng o ur po si ti o n i n the m a rk e ts i n w hi c h o ur pre se nc e i s a l re a dy stro ng ( La ti n Am e ri c a , Spa i n e tc ) a nd i nc re a si ng o ur a c ti v i ty i n re g i o ns l i k e M i ddl e Ea st a nd Afri c a . ”

EXCELLENCE THROUGH EXPERIENCE U nl i k e o the r c o m pa ni e s i ndustry, w ho a re m a de up o f o nl y c o nstruc ti o n pe rso nne l a nd o utso urc e e ng i ne e ri ng , de si g n a nd te c hno l o g y to thi rd pa rti e s, Fe l g ue ra I H I use s i ts e xpe ri e nc e to k e e p a s m uc h o f the v a l ue c ha i n a s po ssi bl e i n ho use . T he c o m pa ny ha s a l a rg e te a m o f e ng i ne e rs a nd o the r pro fe ssi o na l s spe c i a l i se d i n a l l the fi e l ds re qui re d i n sto ra g e pro j e c ts a nd Fl o ri a no hi m se l f ha s be e n w i th the o rg a ni sa ti o n fo r a num be r o f y e a rs. “ I ha v e m o re tha n 1 2 y e a rs’ e xpe ri e nc e i n pro j e c t e xe c uti o n a nd m a na g e m e nt o f i nte r na ti o na l pro j e c ts; m a i nl y i n m i ni ng , o i l a nd g a s, c e m e nt a nd bul k ha ndl i ng , ” he sa y s. “ Afte r c o m pl e ti ng m y M i ni ng Eng i ne e ri ng c o urse

FELGUERA IHI ( O v i edo Un iver s ity) a nd MBA ( N o t t in gh am Un iversi t y ) , I j o i ned DF in th e Mini ng a nd H an dlin g Divis io n a s P roj e c t M a nag er an d th en mov e d i nt o t h e Co mmercial Dep a rt me nt .

B e t w een 2 002 an d 2004, a t t h e same time, I dev e l op e d m a nag emen t activiti e s i n our s ub s idiar y in Mex ico.

“Sin ce Ju n e 2009 a nd up u n t i l n ow, I h ave bee n a c t i ng as t h e Man agin g Dire c t or of F el g uer a IH I, as wel l a s a m e m ber o f th e Boa rd of t he co m pan y, in co in cide nc e w i t h t h e glo bal ex pan s ion of t he co m pan y,” h e adds.

W i th in th e DF Group , a l most 2 , 0 0 0 people make up t he w o r k f o rce in clu din g q ua l i fi e d en g i neer s , admin ist ra t i v e st a ff an d f actor y wor kers, t he re b y co v e r in g th e wh o le ra nge of p ro fe s s ion als requ ire d b y a g ro up with a clear v oc a t i on fo r ser vices to th e i nd ust ry.

“F elg u er a IH I h as i t s ow n i n t er n al res ou rces to p rov i d e ad v an ced tr ain in g. Thi s a p a rt fro m th e 5 0 year s ’ e xp e ri e nc e i n t he mar ket, wh ich p rov i d e s u s with a s u bs tan tia l k no w ledge th at we i nt e nd t o t r an s mit to ou r empl oy e e s o n t he day- to - day,” sa y s Floriano.

Felguera IHI has moved from being a domestic company at the beginning of the crisis to transform into a global leader in the storage field.

“Our competitive advantage is essentially that we are a medium-size engineering company oriented exclusively to storage solutions and LNG technology, while our competitors are either manufacturers, or big integration engineering companies.

“Besides this fact, we must keep in mind that Felguera IHI is owned and supported by

two prestigious companies in DF and IHI, which is always a guarantee of reliability and success.”

