Pirates Raid Oil Tanker Off Malaysia, Take Away Three Crew

June 14, 2014

Stick an oil rig in the middle of the straits with shoot to kill authority, that’ll learn them.

Dateline 2014-04-24, Reuters:

Armed pirates raided an oil tanker off the coast of Malaysia and took three crew members with them, Malaysian maritime officials said on Wednesday, underscoring increasing threats to shipping in one of the world’s busiest waterways.

The incident in the Malacca Strait, a route for about a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil trade, has fuelled fears piracy could be on the rise in the area and drive up ship insurance premiums.

“We are very concerned,” said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau’s Malaysia-based Piracy Reporting Centre, who added the ship was hijacked while sailing near the Malaysia town of Port Klang.

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New tariff a bane for Gas Malaysia margins?

June 13, 2014

Which Bane we talking about? Classic Bane? Movie Bane?

Dateline 2014-04-19, The Star:

A potential squeeze on its margins from the recent hike in gas tariffs may unsettle investors of Gas Malaysia Bhd, at least until it clears the air.

In the meantime, analysts have had to do a bit of guesswork on whether the higher gas prices will work in Gas Malaysia’s favour.

The company announced two weeks ago that it had secured the Government’s approval to raise the tariff for natural gas to the non-power sector in Peninsula Malaysia by an average of RM3.24/mmbtu, or 20%, to RM19.32/mmbtu from RM16.07/mmbtu, effective May 1.

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Alternative energy sources sought due to spike in natural gas costs

June 12, 2014

And the free market adjusts itself. Dateline 2014-04-18, Hydrogen Fuel News:

Increasing gas prices have caused some industries to evaluate their fuel requirement plan.
Some glove producers and steel manufacturers are considering other alternative energy sources for fuel to replace natural gas, due to upcoming hikes in gas prices that are anticipated to worsen the operational costs for these businesses.
Some manufacturers may turn to alternative fuel sources to decrease additional gas costs.
Although likely not the first manufacturer to do so, Supermax Corporation Berhad, is one chief glove manufacturer that has affirmed it would be investing in alternative sources that include renewable energy and biomass, to avoid having to pay more for rising gas prices.

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IEM Shout Out – Technical Visit To Aker Solutions Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Subsea Products And Services)

June 11, 2014

This is a shout out for the IEM. My technical division will be hosting a trip to the Aker Solutions Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Subsea Products And Services) on the Wed 18th June, 2014. You will be anointed with 3 CPD / PDP hours.

Aker Solutions is a global provider of products, systems and services to the oil and gas industry. Their engineering, design and technology bring discoveries into production and maximize recovery from each petroleum field. They employ approximately 28,000 people in about 30 countries.Aker Solutions portfolio of oilfield products, systems and services, stretches all the way from the reservoir to the wellstream processing systems generating marketable and valuable hydrocarbon products. Their target is to deliver the best.

Each product, system and service competes on a standalone basis in the market but with their broad portfolio and experience, they understand the challenges and apply the knowledge to create optimal solutions. Aker Solutions ASA is the parent company in the group, which consists of a number of separate legal entities. Aker Solutions is used as the common brand and trademark for most of these entities. In 2012 Aker Solutions had aggregated annual revenues of approximately NOK 45 billion. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

Register  here and the Flyer here.

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IEM Chemical Engineering Design Competition 2013/2014

June 11, 2014

Congratulations to the winners of the Competition. We look forward to more participants next year. And more judges.

First Place – Monash

  • Leong Hwee Lee (Leader)
  • Jenny Wee Li Yap
  • Nisha Thavamoney
  • Lydia Li-Ya Yap
  • Fatimah Azizah Riyadi

Second Place – Monash (do you see a trend?)

  • Muhammad Adib Norshariffudin
  • Yu-Loong Loow (Leader)
  • Nicholas Wongso
  • Tommy Chandra
  • Hock Tai Tan

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IEM Shout Out – Full-Day HAZOP Training For Team Members – A Practical Approach

June 10, 2014

My technical division will be hosting a 1 day seminar on the 26th June, 2014. It is worth 6.5 CPD points, and held at Wisma IEM. Since I’m giving it, I expect hoards will have to be turned away at the gates.

A Hazard and Operability study is a formal and systematic and detailed examination of the process and engineering intentions of new or existing facilities which assesses the hazard potential and effects on the facility as a whole when operation is outside of the design envelope, or individual items of equipment malfunction.

This course is designed to educate participants in the HAZOP process from the perspective of a HAZOP team member. It is meant to provide both instruction and workshop sessions so that the participants:

  • Are familiar with the concept of ‘risk’
  • Are familiar with the theory behind HAZOP
  • Are familiar with the actual HAZOP workshop process
  • Have expectations as to what the HAZOP will (and won’t provide)
  • Understand what deliverables can be expected from a HAZOP
  • Have the opportunity to participate in HAZOP exercise in a safe environment
  • Opportunity to share HAZOP experiences

At the end of the session, the participants should:

  • Understand the responsibilities of all parties in the HAZOP
  • Have experience in a HAZOP session.
  • Understand the outcomes from a HAZOP session

Wata has 16 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, in both design and operations.

