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Middle East

Lukoil completes first wave of Iraqi worker training

Russia's OAO Lukoil has completed the training of some 170 Iraqis on various qualifications, including well production, oil and gas treatment, instrumental and control and mechanical engineering. Some 160 other Iraqis will graduate from the company's training center in Iraq in May 2014.

Global LNG trade likely to decline again in 2013

HP Editorial Staff: HP News Services

Analysts say LNG supply is lagging demand due to a lack of new projects for exporting gas and falling supply from key exporters like Indonesia, the Middle East and Africa.

Sabic picks Linde to build key Saudi plant for CO2 purification, liquefaction

The plant will be designed to compress and purify around 1,500 tpd of raw carbon dioxide coming from two nearby ethylene glycol plants. The purified gaseous CO2 will be pipelined through the piping corridor to three SABIC-affiliated companies for enhanced methanol and urea production.

Sasol exits Iran with sale of polymers business

Sasol had been pressured by international advocacy groups to sell its stake in the Iran business. The Arya Sasol complex has a 1 million tpy ethane cracker, a 300,000 tpy low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plant and a 300,000 tpy medium-density/high-density polyethylene (MD/HDPE) unit.

Egypt freezes talks on importing LNG from Qatar amid political tensions

Cash-strapped Egypt has frozen talks to import liquefied natural gas from wealthy Qatar due to the political instability and violence that erupted after the army swept the streets of the supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi last week, a leading official said Monday.

Iran detains Indian Oil tanker in Persian Gulf

The Shipping Corp. of India, the ship's owner, said Iranian authorities have detained the vessel since Tuesday afternoon and had alleged the Suezmax crude-oil tanker was polluting Iranian waters, though the company denies the allegation. Suezmax tankers are medium-sized oil tankers.

Iran expands tanker fleet in bid to maintain exports

Iran has added seven new Very Large Crude Carriers to its fleet since the beginning of the year, including four in the last four months. National Iranian Tanker Co.'s fleet now numbers 37 VLCCs, with a total capacity of 64 million bbl, and 14 smaller tankers, with a capacity of 12.5 million bbl.

Global LNG spending to double in next five years

The increase in capital expenditures includes onshore and offshore projects to liquefy gas for export, import terminals to regasify LNG and LNG carriers for transporting the fuel. By region, Australasia and North America are expected to bring most of the new supply to market.

Optimize your compressor maintenance program

Consultant: Geitner, F. K.

One deviation alone might not be enough to bring on a compressor failure, but, when several more deviations combine, the failure risk is known to increase exponentially.

Case history: Failure analysis of a syngas compressor

SABIC Technology Centre: van Zyl, G.  |  Al-Zahrani, E.  |  Al-Meshari, A.  |  Al-Haroon, M.

A first-stage impeller in a synthetic gas compressor failed after 20 years of service. The compressor is a six-stage centrifugal compressor driven by a steam turbine. This case history discusses the i..