As the supply of fuels and energy products becomes more and more important, the products and facilities offered by Felguera IHI will inevitably become more and more sought after and, as a company that can provide engineering and construction, to many countries around the world, this is a business that is definitely on the rise and will be one to watch in 2015 and beyond

Engineering | Construction | Maintenance | Commissioning

“Knowledege and commitment”

CAPTURING SUCCESS W ith Felguera IHI’s backlog of successful projects and the strong pipeline providing a positive outlook for the future, the company is in a strong position. When asked about the reason for the organisations ongoing success, Floriano pays tribute to the company’s flexibility saying: “It’s definitely our capacity to adapt ourselves to the challenging environment.

www.teigatmi.es P.I. Bergondo B 11 La Coruña (Spain) Tel. +34 981 783 535

teigatmi@teigatmi.es ER-1194/2000

GA-2011/0497

SST-0205/2011

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Towards new horizons…

Editorial: Harriet Pattison

With numerous acquisitions, Gulf Petrochem has started to make a name for itself in an industry which is becoming increasingly competitive. Now a US$2 billion company, its latest project, the Pipavav Oil Terminal, is due to be commissioned this month with a storage capacity of an estimated 250,000 KL. Total World Energy speaks to the Global Head of Terminals, Mr Muthukrishnan Prabakaran, to find out more…

Q: Tell us about the history of Gulf Petrochem Group? When did the company start up? Who was responsible? What was the reason for establishment?

Gulf Petrochem started in 1998 and is today a company worth over US$2 billion. It has organised itself into six Strategic Business Units comprising of Trading, Bunkering, Storage, Terminals, Refining, Bitumen, Lubricants & Grease Manufacturing and Shipping & Logistics, largely for captive business requirements. Gulf Petrochem Group is head quartered in the UAE but has trading interests in many

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countries, with offices in the Far East (Singapore), Middle East (UAE – Sharjah, Dubai), Africa (Tanzania, Kenya and Nigeria), Europe (London) and the Indian Sub-Continent (Delhi and Mumbai).

Q: In which industry sector is Gulf Petrochem most successful?

Our two areas of primary focus is trading and bunkering. Close to that is our terminalling business.

With regard to our terminalling business, we conduct global assessments to ascertain the gaps between supply and demand and pitch ourselves in wherever

GULF PETROCHEM it is commercially viable. Our business model provides for both organic and inorganic growth in this segment. We venture into putting up Green Field terminals wherever the opportunity is available and also assess Joint Ventures with like-minded partners.

We are expanding our refining portfolio into East Africa as part of our focus for 2015 in developing our footprint in East Africa and enhancing our terminalling business.

Q. What about the Pipavav Oil Terminal Project? What is the timeline of this project?

We will be commissioning our Pipavav Terminal by the end of January 2015. It has a storage capacity of 250,000 KL catering to all classes of petroleum products, petrochemicals, lube base oil vegetable oil, fuel oil and bitumen. It is a state of the art terminal with all modern facilities and capabilities.

Similarly, 2015 will also see us enhance our storage capacity in our Fujairah Terminal.

Q. This year saw the first year of operation of the new Fujairah Oil Terminal, commissioned in 2013. What did this project involve? Did you face any challenges along the way?

O u r n e w t e r m in a l a t H a m r iy a h ( a re lo c a t io n o f o u r e x is t in g t e r m in a l) is lik e ly t o b e c o m m is s io n e d b y M a y 2 0 1 5 . I t is y e t a n o t h e r s t a t e o f t h e a r t t e r m in a l t o c o m p le m e n t o u r p o r t f o lio o f s t o r a g e a s s e t s w it h a c a p a c it y o f 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 KL . T h is t e r m in a l is a ls o d e s ig n e d t o h a n d le a ll c la s s e s o f p e t ro le u m p ro d u c t s , p e t ro c h e m ic a ls , lu b e b a s e o il, f u e l o il, a n d b it u m e n .

T h e re w e re o f c o u r s e c h a lle n g e s s u c h a s s y n c h ro n is in g v a r io u s re g u la t o r y a p p ro v a ls t o t h e m o b ilis a t io n o f m a t e r ia ls a n d la b o u r, b u t w it h t h e f o re s ig h t o f o u r b o a rd w e w e re a b le t o a c c o m p lis h a n d c o m p le t e t h e p ro je c t w it h t h e ir s u p p o r t a n d g u id a n c e .

PAGE 95

Q. What is the target for the business over the next 2-3 years? How will the Sah Petroleum acquisition contribute to the growth of the business?

