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2008
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Value Engineering in an Escalating Business Environment
NPRA Annual Meeting, March 9-11, 2008, San Diego, CA. In this presentation David Nash, Principal Process Engineer, explains factors in the current business environment that have led to price escalation of services in the hydrocarbon processing industry. The paper proposes value engineering as one solution to rising project costs and provides a number of real-world examples that explain lessons learned and strategic considerations for successful value engineering.
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Cost Effective Solutions for Reduction of Benzene in Gasoline
NPRA Annual Meeting, March 9-11, 2008, San Diego, CA. CDTECH's Kerry L. Rock, Maarten J. Almering and Arvids Judzis explore how reducing benzene in gasoline is a cost-effective sidestream solution found in the quest for producing cleaner fuel. The article introduces the Benzene CDHydro process which provides the most cost-effective method of benzene reduction available to refiners from conventional technology.
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Nuclear Power: Preparing for the Industry Resurgence
World Energy, Vol. 10 No. 4, published this article in which Jim Bollweg, Executive Vice President - Project Operations, outlines some of the steps engineering and construction contractors will need to take to support the expected growth in construction of new nuclear power generation facilities. The article looks at market factors that are driving the nuclear renaissance; new trends in nuclear plant development such as passive designs and modular construction; and the necessity for contractors to develop nuclear grade policies and systems.
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Increasing Refinery Biofuels Production
PTQ Catalysis, 2008, published this article written by Kerry L. Rock, Director, Technology at CDTECH in Houston and Maurice Korpelshoek, License Business Development Manager at CDTECH in The Hague, The Netherlands. With demands to increase the production of biofuels, refiners are evaluating options to meet the mandates. This article examines the benefits of producing bio-ethers compared to blending bioethanol for the total European gas pool. Economics for optimum biofuels operation are presented to help determine the most cost-effective option to meet implementation targets.
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2007
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CB&I Helps the UK Build Up LNG Import Network and Storage Capacity
LNG Journal, November/December 2007. In response to predicted shortfalls in domestic natural gas supply, the United Kingdom has created a more liberalized gas market. Some suppliers are developing liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminals and storage facilities to bring gas to the UK. In this article, Peter Bennett, Mike Whitney and Barbara Weber discuss two LNG projects in the UK -- South Hook and Isle of Grain.
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Is Modularization Right for Your Project?
Hydrocarbon Processing, December 2007. Modular construction is the process of engineering and fabricating construction projects into shippable packages or segments that can be installed economically and logistically at the permanent site. In this article, Patrick Jameson provides a framework for evaluating the economic viability of modularization versus stick-built (or onsite) construction, using a gasoil hydrotreater project as a case study.
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Optimize Your Hydrogen Plant Operations
Hydrocarbon Processing, September 2007. Due to the worldwide demand for hydrogen, it has become important for refiners to maintain, or in some cases, increase the hydrogen production from their existing hydrogen plants. According to this article written by Greg Shumake and Andy Coleman, proper plant monitoring is essential to achieving this objective. There are several areas to focus on when monitoring the performance of a hydrogen plant. Particular areas of interest include the feedstock, catalyst, reformer and steam system.
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When the Going Gets Tough
Hydrocarbon Engineering, June 2007, published this article in which Tom Landon and Jon Lee discuss how to improve the toughness of high heat input welded vertical joints. They concluded that by using enhanced techniques and materials, the weld metal and HAZ toughness of vertical welds in carbon steel flat bottom storage tanks made with the EGW process can be significantly improved.
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Nurturing and Expanding Engineering Resources
Hydrocarbon Processing, May 2007. Developing, maintaining and expanding an experienced engineering team during vigorous economic growth can be difficult due to competing incentives in the job market. This article identifies the factors that need to be properly addressed to support the ongoing evolution of a high-performance engineering team. It concludes that a targeted approach to hiring and managing engineering personnel can help companies retain their valuable engineering resources and avoid many of the pitfalls that can lead to cycles of rebuilding the team from the ground up.
