Petronas creates another record

August 7, 2016

Dateline 2016-06-27, NST:

PETROLIAM Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has achieved another milestone by receiving the tallest and heaviest propylene fractionator process column for the steam cracker facility within its Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) in Pengerang, Johor, on Saturday. The fractionator would complement the overall development of the PIC, poised for its refinery start-up by early 2019. It also established a new record as the tallest and heaviest process column to have landed on Malaysian shores. The column measures 121.3m — equivalent to a 36-storey building — and weighs 1,808.6 tonnes. “I am proud to announce that our propylene fractionator has been recognised by the Malaysia Book of Records as the tallest and heaviest process column in Malaysia,” said Petronas senior vice-president and Petronas Refinery and Petrochemical Corporation Sdn Bhd chief executive officer (CEO) Dr Colin Wong Hee Huing.


SapuraKencana Inks Deal to Sell Gas from Malaysia’s B15 Field to PETRONAS

August 6, 2016

Dateline 2016-06-27, Rigzone:

SapuraKencana Petroleum Berhad (SKPB) reported Monday that its upstream subsidiary SapuraKencana Energy Sarawak Inc. (SKE) has signed June 23 the SK310 Upstream Gas Sales Agreement for gas produced from the B15 field located offshore East Malaysia to national oil company Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS).

Facilities for the B15 gas development comprise a central processing platform with a 22 mile (35 kilometer) gas evacuation pipeline to be tied into the existing infrastructure. The field, which was discovered in December 2010 and will deliver gas to the Malaysia Liquefied Natural Gas (MLNG) complex in Bintulu, Sarawak, is scheduled to commence production in the fourth quarter of 2017.

“I would like to thank PETRONAS and the SK310 JV (joint venture) partners for their efforts in getting the project to realization. The SK310 UGSA marks SKE’s first participation in a Gas Sales Agreement for East Malaysia,” Shahril Shamsuddin, president & Group CEO of SKPB, said in the press release.

 


IEM Shout Out – Talk Handling Sand Issues In The Upstream Oil & Gas Production

August 4, 2016

My technical division will be hosting a talk seminar on the 18th August, 2016. It is worth 2 CPD points, and held at Wisma IEM. The course will be presented by Ir. Ir. Dr. Eow John Son.

The presence of sands and solids in wellhead production lines are likely to cause erosion and blockage issues in the subsequent downstream equipment at oil & gas production platforms. As a consequence, dangerous incidents, such as the failures of flowlines, production vessels and control valves, have a higher risk of occurring. Moreover, oily sands discharged into the sea are also an environmental concern.

The objective of the Talk is to introduce the participants to the sand removal technologies, such as wellhead de-sanders, produced water desanding hydrocyclones, sand fluidizers, and sand cleaning systems, which are commonly used in the upstream oil & gas production platforms. Moreover, these sand removal and cleaning systems need to be designed and operated correctly to ensure optimized separation performance.

Ir. Dr. Eow John Son is Principal Engineer & Trainer with EDES Technology Sdn Bhd. He is also a Professional Engineer (BEM), and a Chartered Engineer (Engineering Council, UK). He obtained his PhD (in electrostatic water-oil separation) from the UK, and has published many technical papers in international journals and conferences. Having spent many years in multinational companies, and having worked in the UK, Singapore, Japan and Malaysia, John is well-versed in the oil & gas processes and production technologies, such as Wellhead Desander, Produced Water Treatment, Sand Separation & Management, Crude Oil Treatment, and Gas Processing for the upstream oil & gas Industry. He has worked from Technical and Commercial Proposal Stage to Detailed Engineering Stage to Commissioning Stage to Production Troubleshooting for oil & gas processes. John has conducted technical training and consultancy work for engineers and operators at Saudi Aramco, PETRONAS, Sarawak SHELL, GAIL India, etc. He is also an Assistant Professor at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR).

Register here, or download the form here.


IEM Shout Out – Talk on “Managing HSE Challenges in Oil & Gas Industry”

August 3, 2016

My technical division will be hosting a talk seminar on the 17th August, 2016. It is worth 2 CPD points, and held at Wisma IEM. The course will be presented by Ir.Lee Chang Quan. Safety practitioners, fill up the seats, please.

In view of the hazards and risks associated with production, transportation, and handling of hydrocarbon, companies in the oil and gas industry have always given the pledge to have the subject of Health, Safety, Environment (HSE) as the top business priority. People may get injured or killed, and environment may be damaged. It is evident from the history that, if the hazards and risks are not managed properly, catastrophic disaster could happen, as in the case of Piper Alpha, Bhopal, or the recent one at Macondo.