Register here, or download the form here.

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Posted by Wata

IEM Shout Out – Talk on Aboveground Atmospheric Hydrocarbons Storage Tanks Maintenance for Lifespan Expansion

June 10, 2014

This is a shout out for the IEM. My Technical Division will be having a talk on Saturday 14th June, 2014 by Ir. Alzakri Ekhwan. It’ll be at 9:00am (makan-makan at 8.30am) at Wisma IEM.

Aboveground storage tanks are significant assets and commonly found in oil, gas and petrochemical industries. Tanks which are used for storing hydrocarbons are considerably critical and must be diligently maintained throughout their operating life to ensure no leaks or catastrophic failures occur. Maintenance programmes are usually in place but executing these programmes are not as simple as what we normally think.

The talk will provide a sharing of tank experiences and maintenance practices on:
•    On-Line Repair (Non Standard Repair) 
•    Tank Out-of-Service Maintenance.

It will also touch on ways of extending the lifespan of existing atmospheric storage tanks througheffective maintenance regimes. These include approaches in tackling floating roof pontoon leak, desludging of crude oil using non man-entry method, dealing with Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI) and conducting middle shell course replacement method safely and cost effectively

 

Ir. Alzakri Ekhwan is a Principal Engineer for Static Unfired Equipment based in PETRONAS Penapisan (Melaka) Sdn. Bhd. (PP(M)SB) and has more than 20 years of experience in maintenance, design, fabrication, inspection and construction of Static Equipment in the Oil and Gas industry. He was the Staff Engineer and Field Engineering Manager for MG3 Lube Base Oil (MG3) Project and Hydrogen Processing Unit 2 (HPU-2) Project. Prior to that, he was a Senior Inspection Engineer of PETRONAS Penapisan (Melaka) Sdn Bhd and Head of Mechanical Section of PETRONAS Methanol (Labuan) Sdn Bhd.

You can register here and download the flyer here.

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Posted by Wata

Saturday Star 2014-06-07 – Job Opportunities

June 9, 2014

Happy School Holidays.

Buy my recommendations, or through my Amazon store. Where are those corporate sponsors? Or throw donations at me. I need RM360 to get The Star ePaper

  • I’m looking for a senior process engineer, 7+ years experience. Also looking for technical safety persons, metering / measurement engineers and other seniors you think will catch my eye.
  • ExxonMobil is still looking for technicians. That would be of flavours I&E, Mechanical, Production. Submit your whoppers/  life stories to http://www.exxonmobil.com/careers/my.

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? How if you visit Vietnam, how about visiting and updating GoHalalVietnam! for your food needs. For your other needs, talk to your local tour guide/ concierge / man on the street.

Some books for you to turn those bad numbers’ frown upside down.

  

Proofiness: The Dark Arts of Mathematical Deception, Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks, How to Lie with Statistics

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Posted by Wata

Extract from “Pantang di Cabar”

June 8, 2014

Describing the open market:

“Hampir semua Syarikat Minyak Nasional (SMN) merata dunia memilih alasan nasionalisasi untuk mengambil alih pemasaran bahan petroleum dalaman negara masing-masing. Para Perintis turut tertarik dengan jalan yang mudah ini. Namun, mereka akur kepada kehendak Tun Abdul Razak, Perdana Menteri Malaysia Kedua.

…”

Visit here and buy books so I have some spending money.

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‘No over-reliance on Petronas for contract handouts”

June 8, 2014

I want over reliance. Which foo’ is talking? Dateline 2014-04-18, Borneo Post.

Analysts observed that there is no over-reliance by local oil and gas (O&G) firms on national O&G corp Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) for contract handouts.

To note, contract flows for Bursa Malaysia-listed oil and gas (O&G) service providers remains stable this year at RM13 billion, which is 19 per cent higher compared with the Jan-April period in 2013, says analyst Aaron Tan of the research arm of MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd (MIDF Research).

“We note that only a relatively small portion (6.2 per cent) of jobs awarded this year had emanated from Petronas, with majority coming from international O&G firms.

“This proves that there is no over-reliance of local O&G firms on Petronas for contract handouts. Main beneficiaries in March to April 2014 were Bumi Armada Bhd (Bumi Armada), SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd (SapuraKencana), UMW Oil & Gas Corporation Bhd, Uzma Bhd, Perdana Petroleum Bhd, Handal Resources Bhd and Barakah Offshore Petroleum Bhd.

“In light of this, companies’ orderbooks have grown substantially.”

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