Production from the hydraulic-cracking project at the Asyut refinery and the expansion project at the Middle East Oil Refinery will begin on schedule, according to the CEO of Technip, Marco Villa, Egypt Oil & Gas reports.
Technip, an Italian firm, is the general contractor for both projects.
The expansion of MIDOR will increase the refinery’s capacity by 52% to 175,000 barrels per day (b/d) from its current capacity of 115,000 b/d. Technip is also implementing a project to perform hydrogen cracking on low-value products, such as mazut, at the Asyut refinery to increase the output of higher-value products.
Technip has invested approximately $3.7 billion in the two projects.
These figures were announced during a meeting between Villa and the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla.
Separate tenders for the construction of the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (ICGB) and for the supply of line pipes will be launched in November, Bulgarian energy minister Temenuzhka Petkova said on Thursday.
Last week, Bulgaria issued the building permit for its section of the gas interconnection, while Greece has yet to grant a permit for the construction of its stretch of the gas link, Temenuzhka Petkova said in a statement, following a meeting of the Central East South Europe Gas Connectivity (CESEC) High Level Group in Bucharest.
A public procurement contract for a consultant engineer for the ICGB project is expected to be awarded in October, according to Petkova.
The IGB pipeline will connect the Greek gas transmission system in the area of Komotini to the Bulgarian gas transmission system in the area of Stara Zagora.
The planned length of the pipeline is 182 km and the projected capacity will be up to 3 billion cu m per year in the direction from Greece to Bulgaria. Depending on interest from the market and the capacities of the neighbouring gas transmission systems, the capacity of the pipeline can be increased up to 5 billion cu m per year, thus allowing for physical reverse flow from Bulgaria to Greece with the additional installation of a compressor station.
The gas link is estimated to cost 220 million euro ($241.8 million). The company has secured a sovereign guarantee of 110 million euro under the annual state budget act, which gives potential for assuring of loan financing under preferable conditions.
The IGB project is being implemented by the joint venture company ICGB, in which state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and Greece-registered IGI Poseidon hold equal shares. Greek public gas corporation DEPA and Italian energy group Edison own 50% each of IGI Poseidon.
L&T’s hydrocarbon division has bagged a major pipeline contract with a value close to $262mn from Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) for engineering, procurement and construction of a new 48" crude transit line (TL-5) from North Kuwait to Ahmadi.
The completion of the project is scheduled for the third quarter of 2020.
The order was won against stiff international competitive bidding which reinforces L&T’s unique capability to deliver 'design to build' engineering and construction solutions across the hydrocarbon spectrum.
L&T is currently executing Gathering Centre-30 (GC-30) project for Kuwait Oil Company.
L&T has been serving the onshore hydrocarbon sector since early 1990s. The company’s track record includes successful completion of several challenging projects for domestic and international clients.
Petrofac has been awarded a front-end engineering design (FEED) modification contract for KOGAS AKKAS BV (KOGAS) Nasiriya Gas Treatment Plant (GTP) in southern Iraq.
Petrofac’s scope of work includes the modification and application of an existing field design to meet the needs of the Nasiriya GTP, and an estimation for the engineering, procurement and construction costs in line with the revised design requirements.
Steve Webber, senior vice president, Engineering & Production Services East, Petrofac, said: “This award is testament to our engineering design capabilities, as well as our deep understanding of the market and supply chain in Iraq. KOGAS is a new client for us in a core market and we look forward to further developing our relationship through the successful delivery of this scope.”
“Throughout the project, we will provide a robust FEED package for the execution of the Nasiriya GTP in alignment with KOGAS’ expectations, to ensure that it can maximise the total value of the field,” added Webber.
Egypt will implement 12 new gas-development projects over the next four years, the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources, Tarek El Molla.
The projects are estimated to cost $17.5 billion. El Molla also said that Egypt will complete eight refining projects during the same time period at a cost of $3.8 billion.
Continued development at the Zohr, North Alexandria, and Noroos fields will raise Egypt’s domestic production by 50% in 2018, he said, adding that Egypt should reach self-sufficiency in natural gas by the end of 2018. By 2020, he noted, Egypt’s production of natural gas should rise by 100%.