Managing HSE has remained a top challenge though. In the time of market volatility since year 2015, many oil and gas companies have taken serious measures to control cost so as to survive the turbulence. It is in this time of cost pressure that the pledge of maintaining HSE as the top business priority will be tested.  This talk will look into the key HSE challenges faced in the oil and gas industry, and share on how these challenges could be managed, especially in times of turbulence.

Ir. Lee Chang Quan started his career as a mechanical engineer with a design engineering firm, and moved on to join a national oil company. His experience in the oil and gas industry includes engineering, procurement, installation and construction activities in plant modification and rejuvenation projects. He has led a few feasibility studies, engineering management work and managing brownfield projects. Later, he moved on to undertake operational excellence and improvement roles at business level. He is now the Health, Safety and Environment Manager with one of PETRONAS subsidiaries, formulating HSE strategies and implementation plan. He is a trained internal auditor, involving in Tier 1, 2, 3 HSE Assurance Programs. He is an active trainer in HSE programs. Occasionally, he delivers adjunct lecture to university students in the subject of mechanical engineering and safety.

Ir. Lee Chang Quan graduated from University Teknologi Malaysia with a Bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering. He has a Master Degree in Business Administration from University of Nottingham. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®). He is also a committee member of the Oil, Gas and Mining Technical Division of IEM.

Register here, or download the form here.


Oil refinery ablaze in Port Dickson

August 2, 2016

Dateline 2016-06-25, NST:

A fire broke out at a Petron oil refinery at Batu 1 here tonight, temporarily disrupting its operations. The fire, which began at 9.30pm, saw 10-metre-high flames shoot up, believed to be due to leaking on the refinery stacks. More than 30 firemen and seven fire engines from the Port Dickson, Teluk Kemang, Seremban and Seremban 2 fire stations were dispatched to the scene. The firemen took about an hour to put out the blaze. A witness, M. Suresh, 60, said he heard two loud booming sounds before the fire broke out. “We were shocked and worried as our houses are only 300 metres away from the location,” he said. No injuries have been reported at press time.

 


IEM Shout Out – Two-Day Workshop on Fluid Mechanics: Impacts on Line, Pump & Compressor Sizing

August 2, 2016

My technical division will be hosting a 2 day seminar on the 1st and 2nd September, 2016. It is worth 13 CPD points, and held at Wisma IEM. The course will be presented by Ir. Anwar Ahmad.

During this Fluid Mechanics: Impacts on Line, Pump, and Compressor Sizing course, there will be overview on the impacts of the fluid mechanics while executing line, pump, and compressor sizing by considering design, operational, and maintenance perspective. Appropriate sizing of all these are very important because of the operating cost where there might be damages to the piping, pump(s), and compressor(s) during operation if it is not properly designed. The impact mainly will give impacts due to the vibration which lead to cavitation and vice versa. Furthermore, properly sized of line sizes, pump(s), and compressor(s) can reduce the turn-down time for maintenance as no issues pertaining to vibration and cavitation which may avoid from frequent changing of the parts for both pump(s) and compressor(s). Codes and Standards applicable for the sizing of line, pump, and compressor will be discussed which may affect upstream and/or upstream equipment of the system(s).

Learning Outcomes

  • Fundamental of Fluid Mechanics
  • Line, Pump, and Compressor Sizing and Correlation among Line, Pump, and Compressor with respect to Fluid Mechanics
  • How does Fluid Mechanics will affect to the operating cost of the plant?
  • How does flow characteristics will affect to the line, pump, and compressor sizing?
  • How to perform hydraulic calculation for new plant and How to evaluate hydraulic calculation for existing facilities especially for revamp study and the impacts of Fluid Mechanics from operational perspective;
  • considerations to be considered during design stage
  • Lesson learnt from previous projects on line, pump, and compressor sizing from both design and operational perspectives.

Ir. Anwar Ahmad is a registered Professional Engineer with Board of Engineer (BEM), Corporate Member with Institute of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM), Corporate Member with Institute of Chemical Engineers, UK (IChemE), Chartered Engineer from Engineering Council, UK with more than eleven (11) years experiences in process engineering in oil and gas industry, mainly in design with engineering firm and operation for technical support during turn around Experienced in process simulations (Hysys, PetroSim, and VMGSim/iCON), heat exchanger rating software (HTRI), flare network backpressure software (FlareNet/Aspen Flare System Analyzer), and flare radiation study software (FlareSim). He’s currently freelance process engineer attached to engineering firms based requirement basis when executing projects and also execute projects remotely if required.

Register here, or download the form here.


Saturday Star 2016-07-30– Job Opportunities

August 1, 2016

Happy Slow Boat to Seligi Week.

Donate to your favorite charity (me), buy my recommendations, or through my Amazon store. Or get the Young Turks series (3 books until I can get YTP republished). Where are those corporate sponsors? Or throw donations at me, my camera dive case flooded, and I need a new replacement. Heck, if you want to send me a Canon 5D Mk III plus dive case, I will not say no.