Acquisition of Sah Petroleum, a listed company in India, is part of our long term strategy for forward integration. Sah Petroleum already has an established space in the segment of industrial lubricants in India.

With this acquisition, we will be exploring our reach into the automotive segment, as well as furthering our market share in industrial lubricants. We also have plans to implement strategic tie-ups with leading brands and expand our presence in other countries.

So, in a short spell of time, we expect to derive significant value for the group.

Q. Can you tell us about the Shell Bitumen Plant Acquisition? What was the reason for the acquisition? What are your plans for this facility?

As a group, we are significantly involved in bitumen trading with roughly 50% of the bitumen market in the UAE serviced by us. Apart from the UAE, we are an important player in India which gives us confidence to expand our services into neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Following our Shell Plant acquisition, we are now fully integrated into the bitumen business. With a 30000 MT bitumen storage and bottling capacity, we are poised to enhance our market share in India and facilitate trading interests in neighbouring countries.

Q. What is your personal history in the industry and with the company?

Gulf Petrochem has started inducting experienced professionals over the past 2 years to guide their expanding business interests and help enhance value.

The appointments of Mr BM Bansal Ex Chairman of Indian Oil and Mr Thangapandian Ex CEO of ESSAR Oil at Board level have immensely benefitted the organization in terms of providing direction and business acumen. I have recently joined the group and I have 35 years of experience in the Oil Industry. I have served both public sector and private sector Oil giants in India in senior positions, handling important businesses like operations, retail, industrial sales, LPG, supplies, shipping and international trading.

We bring our experience to add value and further the business interests of Gulf Petrochem, and is yet another opportunity to be part of a growing organization and provide strategic thrust to the

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management’s objective of expanding the business with a global footprint in all countries.

Q. What is required from the staff of Gulf Petrochem Group? Do they need experience in a similar role? Can full training be given for all positions?

We always look for world class talent to come and join us. The experienced senior professionals act as mentors and provide the necessary guidance and support to the youngsters. We do recruit management graduates from business schools and engineers from premier institutes and train them in various functions like trading, terminal operations, manufacturing and refining. The organization is young and we have an exemplary record recruiting the right talent, training them and ensuring retention.

Q. Is the constant drive towards ‘greener’ business having an impact (positively or negatively) on the business?

Absolutely, the greener business initiatives do have a positive impact on us. The organization considers this as a social responsibility. Protecting the environment, safety and security of people are of prime importance to Gulf Petrochem. As part of our planning process for any project, we always conduct an environmental impact analysis and always strictly adhere to all rules and regulations in this regard.

Q. What has been the key to the company’s success over the years?

Concern for society along with business interests, inculcating the habit of safety and security in the work place and the environment in the minds of employees have been the prime movers of success for Gulf Petrochem.

While a fall in oil prices does have an impact on all Oil companies, certain pre-emptive actions like prudent risk management policies have helped in protecting us from such volatilities in the market. However, such fluctuations do not deter the vision and ambition of the organization to embrace emerging opportunities across the globe

“The organization is young and we have an exemplary record recruiting the right talent, training them and ensuring retention”

Vijay Tanks & Vessels (P) Limited is a specialist EPC contractor covering a comprehensive range of storage tanks and process equipment.

VTV’s broad range of services encompasses the entire chain of equipment required for refinery, petrochemical and fertilizer plants.

Specifically our range of products comprise of pressure vessels, process columns, heat exchangers and reactors. Our credentials include benchmark assignments for some of the largest process equipment ever built.

We are acknowledged as a global leader in the storage tank sector and are amongst a handful of companies that specialize in the atmospheric, pressurised and cryogenic storage value chain.

The company’s fabrication plants are located in Vadodara, which is in the central part of Gujarat, and Kandla – a seaport in Gujarat, with a consolidated annual steel fabrication capacity of 15,000 tonnes. Our fabrication shops are situated on arterial highways and cover a total area of 100,000 square meters. Our Kandla fabrication facility is close to India’s Kandla port and has the capability to export overdimensioned consignments to any part of the globe. The maximum weight of single equipment shipped from this facility is 550 tonnes. We have shipped a horton sphere of 16.7 M diameter fully assembled at our Kandla works to Gorgon LNG Project, Australia. This is amongst the largest such equipment to have been shipped across continent.

