Equinor awards Jacobs feasibility study contract for construction of hydrogen production plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has been awarded a feasibility study contract from Equinor Energy AS to evaluate the possibilities for building a hydrogen production plant, including CO2 capture and export facilities, in Eemshaven, the Netherlands, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The hydrogen will be supplied as fuel to an existing natural gas-fired power plant that will be converted into a hydrogen-fueled power plant designed to lower the plant's carbon emissions at a large scale.

The award of the feasibility study follows the Memorandum of Understanding of Equinor, with its partners Vattenfall and Gasunie, to evaluate the possibilities of converting Vattenfall's gas power plant Magnum in Eemshaven into a hydrogen-powered plant.

"Getting the opportunity to work with Equinor to study the possibilities of gas-to-hydrogen conversion and contribute to a significant CO2 reduction is meaningful to Jacobs in many ways," says Jacobs Senior Vice President and General Manager Energy and Chemicals EMEA David Zelinski. "The award enables us to leverage our expertise in gas processing and aligns perfectly with our vision to deliver innovative and sustainable solutions to our clients."

Building on Jacobs' expertise in hydrogen, reformer technology and CO2 capture, the study performed by Jacobs will focus on the objective of selecting the most effective reformer technology for hydrogen production together with a suitable CO2 capture technology. Jacobs will also deliver the conceptual design of the plant as a basis for economic evaluation and further project definition.

In order to avoid CO2 emissions from the hydrogen production process, up to three million tons per year of CO2 will be captured and then liquefied for ease of transportation to Norway, where it will be injected and stored in an off-shore reservoir. The first of three Magnum plant units should be converted to run on natural gas by early 2024.
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aeSolutions first in America to earn Siemens SIMATIC PCS 7 safety specialist certification

MOSCOW (MRC) – aeSolutions, a consulting, engineering and systems integration company that provides industrial process safety, cyber security and automation products and services, announced today that they have earned the Siemens SIMATIC PCS 7 Process Safety Specialist certification, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"We are proud that aeSolutions is the first Siemens Safety certified partner in the Americas,” Ken O’Malley, President of aeSolutions states. “This certification validates our team’s commitment to being a leader in safety instrumented systems engineering and system integration. Because we often support our customers’ most complex and critical processes we consider this level of competence and certification to be essential to our business."

To become certified, solution partners undergo a rigorous, multi?faceted process facilitated by Siemens. A Siemens senior consulting engineer out of Karlsruhe, Germany audited multiple aeSolutions safety projects to ensure their project configuration workflow processes followed Siemens?documented best practices, as well as international functional safety standards (IEC 61511).

Overall, aeSolutions’ engineering team successfully demonstrated their capability to deliver compliant process safety projects using all of the latest Siemens process safety tools (including Safety Matrix). “As customers require PCS 7 safety instrumented systems, we can recommend aeSolutions, our certified Process Safety Specialist Solution Partner, knowing that they have the engineering and quality practices to execute the project right the first time using best practices,” says Rich Chmielewski, Siemens USA PCS 7 Solution Partner Program Manager.

aeSolutions was able to demonstrate and pass all of the requirements from our partner program to achieve the status of Siemens Process Safety Specialist. This certification provides confidence to the market that aeSolutions can offer quality and complete safety lifecycle services per the IEC 61511 functional safety standard for the process industries along with strong technical expertise using Siemens process safety technology,” says Charles M. Fialkowski, CFSE, Siemens National Director for Process Safety.
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Houthis attack ARAMCO refinery in Riyadh using drone

MOSCOW (MRC) - The Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen said that one of its drones had attacked the Saudi state oil company ARAMCO's refinery in Riyadh, according to Houthi-run al-Masira TV, based in Yemen, as per Reuters.

"Our drone air forces have targeted the refinery of ARAMCO company in Riyadh," a tweet on al-Masira account's said.