Trescorp signed a $600 million contract with Oman’s Sohar Port and Free Zone for the development of an oil terminal at the port.
Construction is set to begin next year. The terminal will include six deepwater berths, according to Platts. One of the births will be large enough for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) of 320,000 deadweight tonnage (dwt).
The project, upon completion, will have up to 1.8 million cubic meters of storage capacity, Platts reports.
The first phase will include facilities for diesel, crude oil, and fuel oil. The second phase will add capacity for jet fuel, lube oil, asphalt, and gasoline, according to the Times of Oman.
Operations from the new facilities are planned to begin in 2020, Platts reports.
The Sohar Port is located in eastern Oman, outside the Straits of Hormuz.
Trescorp is a Singapore-based company that specializes in trading petroleum products and crude oil.
Iran has agreed to build an oil refinery in the Syrian city of Homs.
The refinery will initially have the capacity to refine 70,000 barrels a day (b/d) of crude oil, but its capacity will rise to 140,000 b/d, according the Head of the Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RPIP).
It will refine both heavy and light Syrian crude, Zamanian said.
Construction will begin after the cessation of hostilities in Syria, according to Reuters.
Earlier this month Iran and Syria announced their intent to cooperate in the electricity sector, and the Iranian company, Mabna, signed an EU 130 million contract to provide five gas-powered units.
The petrochemical company Versalis adopted a single-source supplier concept and awarded Burckhardt Compression a contract to overhaul the Process Gas and Hyper Compressors in its two LDPE lines in Dunkerque, France. A dedicated engineering team executed the turn-key solution project after only three months’ preparation time.
Based on its positive experiences working with Burckhardt Compression on other projects, Versalis entrusted Burckhardt Compression with this turn-key project. These major overhauls usually take place every 4-5 years in which a shutdown is required. Considering the project volume involved in overhauling two Booster/Primary and two Hyper/Secondary Compressors, the project timeline was ambitious. Burckhardt Compression operated as single-source supplier, providing all equipment and dealing with sub-suppliers. Versalis also attaches great importance to health and safety standards and protection of the environment and Burckhardt Compression performed all work to its utmost satisfaction in this regard.
The project scope included a major revamp of all compressors, inspections, replacement and refurbishment of parts, transportation logistics, and coordination of sub-suppliers. Relying on its extensive network, Burckhardt Compression was also able to quickly resolve unplanned events. A major benefit was Burckhardt Compression’s ability to make many decisions directly onsite. In addition to its very good performance of the overhaul, Burckhardt Compression’s well trained and qualified employees are capable of providing local parts and maintenance services, which ensures very short response and delivery times. The success of this project was supported by the close relationship between Versalis staff and Burckhardt Compression’s team.
Versalis, headquartered in Italy, is a leading producer of plastic and rubber products. Polyethylene is one of the most common materials used in consumer goods and accounts for 30% of the total volume of plastic material produced worldwide (in 2013).
Burckhardt Compression is a renowned original equipment manufacturer of high-pressure reciprocating Hyper Compressors for LDPE plants and has pioneered this technology since 1951. Long-standing know-how and unrivalled expertise enable it to provide full support for Booster/Primary and Hyper/Secondary Compressors. Practice-oriented design principles result in easy maintenance work and short downtime for overhauls. Furthermore, an outstanding track record with decades of experience in building reciprocating compressors makes Burckhardt Compression a competent and reliable partner for comprehensive turn-key projects and a trusted provider of global, one-stop maintenance and service solutions for compressors of any brand.
Kuwait announced a new tender for the development of its Jurassic natural gas field.
The tender is for the development of a new facility called Jurassic gas facility (JGF-1). Upon completion, the facility is projected to have 69 wells and to produce 590 million cubic feet a day (mcf/d) and 220,000 barrels of per day (b/d), according to Platts.
Bids are due by the end of February.
In July, Kuwait’s Oil Minister, Essam El Marzouq, said that Kuwait would finish three natural gas facilities at the Jurassic field later this year, Platts reports. The three facilities were projected to each be capable of producing 100 mcf/d of natural gas and 40,000 b/d of oil.
Jurassic natural gas field is in northern Kuwait and contains sour natural gas and light crude oil, according to Hart Energy. Production from the field began in 2008.