POWER-GEN International: Orlando, Florida, November 2006
Representatives from Texas OilTech Laboratories participated in Novermber’s Power-Gen International at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL. This was a great opportunity to visit and convene with various industry leaders and many of our customers.
Alba B Platform, Western Africa
May 25, 2006
The Alba Phase II development is located in Western Africa, about 20 miles offshore from Equitorial Guinea. It is part of the expansion project of the Alba gas field, which began producing in 1991. This expansion began in 2002 and included two new production platforms.
Mitchell Martin of Texas Oiltech Laboratories was on-site at the Alba B Platform at the invitation of Hanover Compressor Company who had requested an evaluation of the gaseous products from several production gas wells for particulates and gas composition. Hanover compressors are being used to process the gas for pipeline transportation to on-shore facilities operated by Marathon Oil.
The Alba field is estimated to contain at least 5 trillion cubic feet of dry gas and 300 million barrels of condensate. Flow rate is 825 MMSCFD gas and 65,600 BPD condensate.
Valladolid III Power Plant in Mexico
April 26, 2006
The natural gas-fired, combined-cycle power plant, Valladolid III, is located on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico between Mérida and Cáncun. Effectively using natural gas to generate electricity, it will contribute to help stabilize the power supply in Mexico. The plant is rated at 525 MW and completion of this project is estimated to be in June 2006.
The $200 million Valladolid III project was financed by the Compania de Generacion Valladolid (CGV). Calpine Corporation was the prime contractor for the two General Electric GE-7FA class combustion gas turbines. Calpine, which owns 45% equity of the project, recently announced that it will sell its equity interest to the other two contributing companies, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc., each owning 27.5%.
Toshiba was the subcontractor for the Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) portion of the plant and Texas OilTech Laboratories was invited by their affiliate, Ingenieria y Construccion de Valladolid, S.A. de C.V. (ICV), for the Performance Testing phase of this project. TOL’s chemist, Mitchell Martin visited the Valladolid III power plant to perform an on-site gas analysis. When the plant is complete (June 2006), TOL personnel will revisit the site to analyze the natural gas fuel supply at the time of commissioning.
Performance Testing at the Pedro Camejo Power Plant in Venezuela
March 22, 2006
300 MW of new thermal combined cycle power capacity was officially brought on line at the Pedro Camejo Power Plant in the city of Valencia in the central state of Carabobo by Venezuela’s President, Hugo Chavez. Originally built in 1970 to generate 100 MW, the plant has been retrofitted with two custom-made Siemens turbines that can run on natural gas or diesel fuel, thus making Pedro Camejo one of the most modern plants in Venezuela.
Most of Venezuela’s electric production is hydroelectric. However, Venezuela is flaring a lot of gas, which can be cleaned and transported to industrial areas. Pedro Camejo is expected to consume about 80 million cf of natural gas per day as supplied by the state firm, PdVSA Gas, pipelined from Anaco in eastern Venezuela. In this case, an unused oil pipeline was reactivated to deliver the natural gas to Valencia’s industrial zone.
Texas OilTech Laboratories has been working with Siemens Power Generation Inc. of Orlando, Florida, since the inception of this project. The early fuel gas samples had high amounts of heavy metals, apparently from contaminants in the pipeline. Ultimately, this was rectified and a clean supply of natural gas was being delivered to the plant. Recently, TOL’s Mitchell Martin and Melvin Vinson were brought on site for Performance Testing and completed analysis of gaseous fuels during this critical phase.
The additional 300 MW of power from the Pedro Camejo plant represents an increase of more than two percent (>2%) of Venezuela’s total 21,500 MW which is mostly hydroelectric. By operating with previously flared gas fuel, the Pedro Camejo plant conserves about 12,000 barrels of diesel fuel per day, making it available for export.
TOL’s Greg Dimataris returned to the Pedro Camejo Power Plant in May 2006 at the request of Siemens Power Generation Corporation for further assessment of the gas fuel supply.
Welcome Bob Rannals!
February 3, 2006
Mr. Robert B. Rannals has joined Texas OilTech Laboratories as Director of Customer Care. Bob has a long and distinguished history in the testing of fuels and lubricants, having spent twenty years at several positions in the United States Air Force. Following his military career, Bob spent twenty years with SPL, Inc. (Southern Petroleum Labs) in Houston, Texas, where he served as Corporate ASTM Technical Manager for their Hydrocarbons Laboratories. He brings a depth of knowledge in standardized testing procedures, both military and civilian, and he will continue his activities with the ASTM International, representing Texas OilTech Laboratories.
We welcome Bob to our TOL Team in Houston. You can contact him at Brannals@tol-lp.com.
On-Site Fuel Analysis in China:
February 3, 2006
Pratt and Whitney Power Systems of Marietta, GA has awarded a new contract to Texas OilTech Laboratories to support its efforts in Beijing, China. P&W is supplying gas turbines for two power plants in the Beijing area and TOL will provide on-site analysis of the fuel gas, lubricants, and purified water for NOx suppression in both plants.
The Blue Sky Power Plant is located within the city of Beijing and will feature FT-8 Twinpac 50 MW industrial gas turbine packages. It is scheduled for completion in March 2006.
The Changxing Power Plant is located in Zhenjiang, south of the city of Beijing and will also feature Model FT-8 gas turbines. It is scheduled for completion in April 2006.
For more information on TOL's on-site testing program, click here.
Two new offices for Texas OilTech Laboratories
We are pleased to announce the opening of two new offices for Texas OilTech Laboratories of Houston, Texas:
Texas OilTech Laboratories - Latin America
Avenida 15 # 124-49, Oficina 310
Edificio Corpocentro
Bogotá, D.C.
COLOMBIA
Tel: +57(1) 215-1935
Fax: +57(1) 215-8934
Texas OilTech Laboratories - Middle East
Solojan General Trading and Contracting Co.
Development Project Bureau
P.O. Box 5688
Safat Code 13057
Kuwait City
KUWAIT
Tel: +965 572-0809 to 574-2464
Fax: +965 574-0710
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