Major flagship EPCC projects executed by VTV, including critical process equipment, in the recent years include:

• Double wall ethylene cryogenic storage system at Opal, Dahej, India including pumps, compressor, vaporizer, piping, civil, E&I works • Oil Storage Terminal at Pipavav for M/s. Gulf Petrochem. The terminal comprises of 46 Nos. atmospheric storage tanks of an aggregate capacity of 250,000 KLS covering various class of products. This project was executed by VTV on the basis of concept to commissioning and included all disciplines of engineering such as civil, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation, process.

• Completion of construction of 4 Nos. LNG Tanks of 590,000 Kls aggregate capacity and 4 Nos. LNG Tanks of aggregate capacity of 650,000 Kls are under construction.

• Large dia crude / Vacuum distillation columns for various refineries in India of maximum diameter of 12 m with overall height of 64 M. • 16 Nos. Coke drums for various refineries in India.

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Red Wing and the gold-standard of safety-wear Editorial: Ajuanne Payne

For over 100 years the Red Wing Shoe Company has firmly positioned itself as a brand synonymous with quality and trust. The company, very much for the working man and woman, has a real focus on excellence, innovation and service before profit. With 2,500 employees, positioned in more than 110 countries worldwide, its work-boots have set the gold-standard for safety in many industry sectors for years - while its main production facilities are still firmly rooted in Red Wing, Minnesota, where the company was founded in 1905.

With U.S. sales of protective clothing at $1.6 billion, and expected to reach

global offering. Originally focussed solely on work-boots, Red Wing has

named Charles Beckman and he had had a tanning business,” explains

$2.3 billion in 2017, Total World Energy’s Rick Liddiment speaks with Dave Murphy, President of Red Wing Shoe Company – arguably the most recognisable work-boot brand worldwide - to find out more about this decorated company’s

expanded over the years to be able to provide full head-to-toe safety wear for workers in the oil and gas industry – anything from safety boots to flameresistant garments.

“We are 109 years old. We were founded in 1905, by a gentleman

Murphy. “He got into the footwear business right here in Red Wing Minnesota, along the Mississippi river - just 60 miles outside of Minneapolis.

Not long after he started the company, William Sweasy - one of the ancestors of Bill Sweasy our current

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RED WING SHOE COMPANY chairman, bought the company and we have built the business ever since.

It’s been in the Sweasy family for nearly 100 years and we are now into the fourth generation.

“Texas was our first big oil and gas market and from there it expanded.

As these companies were drilling in Texas went world-wide, we went with them.”

Red Wing Shoe Company has not only survived, but prospered for over a hundred years and in the face of recessions, two world wars and the major decline of American shoemanufacturing in the second half of the 21st century. Much of this is down to the company’s loyalty to its core values and the continued influence the Sweasy family holds within the business.

“It is a privately held company which is, in a way, a competitive advantage for us, because it lets us focus on footwear and what we do well. It lets us focus on the customer - we don’t focus on our earnings.

We aren’t caught up in quarterly reports, quarterly announcements and so forth. Our shareholders, particularly Bill Sweasy - our chairman and largest shareholder, are very dedicated to making great products and serving our customers.”

a number of competitors. Our leather is used in U.S. military boots – we don’t make military boots because we sell to those that do. You see any U.S. military man or woman around the world - that leather comes from our tannery, right here in Red Wing Minnesota. We have 3,000 consumers in different industries that wear-test our product. These 3,000 consumers participate in our wear-tester program where they test product that has not been released to the public yet. Wear-tests can range anywhere from three to six months - and we’re one of the few that do that.”

GLOBAL REACH As a company that started off solely servicing local markets, Red Wing entered its first international market more than 50 years ago and is now represented in 110 countries globally.

It has offices in Dubai, Houston, the Gulf of Mexico, Aberdeen, Stavanger – all of the key oil regions of the world. Part of the key to the brand’s success may also be attributed to just how much the company has vertically integrated its operations over the years.

