Mesra Mall, Kerteh – White Elephant Finally Opened

December 5, 2008

The mall has finally been opened:

  • next to a school
  • in a kampung area
  • just in time for the 2009 end of year holidays.

Article links are here and here.

9 Comments | engineering | Permalink
Posted by Wata

IEM Jurutera Nov 2008 – Interesting Articles

December 4, 2008

The bulletin of the IEM for the month of Nov, 2008 was themed Chemicals and Petrochemicals.

Articles which might be of interest to the oil and gas industry are:

  • Issues on Natural Gas Distribution in Malaysia
  • IEM Kerteh Chapter Activities April-July 2008.

Okay, it’s only 2 articles, but the other articles are on petrochem topics. And the front cover shows two semisubs (okay, I’ve been on a fetish for the past couple of weeks).

Pirahnas Encaged

Pirahnas Encaged

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Posted by Wata

Petrol Prices Drop in Malaysia

December 3, 2008

From the New Straits Times Online (change of loyalty here)

JOHOR BARU: Pump petrol prices will be further lowered before Hari Raya Aidiladha next week, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad said yesterday.
He, however, declined to reveal the exact quantum of the price reduction, only saying that it would not be greater than the previous reduction of 15 sen per litre.

Shahrir was speaking at the closing of a business development seminar for traders and small enterprises at a hotel here.

The minister said there was a possibility that the price of diesel would be higher than that of petrol after the price revision.

“Now, we are facing an extraordinary situation, where diesel may be priced higher than petrol at the pump, and that’s the reason for the continued 43 sen subsidy for diesel as the price of diesel has become almost at par with petrol,” he said.

I’m curious when exactly gas prices will start following market prices.

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Posted by Wata

Comparison – Dental Checkup and Painting Preparation

December 2, 2008

As I stared at the dentist’s hands during my way overdue dental checkup, I was thinking how two different procedures had pretty much the same steps, but end up with two entirely different results:

  • We start of with the scaling of the teeth, which I think is equivalent to the gross chipping away of gunk and stuff from the metal surface that is being prepared for painting. And believe me, on an old oil platform, gunk accumulates.
  • The next set is the polishing of teeth, which I would liken to brushing a surface with a powered metal brush to remove existing paint and corrosion from the surface to be painted. The difference is that polishing leaves a smooth surface, whereas the brush leaves a rough one.
  • The last set, and a new one for me, was air polishing of my teeth, which utilizes a non contact jet of tiny sodium bicarbonate particles and distilled water lifting stains from tooth surfaces. I would say that this is similar to the blasting of a surface to remove the big irregularities and provide a better surface for the paint to grip. And air polishing feels weird on the tongue, believe me.

Again, the difference is that one procedure ends with a surface which is smooth, and one ends with a surface that is rough.

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Posted by Wata

Saturday Star 2008-11-29 – Job Opportunities

December 1, 2008

Another week, another scan of the Saturday Star newspaper. Here’s a list of job ads in the paper:

  • Synergy Oil and Gas Engineeringis recruiting fresh chemical engineering graduates, or those with around 1 year experience. CVs may be sent to enquiry@synergykl.com.my. It’s also looking for admin execs who can run the invoicing / payroll / accounting web as well as be office managers.
  • Qatargas is looking for engineers and operators, interviews scheduled for early 2009. The engineering positions are under the ESU Maintenance Dept – Mech Eng, Instr, Conditioning Monitoring. You can inquire and apply via email here.
  • Shell Refining Company, in the old laid back town of Port Dickson, is looking for a Senior Turnaround Engineer, and a Mech Eng (Static). For more info, visit http://www.shell.com/careers →Professionals & Apply → Job Search → Region → Asia → Malaysia. BTW, I hear that there a lot of eng companies in PD. Wanna join up with SOGE? 

7 Comments | engineering, oil and gas | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Wata

Offshore Fatality – Peninsular Malaysia

November 30, 2008

Apparently, an offshore operations hand was climbing a ladder to retrieve an item from a height. No one is sure what happened as the person was alone when the incident happened, but he was found on the floor, presumably with the ladder next them.

We don’t really consider ladders as a safety risk no matter how many times it’s drilled into us. Please practice safe use of tools, and follow safety guides and common sense.

3 Comments | Malaysia, oil and gas | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Wata

Shout Out – RSCE-SOMChe08

November 29, 2008

A college of mine, Hui Hin Heng, will be conducting a poster presentation at the Regional Symposium on Chemical Engineering (RSCE) in conjunction with the 22nd Symposium of Malaysian Chemical Engineering (SOMChe). Her paper ‘Surge Analysis of Firewater System using PipeNet Software’ will be presented between 10:30 to 11:00 on Tuesday, 2nd Dec, 2008 at the venue, the Impiana KLCC Hotel & Spa.

Please come by, and give your support. There will be other activities going on as well.

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IEM Shout Out – Talk on Asset Integrity Management Setup

November 28, 2008

This is a late shout out for the IEM. My technical division will be having a talk tomorrow entitled ‘Setting Up of an Asset Integrity Management System for Offshore Oil & Gas Platforms’. It’ll be at 9:30 am (breakfast at 9:00) at the IEM Conference Hall, Bangunan Ingenieur, PJ.

The talk will be given by Mr. Praba Karunakaran, IICOR Asia. He is a Chartered Engineer with over 8 years of international work experience in the field of Oil and Gas Facilities Integrity Management. He attained Engineering Masters and Degree qualifications from UK (Scottish) Universities. He is familiar with Integrity Management Systems applicable to onshore and subsea pipeline, topside and subsea structure, remote subsea equipment, pressure relieving devices, topside static mechanical equipment and piping, lifting and safety equipment.

Please come, I’m sure it’ll be interesting.

A copy of the flier is available here.

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New HAZOP Tool

November 27, 2008

I facilitated a HAZOP for Uzma on Sunday, 23rd November, 2008, in Kerteh Terengganu (yes, I was doing it under the Poyry ticket).

Anyhow, I found that the following tool is extremely useful in:

  • pointing out items on the projection screen.
  • Demonstrating heights and lengths.
  • Just feels cool.

I suggest using one about 4 1/2″ long, an inch thick.

3 Comments | engineering, oil and gas | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Wata

Diver Inside

November 26, 2008

I wonder when we’ll make t-shirts like these, ‘OLGA power user inside,’ or ‘dyn sim maestro inside’.

Diver Inside T-shirt

Diver Inside T-shirt

1 Comment | business opportunity, engineering | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Wata

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