Industry News

BP announced that it plans to invest over USD 200M to upgrade its purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plants at Cooper River, South Carolina and Geel, Belgium. The investments will position these assets amongst the most efficient PTA manufacturing facilities in the world.

Crane ChemPharma & Energy, a provider of highly engineered solutions for fluid handling applications worldwide, launched three new products during the 2014 Valve World Düsseldorf Conference & Expo.

Characterised by simplicity of design, low energy usage and the innovative Wedgetorque operator, Pacific Wedgeplug valves from Crane are specifically engineered to address the challenges in severe service applications.

Wood Group Mustang has appointed Harold Kraft to the newly created position of Manager, Pipeline, Canadian region.Kraft’s mandate is to manage the Calgary-based Pipeline group, a new addition to Wood Group Mustang’s Canadian operations, comprising about 70 professionals with specialised pipeline expertise.

FoundOcean and Ranger Offshore signed a strategic agreement in September, formalising the strong relationship between the two oil and gas sector specialists. Combining complementary resources and a wealth of industry expertise, the partnership will offer clients a competitive, design-to-installation solution for a range of projects.

Flowserve Corporation elected Lynn L. Elsenhans as a member of the board. With the addition of Elsenhans, the Flowserve board increases to 12 members, 11 of whom are independent. She will initially serve as a member of the board's finance committee and organisation and compensation committee.

ASCO Numatics has introduced its Numatics 501 Series directional control valve. The general-purpose automation valve is designed for directional control and piloting applications requiring compact size, high flow capability, and energy savings.

Bechtel and Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc. will collaborate in the offshore market in the Gulf of Mexico and around the world.

Air Liquide will invest around EUR 40M in a new Air Separation Unit (ASU) that will supply Klabin, Brazil’s biggest paper manufacturer, with oxygen. The new ASU will supply more than 160t of oxygen per day to Klabin’s new factory located in Ortigueira, as well as to Klabin’s other site in Telêmaco Borba, both located in the state of Paraná.

Safety valve manufacturer LESER presented its pressure relief valve for concentrated solar power plants at the CSP exhibition in Las Vegas in June. Parabolic trough systems, which are currently the most widely installed concentrated solar power system, require safety valves to secure the heat transfer fluid (HTF) which can reach up to 150–400°C.