“We have two

tanneries. We start with bloody cow hide, all the way to personally fitting footwear on the feet of our consumers all over the world. We have factories and two tanneries in the United States as well as some international production in China, Vietnam and the Dominican Republic,” says Murphy.

With their ‘Made in America’ appeal, Red Wing boots have managed to become an iconic fashion staple with their Heritage brand, as well as an essential part of kit for workers in varied industry sectors. The triple-stitching Red Wing uses started out as a feature to create longer-lasting and sturdier boots, but has ended up being a signature of the brand. In fact, if you are lucky enough to visit one of the production facilities today, you will see the same Puritan Stitching Machines very much operational within a company that goes by the saying; ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.

With work-wear, Red Wing services many different industry sectors including;

CUSTOMER FOCUSSED One facet of the operating structure that has underpinned Red Wing’s ability to stay ahead of the pack, is its ongoing focus on R&D and innovation. Housed in the building where the company was founded is an extensive R&D facility, dedicated to the development of quality footwear products and oil and gas garments.

“We have a very comprehensive lab where we are testing current products and newly developed products,” explains Murphy. “We have some of the deepest experts in leather. In fact, we sell our leather to

Dave Murphy

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construction, heavy industry, mining, railroads, transportation and oil and gas to name a few. With over 70% of business comprising of work products, with oil and gas being a dominant market, it is only natural that the company has included flame-resistant material and garments as part of their safety wear.

“We felt that the Red Wing brand could carry over in to other personal protective equipment. Everything from flame-resistant garments to highly-insulated and very lightweight and cool overalls; all designed to protect from flash explosions. When you think about companies like BP or Exxonmobil you know safety is the first thing on their minds, but the last thing they want to worry about.

It’s the most important thing to them but they’d rather have that so nailed down that they don’t have to worry about it. We can provide head-totoe protection all over the world and when you get to that question of competitive advantage - that is our aim,” explains Murphy.

Red Wing Shoe Company’s deep

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“Being competitive starts with great quality products our work wear is known all over the world, our product, our brand and our service. We’re really the only brand, particularly in footwear, that is everywhere”

commitment to quality before profits and its organic growth has built a strong foundation of trust with its customers, both from a fashion and working point of view.

“Being competitive starts with great quality products. Our work wear is known all over the world.

We’re really the only brand, particularly in footwear, that is everywhere.

“We think of ourselves as purpose-built. Our first objective is to make sure we meet the purpose.

We have literally thousands of styles of product - all designed to meet certain requirements,” adds Murphy.

QUALITY SERVICE FOR QUALITY PRODUCT Second only to the quality of the product and another of Red Wing’s core values is its continued dedication to first-class service. It is not enough for the company to be present worldwide – they have developed innovative ways of tailoring their services to the very specific demands of their industrial customers.

RED WING SHOE COMPANY

“We have 200 trucks that are full Red Wing shoe-stores on wheels,” explains Murphy. “They hold 1000 pairs of shoes and we actually go to sites. We’ll go to power plants, we’ll go to construction sites, we’ll go to oil facilities – whatever it takes. We have this deep distribution with stores, trucks and

serve you anywhere in the world.

We can serve you quickly. We can get stuff out on the oil rigs on a helicopter, and in Aberdeen we can get stuff in the North Sea in three hours. We not only have the garments and the footwear, we actually produce and sell highprotection gear. We can give these

fabric for PPE garments is specially geared to service oil and gas workers in tropical climates.

The garment technology will able to withstand hazardous working environments and will last over 70 washes (the expected life-span of a work garment). Importantly, the fabric can be used on both fire-

industrial sowing people.

“The safety managers of these big companies want consistency, they aren’t dealing with regional suppliers who don’t know who they are. So we basically go to these people and say – we can

safety directors and everyone else everything they need in convenience.”

As part of continued innovation at the company, Red Wing is coming out with VectorGuard™ in 2015. The mosquito-repellent

retardant and non-fire retardant Red Wing oil and gas garments.

Perhaps even more importantly than that, it will give workers and employers added peace of mind and reduce cases of the potentially fatal disease.

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Looking forward, there are a few exciting things on the horizon for Red Wing. Aside from the imminent release of VectorGuard™, the company has an exciting project pipeline.

