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Construction

HP Construction Profile: Texas-based refinery has a long history

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Romanow, Stephany

The Valero Port Arthur Refinery was commissioned in 1901 and has had many process additions and improvements throughout its history (see pg. 38). In 2001, nearly $850 million was invested in a delayed..

Engineering and construction news

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Thinnes, Billy

CB&I to buy Shaw GroupCB&I has agreed to acquire Shaw Group, a US-based engineering company primarily focused on serving clients in the power generation and government services sector. The acquisition..

Technip formally acquires Shaw energy, chemicals

Proceeds from the sale were approximately $290 million in cash, Shaw said. The completion of this deal also satisfies one of the conditions of the recently announced agreement for CB&I to acquire Shaw.

Jacobs wins work on RSPL India soda ash project

Under the terms of the contract, Jacobs is providing detailed engineering, project management, procurement and construction supervision services for RSPL’s greenfield project. The capacity of the facility is estimated at 500,000 tpy of light soda ash. Officials did not disclose the contract value.

Petrobras picks Foster Wheeler for engineering on Brazil gas-to-chemicals project

Foster Wheeler will act as integrator for the entire complex. The project is expected to produce in excess of 1 million tpy of ammonia and urea fertilizers, methanol, acetic acid, plus formic acid and melamine, helping to reduce Brazil's imports of these products. Financial terms were not disclosed.

KBR lands construction deal to expand Canadian gas processing plant

KBR will execute construction and related site support for the expansion of the Dawson Creek facility, increasing the existing capacity to 100 million standard cubic feet/day. The award follows KBR’s recent work for delivering pipe-rack fabrication and module assembly for phase one of the expansion.

Chemtex awarded loan guarantee from US to build cellulosic ethanol refinery

Once operational, the facility is expected to convert 600,000 tpy of energy grasses into an estimated 20 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol using a proprietary enzymatic hydrolysis process. The plant will produce biofuels for eastern transportation markets using non-food biomass feedstocks.

Evonik begins building German polybutadiene plant, plans mid-2013 startup

The plant is scheduled for completion in the middle of 2013. Functionalized polybutadienes, which Evonik plans to market under the name POLYVEST HT, are used mainly in sealing compounds for insulated glass windows and for adhesives used in the automotive and electronics industries.

CB&I wins work on BASF Belgium butadiene project

This award, valued in excess of $50 million, builds on CB&I’s existing relationship with BASF as licensor of its butadiene technology, according to the companies. The plant is scheduled to start up during 2014.

Utility piping: Why over-engineering is inefficient

Victaulic: Wilkerson, G.

Grooved mechanical piping can offer improved constructability, speedy expansion, retrofit and turnaround, and also reduce safety risks. It is a quality pipe-joining method.