Industry News

Flowserve Corporation, a provider of flow control products and services for the global infrastructure markets, signed a licence agreement with New Way Air Bearings to develop externally pressurized solutions for its seal and pump operations.

The American Petroleum Institute announced the creation of a Midstream Department that will focus on issues related to energy infrastructure and the transportation of oil and natural gas. Harry Pefanis, president and COO of Plains All American, will chair the committee made up of API member company representatives that will oversee the work of the Midstream Department.

Velan announced the appointment of Yves Leduc as the president of the company. Leduc will report to Tom Velan, CEO and formerly president. He will be joining Velan on 26 January 2015. As part of Velan’s leadership succession planning process, a Leadership and Talent Committee of the board of directors was formed and the committee hired Egon Zehnder, an executive search firm, to help with the search for a new president.

Air Liquide Canada announced the construction of a new oxygen pipeline in Hamilton, Ontario, with the support of Horizon Utilities and the Ontario Power Authority’s saveONenergy Program. The pipeline will be built between Air Liquide’s air separation complex and the ArcelorMittal Dofasco plant in Hamilton, Canada’s largest flat rolled steelmaking facility.

The fully owned subsidiary of A.P. Møller - Maersk, Maersk Olie og Gas (Maersk Oil) is revising its strategy and will no longer pursue growth or operatorship for its business in Brazil. Because of this, Maersk Oil has divested its ownership share in the small producing field Polvo to the operator, Brazilian independent HRT O&G Exploracao e Producao de Petroleo, subject to regulatory approvals.

ValvTechnologies, manufacturer of zero-leakage severe service isolation valve solutions, has expanded the company’s existing in-house welding capabilities by adding six new state-of-the-art machines dedicated to the welding process including an Arc-5 cladding machine and five Fronius cladders.

Stephen D. Pryor, president, ExxonMobil Chemical Company and vice president of Exxon Mobil Corporation, has elected to retire on 1 January 2015, after more than 44 years of service. It is anticipated that the board of directors of Exxon Mobil Corporation will appoint Neil A.

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.