“We are refreshing and updating some of our extremely popular work styles so they will hold-up longer and perform even better than they do now. We also have some very exciting brand new products being released in 2015 for our work and industrial footwear lines. I can only tease them right now, but keep

PAGE 102

an eye on us in 2015 for more information.”

LACED WITH REDWING Dave Murphy has been with Red Wing for 13 years, but got his start at one of the world’s largest food companies.

“I did not grow up in the footwear industry, I grew up in the marketing and management world at General Mills – a food company. What I did bring was brand experience and management. What I didn’t have was any footwear experience,

which has been so fun for me.

I’ve been at the slaughterhouse where we get our leather in Skyline Nebraska. I’ve actually sold footwear to real consumers, not very well I’m afraid, but it’s just incredible, exciting – I’ve never had a job like it and it’s just been the greatest. I’m probably one of the few guys that has more shoes than his wife!

“I was in the Gulf of Mexico, probably six or seven years ago and I was on an oil rig. I was actually talking to the cook,

RED WING SHOE COMPANY

because I was trying to understand how these guys feel on the rigs and he said to me: ‘Let me show you something. I want to tell you why your footwear is so important to us.’ We’re standing on the corner of the rig, literally along the edge of the rig and he takes a raw chicken, we’re 70 miles offshore and he throws it over the side of the oil rig. He said ‘look over the edge,’ and it falls down towards the water, but it never hits the water. When it gets right to the water’s edge, to the surface of the water, these fish jump out of the water and consume this chicken.

They bounce it like a basketball rebound and they eat this chicken before it hits the water. He looked at me and said: ‘slip resistance is very important.’ So I’ve had these experiences where you can see first-hand.”

What’s clear when talking with Dave Murphy and what’s evident throughout Red Wing Shoe

“We have 200 trucks - multiple trucks that are full Red Wing shoestores on wheels.

They hold 1000 pairs of shoes and we actually go to site. We’ll go to power plants, we’ll go to construction sites, we’ll go to oil facilities – whatever it takes.”

Company is the undeniable passion its employees have for the brand – a real drive to stay true to the company’s core ideals. This may well be the true essence of Red Wing’s success over the years. It maintains its facilities in Minnesota when at some points it would have made more sense financially to have relocated and has shown true dedication throughout its history to the community of Red Wing, Minnesota, from which it was forged.

“We have a mission statement and I don’t worry about whether our employees can quote it, but they live it: ‘Red Wing Shoe Company will be a company whose first priority is employees as we serve our customers, our shareholders, our suppliers and our community.’ It does start with our employees and they are all dedicated to serve our customers with quality and service. So – that’s what it’s all about,” he concludes

PAGE 103

The most important car in 100 years?

Editorial: Christian Jordan

We have looked extensively at the future of transport; we’ve looked at some of the most ambitious ideas out there, but the Honda FCX and the imminent FCV look like they could be the answer to everyday transport around the globe – the future of the car…

The Honda FCX, or Fuel Cell eXperimental, has been described by automotive industry commentators as “the future”. They call it “beautiful”, “exceptional” and “a fantastic display

has heard of the FCX, although you probably haven’t seen too many on the streets, and people in the automotive industry who are understandably sceptical when it

styling. While pretty, the FCX is no more astonishing than the standard four-door saloon that you see every day in the car park. And it isn’t the numbers; this car can reach 100

of how far we’ve come”. American talk-show host, Jay Leno called it “the savoir of our sports cars” and BBC and Top Gear’s James May said the FCX is “the most important car since the car was invented.”

Everyone in the energy industry

comes to electric vehicles are now looking at the FCX and calling it a fantastic achievement.

So what is it that Honda has done to make so many people turn and speak to positively about an electric car? Well, it isn’t the looks or the

mph, it has 136 bhp and can do 0-60 in around 10 seconds. But it is the innovative way that the FCX is powered and the astonishing emissions numbers that make this vehicle a game changer.