Aramco earlier said its fire control teams and the Saudi civil defence had contained a limited fire that erupted in the early evening in a storage containers at the refinery.
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Meridian Energy Group begins civil construction of Davis Refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Meridian Energy Group, Inc., announced that the company has executed a contract with SEH Design|Build, Inc., a subsidiary of Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. with an office in Bismarck, North Dakota, for the performance of site and civil design and construction services for the Davis Refinery, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This announcement comes a month after the North Dakota Department of Health – Air Quality Division issued Meridian the Permit to Construct for the Davis Refinery. SEH D|B will take on a significant portion of the project, executing grading and other site work activity that is necessary for the refinery.

SEH D|B will lead civil construction activities by refining site grading plans to establish final grades and contours. Initial construction activities will include the installation of erosion control devices, stormwater pond development and ditch shaping to establish vegetation and ensure runoff will be addressed before erosive issues develop to protect surrounding areas and existing waterways.

Dan Hedrington, SEH Principal and Senior Project Manager, had this to say: "My colleagues and I are thrilled to continue our work with Meridian Energy Group on the Davis Refinery project. This is truly a history-making event and we are eager to get started on the site work. The Davis project is an extremely environmentally sound project, and will no doubt positively impact the refining industry, North Dakota and its residents."

The contract with SEH D|B employs a team of local subcontractors from Belfield and surrounding areas. Martin Construction Inc., Dickinson, North Dakota’s premier earthwork construction company, will be the primary site developers for the civil construction. Martin Construction Inc., President Kurt Martin commented, “It’s exciting to be part of a project that brings economic stability to western North Dakota and features key advancements to cleaner refinery methods."

ABC Fencing, of Belfield, North Dakota will be responsible for the installation of erosion control devices and installation of perimeter fencing designed for safety and security around the Davis site. Allan Richard, ABC Fencing CEO on the Davis Project, stated, "We are very excited as a company, and more importantly as members of the community, to see this project get off the ground. I believe everyone should look at the Davis Refinery as an opportunity to grow our small businesses, and a chance to recover some of the commerce that has left our neighborhood, such as a grocery store. Belfield, the surrounding areas and businesses deserve to have a chance to reap some of the benefits the refinery can offer."

William Prentice, CEO of Meridian, said, “It is great to be finally beginning site work for Davis, and to be working with these fine local companies as we get the project moving. We already owe a lot to these firms. ABC Fencing has been involved in the Davis Refinery from the start, and Martin Construction has provided valuable guidance during construction planning for Davis. SEH has been instrumental in moving the project forward, not only in general site planning and engineering, but mostly in their involvement in the permitting of the Davis Refinery. We are grateful to these firms, and proud to be continuing the relationship."
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Covestro plans EUR100m global film production expansion

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Covestro intends to significantly expand its global film production to meet the growing demand in all regions. In particular, capacity expansions are planned at Map Ta Phut, Thailand, Guangzhou, China, South Deerfield, USA, and Dormagen, Germany, as per the company's press release.

The total investment of more than 100 million euros also includes the expansion of the associated infrastructure and logistics. According to current planning, over 100 new jobs will be created worldwide for the operation of the new plants. The high-quality semi-finished products are used in the automotive, medical technology and security card industries, amongst others.

"With this capacity expansion, we are investing in promising technologies and applications," says Dr. Markus Steilemann, CEO of Covestro. "The innovative high-tech materials offer solutions for future challenges and deliver their contribution to making the world a brighter place."

"We want to expand our global film production as quickly as possible to meet the growing demand in the regions," explains Michael Friede, global head of the Coatings, Adhesives and Specialties segment. "With modern and efficient production facilities, we want to offer our customers growth opportunities and strengthen them in their competitive environment. "

One of the new production facilities is being built in Map Ta Phut in Thailand and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2019. It is based on modern coextrusion technology.

At the Guangzhou site in China, the focus will initially be on converting the existing coextrusion line. The first new capacities are to be available there as early as mid-2019. In a second phase, capacity is also to be expanded there. In South Deerfield, Massachusetts, measures to increase efficiency and quality are already being implemented.

Covestro is also building new coextrusion lines in Dormagen, which are scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2020. Only a year ago, the company commissioned a new production line there for high-quality, multilayer flat films, including infrastructure and logistics facilities.
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