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LNG Terminal Expansion Moves to Forefront of Contract Tender Action
LNG Journal, February 2007, published this article in which Brian Eisentrout, Process Design Manager, examines the design issues that existing and prospective terminal operators should consider for any terminal expansion. These issues include the simultaneous unloading of multiple ships, larger LNG carriers, the addition of alternative LNG and natural gas distribution systems, technology improvements, BTU reduction, new sources of LNG supply, and possible co-generation facilities. Originally presented at the 2006 Gastech Conference and Exhibition in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
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How to Make Safety a Part of Your Corporate Culture
World Energy, No. 1 - 2007, published this article in which John Redmon, Executive Vice President of Operations, explains how companies can achieve an accident free workplace. To do this, a company's HSE training program must focus on behavior-based safety and the causes of incidents rather than the accidents that have already taken place. The article uses CB&I's Total Involvement of Employees program as an example of how behavior-based safety can become a part of the entire company's corporate culture.
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An Engineering Benchmark
Fundamentals of the Global LNG Industry 2007, Petroleum Economist. This article, written by Peter Rano, Senior Vice President and Executive Project Manager, focuses on CB&I's work on the fourth production train at the Bonny Island LNG facility, which is operated by Nigeria LNG Limited. It examines some of the techniques CB&I used to meet the logistical and workforce challenges associated with bringing the Bonny Island production train online, as well as how these practices can be applied to other large-scope projects.
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Compressing Costs
World Pipelines, March 2007, published this article in which Gurdial Singh and Michael Moore of CB&I UK Limited discuss reducing the cost of onshore pipeline systems. The article is based on a joint study conducted by BP and CB&I. They concluded that the cost of pipeline facilities can be greatly reduced by a combination of eliminating standby machines, remotely operating pipeline stations and developing modularized components. The reasons and details behind these conclusions are contained in the article.
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Market Watch
Hydrocarbon Engineering, February 2007, published this article in which Loren Pieper, Vice President of Process Engineering, and Aaron Stryk, Global Marketing Manager, offer a global market outlook for gas processing.
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2006
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Mixing Things Up In Hydrogen Plants
Hydrocarbon Engineering, November 2006, published this article in which Greg Shumake, Process Engineering Manager, and James Small, Senior Process Engineer, discuss the uses of refinery offgases as additional feedstocks for hydrogen production.
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Coke Drum Design: Reliability Through Innovation
PTQ, 3Q 2006. This article examines the theories behind coke drum failure and demonstrates ways of improving their reliability such as installing CB&I’s vertical plate technology, which eliminates the circumferential weld seams in the area prone to distortion and cracking. In addition, the paper includes a description of the new skirt attachments that have been developed for coke drums, as well as an economic case for implementing the vertical plate design. This article was previously presented at the NPRA Annual Meeting in March 2006.
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Study Focuses on Six LNG Regasification Systems
LNG Journal, July/August 2006. The energy costs associated with regasifying LNG for delivery to a natural gas pipeline is one of the most significant things to consider when designing and constructing an import terminal. This article focuses on a study CB&I recently conducted to determine which regasification system would be the most economical given the operational features of the terminal, as well as the delivery system available to reach its markets. The regasification systems evaluated in this study were: fired heaters with water/ethylene glycol (WEG) intermediate fluid, submerged combustion vaporizers, sea water vaporizers with open rack, heating towers with intermediate water, gas turbine generators with waste heat recovery units and steam turbine generator cycle (Rankine Cycle).
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Meeting Energy Demand with Off-site Modularization
World Energy, No. 2 – 2006. This article examines the advantages of modularization and how it can help contractors to optimize their existing resources while continuing to build new oil and gas facilities in a timely and economical manner. In addition, the article discusses some of the drawbacks associated with off-site construction, as well as what important issues must be examined by the owner and contractor in order to determine the degree of modular construction that should be implemented. The prequalifications needed by a contractor – such as fabrication shop capacity, access to transportation and experience – are also discussed.
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Onsite Innovation
Hydrocarbon Engineering, February 2006, published this article which highlights the challenges faced by the project team in designing and building storage tanks and spheres for the Sohar Refinery in Oman, including meeting the requirements for local content, training the local crews, getting materials to the site on time, and staying on schedule even when materials were late. The article further describes the solutions developed to address these challenges, which resulted in such benefits as project cost savings and the presence of a trained workforce for future projects in Oman.