The car is powered by hydrogen,

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FUTURE POWER and all of our friends in the oil and gas industry will be well aware that hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe unlike petrol or diesel. Hydrogen is stored in the large 171 litre storage tank at the rear of the car. The hydrogen is then mixed with oxygen in a fuel cell that sits in the centre, between the two front seats. This creates electricity that powers the motor that turns the wheels. Of course, the only by-product of this type of power generation is water (H+O=H2O), and that is all that you will find coming out of the exhaust. U.S. publisher Ward, estimated that as of 2010 there were 1.015 billion motor vehicles in use in the world; the emission from these vehicles adds up to an almost unbelievable amount but imagine if just 10% of that number was taken away; imagine the impact on the environment and the amount of valuable oil that would be saved.

Honda has been working for many years on its hydrogen fuel cell technology and launched its first

prototype FCX in 1999. Over the next decade, ideas were developed and the model became more advanced although it was rarely seen outside of California or Japan. In 2002, the FCX became the world’s first fuel-cell car certified by the U.S. EPA and California Air Resources Board for commercial use. In 2006, at the Detroit Auto Show, Honda announced that it would make a production version of the FCX concept that had been displayed at the previous year’s Tokyo Motor Show. As excitement built around this futuristic and innovative concept, other motor companies began to release their own concepts to the market and it seemed as if the world of driving was set to change.

In 2008 at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, Honda unveiled the FCX Clarity, the first production model. It was only available in California and would only be leased for a 36 month period until hydrogen filling stations had become more common. With the release of this new model came

the attention of the world’s media, thrilled at the prospect of 100% eco-friendly driving, and thrilled that this electric car could travel over 250 miles without needing a charge and could be filled up in a matter of minutes.

By 2010, the FCX was famous and had become the major topic of discussion for motor enthusiasts and clean energy groups. And good news for those groups, Honda has announced that it is developing a new version; the FCV. The FCV concept was debuted in Japan in November last year. This new model continues in the vein of its predecessor, promoting nextgeneration zero emissions Honda technology.

Honda says that the FCV could be launch in Japan by March of 2016 and that it will contain a number of improvements from the FCX Clarity including: power density of 3.1kW/L, an increase of 60%, with the stack size reduced 33%, a driving range of over 300

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©Lykovata/ShutterStock

miles, space for five people, new styling and a power source that can potentially be used to power other things and not just the car’s electric motor.

The company said in a statement: “Honda has led the industry for nearly two decades in the development and deployment of fuel-cell technology through extensive real-world testing, including the first government fleet deployment and retail customer leasing program. Since the introduction of its first generation fuel-cell vehicle, the FCX, in 2002, Honda has made significant technological advancements in fuelcell vehicle operation in both hot and

hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, even in ‘green areas’ such as Los Angeles. Filling with hydrogen is still fairly expensive; in the US it costs about the same to fill the tank of the FCX as it does to fill with petrol.

Hydrogen is not available in its pure form anywhere in the world so needs to be treated before it can be used as a fuel – an energy intense, costly process. The FCX Clarity and FCV are still to be made from steel where production is not exactly ‘green’.

The price of the FCV is still unknown but it is likely to be expensive because the technology is so advanced. Hydrogen cars have been investigated for decades and have always been called the future but still

cars were big and clunky and not overly easy to handle, but everything develops and with the demands on hydrogen from other industries, it seems that this is a fuel that will develop quickly, becoming more and more efficient all the time.

So, as we approach that day when the oil eventually does run out, is hydrogen the answer? Are Honda on the right track? Right now there is not another vehicle that fits in with modern life that is 100% emission free. And as Leno said on Top Gear, “It will save the petrol, it will save the sports car. You can go out at the weekend and use your MG or Porsche and have fun and then take the FCX in the week and put it in the

sub-freezing weather while meeting customer expectations and safety regulations.”

Of course, with any type of ‘new energy’ there are critics, and right now they have a strong case.

Currently, there is not a proper

there has not been a breakthrough into mass production and use. But it seems that these are only temporary hurdles; after all, in the early years of the petrol car, there were not many filling stations, there were not many scientists producing v-power, early

car park. It’s like how the automobile was the saviour of the horse. Horses would be whipped and die and then the car came along and freed the horse for recreational use and I think these types of cars will be the saviours of our sports cars.”

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