  • A mate of mine is looking for a MD/EngMan type person to help run his engineering company (the main business is skid manufacturing). He can’t handle the work volume, so you know that his oil & gas company is bucking the trend, and has a bright future ahead. If I know you, send your CV’s to me. If I don’t know you, send your CV along anyway, but note I will contact your references. I am not getting a commission for this ad, you know.
  • I’m looking for fresh meat-ish, to help with a peak work period.
  • Nothing in the papers today.
  • I’m looking for jobs for 4Q2016. Send me your POs.

Support your local bookshop!  Bookalicious at The Summit Subang is a good choice. I think they focus on trilogies, quadrilogies, and other ologies. Tell them I sent you, and enjoy the look of perplexity on their faces. Those of you who have dropped my name, thanks!

Food choice of the week? Any weight loss diet.

Let’s get a bit nostalgic with the book selection.

Wetter, Louder, Stickier: A Baby Blues Collection (Baby Blues Scrapbook), BBXX: Baby Blues: Decades 1 & 2, Bedlam


Sarawak companies can do Petronas’ job, deputy CM says

July 30, 2016

Do you have to be Sarawakian to work for these alleged companies? If not, where do I get the queue number?

Dateline 2016-06-24, Malay Mail:

Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri James Masing is confident that companies within the Borneo state can take over oil-and-gas production from national oil firm Petronas.

Masing mooted Brooke Dockyard and Engineering Works Corporation as the lead agency, saying the Sarawak-based local firm has gained much experience over the years and is now capable of handling oil mining activities for the state, The Borneo Post reported today.

“With over 100 years of experience, Brooke Dockyard is not a kindergarten institution anymore as it is now a university when compared with the other industry players in the county. Other industry players in the country made it big because they got backup from the big guns,” James was quoted as saying.

“Sarawak owns the oil and gas but Petronas is the one currently using our platform created by Brooke Dockyard. As for now we have many marginal oil and gas reserves in Sarawak and since Petronas is not producing anything from these reserves, I hope to see oil and gas from these reserves produced by the state.”


Shell prepared for bumpy ride

July 27, 2016

Dateline 2016-06-16, Daily Express:

Amid the challenging global oil price environment that has forced oil and gas industry players to restructure, oil giant Shell remains keen in promoting local talents to meet future demand of skilled manpower.

Although prediction of recovery is impossible to make, the company that has a proud 125-year history in the country believes the answer to the chicken and egg question is all about balance and readiness.

Oil and gas companies including Shell have been forced to restructure in reaction to challenging oil price.

But there have been questions how they would refill their need for skilled workforce if and when signs of recovery begin to show.

“If you look at the broader environment, every company has gone through some form of restructuring.

Every oil and gas company has gone through that cycle whether last year or are still going through it now.

And that’s just a reflection of a lower volume of work,” said Ian Lim, Sabah Shell Malaysia General Manager.

“But the danger is that in times like this people stop investing in talent and training. Not so much the oil and gas companies but the vendors and the government and vocational schools.

And typically what happens when the market picks up we start to award jobs, vendors start to look for people who are qualified. The danger you get there is you won’t get Sabahans or Malaysians but the work needs to be done then you increase your wage cost by looking for international (workers).

 


Saturday Star 2016-07-23– Job Opportunities

July 25, 2016

Happy Training for Engineer’s Run 2016 week.

Donate to your favorite charity (me), buy my recommendations, or through my Amazon store. Or get the Young Turks series (3 books until I can get YTP republished). Where are those corporate sponsors? Or throw donations at me, my camera dive case flooded, and I need a new replacement. Heck, if you want to send me a Canon 5D Mk III plus dive case, I will not say no.

  • A mate of mine is looking for a MD/EngMan type person to help run his engineering company (the main business is skid manufacturing). He can’t handle the work volume, so you know that his oil & gas company is bucking the trend, and has a bright future ahead. If I know you, send your CV’s to me. If I don’t know you, send your CV along anyway, but note I will contact your references. I am not getting a commission for this ad, you know.
  • I’m looking for fresh meat-ish, to help with a peak work period.
  • Nothing in the papers today.
  • I’m looking for jobs for 4Q2016. Send me your POs.

Support your local bookshop!  Bookalicious at The Summit Subang is a good choice. I think they focus on trilogies, quadrilogies, and other ologies. Tell them I sent you, and enjoy the look of perplexity on their faces. Those of you who have dropped my name, thanks!

Food choice of the week? Any weight loss diet.

Let’s get a bit nostalgic with the book selection.

Wetter, Louder, Stickier: A Baby Blues Collection (Baby Blues Scrapbook), BBXX: Baby Blues: Decades 1 & 2, Bedlam