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Operation Hydrogen
Hydrocarbon Engineering, February 2006, published this article which examines steam methane reforming (SMR) based hydrogen plants and the design nuances that are now typically a part of designing a modern hydrogen plant. Factors to consider include the capability to handle multiple feedstocks, setting an export steam amount that will fit within a refinery's steam balance, and controlling the export steam purity.
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2005
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Building the Energy Infrastructure of the Future
World Energy, 4th Quarter 2005, published this article in which Gerald Glenn, Chairman, President, and CEO of CB&I, provides a look at the future of energy–including traditional and alternative sources of power–and the infrastructure that will be needed.
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Bridging the Gap
LNG Industry, Autumn 2005, published this profile of the Elba Island LNG import terminal expansion project, a project that is bridging the infrastructure gap to facilitate increasing LNG imports into North America.
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Oil and Gas Projects
World Energy, August 2005, published this article discussing the prospective forecast of growth in the Asia-Pacific region and the keys for a global contractor's success in executing projects in the very different environments of both Southeast Asia/China and Australia.
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Maintaining Alloy Corrosion Resistance
Hydrocarbon Engineering, June 2005, published this article describing the process of developing weld procedures for Alloy 59, used in the field construction of Syncrude Canada Ltd.'s flue gas desulfurization (FGD) scrubber unit.
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Enhancing SRUs with Oxygen-Enriched Air
PTQ, Q2 2005, published this article describing ways oxygen-enrichment technologies can help refiners meet clean fuel regulations. Required modifications to the oxygen-enriched SRU are also provided.
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Knowing Your Noise
World Pipeline, February 2005, published this article about the use of fixed monitors on industrial sites to monitor and interpret facility noise for the benefit of communities, regulatory agencies, and facility owners.
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Sakhalin II: The First LNG Storage Tanks in Russia
LNG Journal, January/February 2005, published this article examining the challenges associated with building the first LNG storage tanks in Russia, including the absence of codes, harsh climate and seismic activity.
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Enhance Returns on Processing Plant Investments
Hydrocarbon Processing, January 2005, published this discussion of cost-effective ways to plan processing plant expansions and how these opportunities can be used to increase the overall effeciency of plant operations.
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| 2004 |
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Optimizing FCCU's: Fast Track Projects for Today's Refineries
World Refining published this article highlighting ways to optimize contracting strategies, construction methodologies, and sourcing options when upgrading or expanding fluid catalytic cracking units.
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New Hydrogen Solutions Meet Cleen Fuels Regulations
The ERTC Show (Daily) published this description of options for cost effective ways that refinery owners can build a new hydrogen plant to help them comply with clean fuels regulations.
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Think Tanks
Hydrocarbon Engineering published this profile of an EPC project-including 28 storage tanks and 1 butane sphere-that CB&I completed in Papua New Guinea four weeks ahead of a tight 10-month schedule.
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LNG Storage Tanks: Advancements in Weld Inspections
Hydrocarbon Processing published this description of a patented technique developed to use ultrasonic instead of radiographic technology for non-destructive examination of weld joints on LNG storage tanks.
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Hydrogen Review
Hydrocarbon Engineering included a description of CB&I's hydrogen technologies in this review, featuring the H2Drogen™ and HYFORMING™ designs, along with SYNGAS™ simulation software.
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Advances in Egg-Shaped Digester Design Enhance Life Cycle Benefits
Water and Wastewater International published this account of how enhancements to the original anaerobic egg-shaped digester design have simplified mechanical systems, improving life cycle benefits.
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Vertical Plate Technology Extends the Life of Coke Drums
Welding Journal published this description of an innovative solution CB&I developed to keep coke drums from cracking along their circumferential weld seams: CB&I designed vertical plate coke drums.
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Beating the Clock
Hydrocarbon Engineering published this description of how off-the shelf design and modular construction can help refineries build sulfur recovery and tail gas treating units to meet clean air and fuels deadlines.
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The Dominican Republic LNG Import Terminal: Challenges in Engineering, Procurement and Construction
LNG Journal published this profile, illustrating how CB&I executed a lump-sum turnkey project in a remote location with challenging conditions and completed the project two months ahead of schedule.
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Time for a New Hydrogen Plant?
Hydrocarbon Engineering published this article, which provides a timely look at alternatives for refinery owners concerned with increasing hydrogen production and provides evaluation methodologies.
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