Trends and Resources
HP Innovations
Universal pipe gasket seals all process piping W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., claims to have developed a breakthrough in gasketing products for chemical process piping. New GORE Universal Pipe Gaske..
HPInformer
Chelates joint venture Akzo Nobel and BASF are forming a 50/50 joint venture (JV) to produce chelates in North America. The agreement, subject to closing, is scheduled to be effective first-quarter ..
New Developments
Remote equipment-monitoring and control New remote equipment-monitoring and control application package, eCUBE, runs on STARDOM network-based control systems. STARDOM is claimed to offer reliability..
HP Construction: North America
ConocoPhillipslicensed its reduced volatility alkylation process (ReVAP) technology to Valero Energy Corp. It will be used at Valero's 140,000 bpd refinery in Wilmington, California. The license will ..
HP Construction: South America
SKFand Petróleo Brasileiro S/A (Petrobras) have a four-year contract by which SKF Reliability Systems will provide a predictive maintenance (PdM) program for keeping very deep oil wells on offsho..
HP Construction: Europe
Aker Kvaerner Engineering and Technology(AK E&T) has a contract to perform engineering services for Gassco AS. The agreement's duration is three years with a possible extension of up to four additiona..
HP Construction: Middle East
Uhde GmbH, Dortmund, Germany, has contracts for two fertilizer complexes located in Egypt. The agreements are with the Egyptian Fertilizer Co. (EFC) and Alexandria Fertilizer Co. (AlexFert) for turnke..
HP Construction: Asia-Pacific
Fluor Corp., Aliso Viejo, California, has an agreement with Sinopec Ningbo Engineering Co. (SNEC), a China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec Corp.) subsidiary, to provide operations and maintenanc..
Free Literature
Valve automation solutions Metso Automation's new six-page, full-color brochure details Jamesbury valve automation solutions. By replacing manually actuated on/off valves wi..
HP In Brief: HPIn Brief
LNG demand stirs market investments Liquefied natural g..
HP Impact: Owner/operators double their investments in plant design software
Issues of data migration, operations and maintenance integration, and data hand-off continue to vex even the most forward-thinking corporations. To combat some of these problems, owner/ operators are ..
HP Impact: US pump prices rise, but 'real' costs to consumer have declined
The US average retail price of regular-grade gasoline increased by 3.5 cents/gal in mid-January. The nationwide average retail price (including taxes) for a gallon of regular-grade gasoline was $1.60,..
HP Impact: Many HPI firms post record 2003 earnings
For US-based refiners, 2003 is providing better than expected margins in the third and fourth quarters. Several factors have contributed to these healthy gains over 2002 numbers. A continuing robust r..
HP Impact: Japan diversifying its energy sources
Japan's energy plan, announced in fourth quarter 2003, emphasizes that the nation will further diversify energy sources for greater supply security, while the core will continue to rely on nuclear ene..
HP Impact: Global ECCs adopt self-regulation to counter corruption
In a move to combat global corruption within their own industry, 19 leading international engineering and construction companies (ECCs) have developed a set of business principles for countering bribe..
HP Impact: China's process automation market to exceed 15% growth
China is witnessing massive investments in new projects and plant upgrades in almost all process industry segments. The country is emerging as a destination of choice for global manufacturers. The d..
HP Impact: Emissions rules pushing demand for flue gas desulfurization systems
The Interstate Air Quality rule just proposed by EPA will ensure a big market for flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems. Demand for these systems will rise to $7 billion/yr in the US by 2007, predict..