New base 686 special 14 september 2015

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NewBase 14 September 2015 - Issue No. 686 Senior Editor Eng. Khaled Al Awadi

NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502, Dubai, UAE

Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation empowered to enforce UAE’s Nuclear Safety & Security Rules

(WAM)--The Cabinet of the United Arab Emirates published a resolution on 16 August 2015 specifying the administrative penalties that UAE persons and organisations now face for non-compliance with the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation’s (FANR) nuclear and radiation-related regulations.

Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2015 (link to Arabic text) empowers FANR to enforce safety, security and safeguards regulations by applying a number of administrative penalties such as fines, suspension or revocation of FANR licences, or corrective actions against violators.

Radiation-related activities are commonly undertaken in the UAE such as for medical purposes and in the oil and gas industry. The nation is also developing a nuclear power programme, and four nuclear reactors are now under construction at the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi.

FANR has established a nuclear regulatory programme to protect the UAE public, workers and the environment. It licenses users of nuclear and radioactive material and sources of ionising radiation to ensure that the nation can benefit from those activities while maintaining safety and security.

"This Cabinet Resolution will help to encourage compliance with FANR regulations, deter violations and focus licensee attention on safety and security," said FANR Director General Christer Viktorsson.

The resolution sets monetary fines for 26 types of violations ranging from actions exposing the public to radiation doses exceeding regulatory limits to failing to apply for licences. The resolution makes clear that responsibility for adhering to regulations falls upon companies and individuals alike, and that the amount of the fines vary according to consequences of the violation and increase for repeated violations.




Saudi Electricity (SEC) says Aug peak power load hit record high By Reuters + NewBase

Saudi Electricity Co’s (SEC)’s peak electricity load hit its highest level ever in August driven by local demand for power during the hot summer, the Gulf’s largest utility said on Sunday. SEC’s peak load rose by 10.2 per cent to 62,260 megawatts (MW) from 56,547 MW a year earlier, SEC said in a statement.

The state-run company this summer commissioned 4,516 MW of additional power generation capacity by building 22 new power transfer units and facilities, SEC chief executive Ziyad al-Shiha was cited as saying in the statement.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, burns a significant amount of its crude oil for power generation. Rising domestic power consumption threatens to reduce the amount of crude available for export.

Crude oil used to generate power surged to 894,000 barrels per day in June. To meet the kingdom’s power demand, which is growing at 6 to 8 per cent annually, SEC currently spends SAR 40bn to SAR 60bn ($10.7bn to $16bn) a year.




Mozanbuque: Sasol to Buy Condensate Worth $45 mn from Petróleos de Moçambique .

Sasol and its partners have entered into a $45 million contract with Petróleos de Moçambique (PETROMOC), Mozambique’s state-owned distributor of petroleum products, to purchase condensate from the Central Processing Facility in Temane in Inhambane province of Mozambique.

“Promoting local content is key to ensuring that the oil and gas industry promotes in-county economic development,” said John Sichinga, Senior Vice President, Sasol Exploration and Production International. “We have been focusing on identifying, and sustaining Mozambican suppliers that can support and help develop our activities and participate meaningfully in the value chain of the growing hydrocarbon industry.”

Proposals received were evaluated independently in terms of a set of established criteria by the unincorporated joint venture partners in the Petroleum Production Agreement licence, namely Sasol, Companhia Moçambicana de Hidrocarbonetos (CMH) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Sasol said last week.

Sasol’s commitment to Mozambique began well over a decade ago, when, together with its partners, CMH and IFC developed the Pande/Temane natural gas project. This project pioneered the monetisation of the Pande and Temane gas fields which had been effectively ‘stranded’ for over 30 years.

The natural gas project has resulted in significant benefits flowing to Mozambique, with the investment unlocking the country’s natural wealth and providing a platform for much-needed foreign investment, economic growth, skills and social development.




Congo (Brazzaville): Ocean Installer awarded contract for Total's Moho Nord development offshore Source: Ocean Installer

Ocean Installer, a subsea company headquartered in Stavanger, Norway, has been awarded a contract for deep water UFR (umbilicals, flowlines, risers) installation work with Total E&P Congo at the Moho Nord field off the coast of the Republic of Congo.

The contract is Ocean Installer’s first major operation in West Africa following the creation of the Africa, Mediterranean and Middle East regional office in the second half of 2014.

'We are delighted to have been chosen for this job in a very competitive market and we are looking forward to cooperate with Total E&P Congo on this complex project. The award reflects our efforts over the last 12 months to bring our proven track record to the African market and validates our geographical expansion strategy,' says Steinar Riise, CEO of Ocean Installer.

The project will see Ocean Installer install and pre-commission an umbilical, Multi-Phase Pump (MPP), flying leads and spools in water depths of around 1,000m. The scope includes project management, engineering and logistics, in addition to offshore work.

The project will be managed from the Ocean Installer Stavanger Head office, whilst the high capacity DP3 Construction Support Vessel Normand Vision will be utilised for the offshore execution. She is equipped with a 150Te Vertical Lay Spread (VLS), a 400Te active heave compensated crane and two work class remotely operated vehicles from Oceaneering, making her an ideal vessel to meet the high specification requirements for the project.

The Moho Nord field is located 75km off the coast of the Republic of Congo in water depths ranging from 450 to 1200 metres. Total E&P Congo holds the operatorship with a 53.5% interest, alongside Chevron (31.50%) and state-owned Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo (15%).




Azerbaijan: Fitch advises Azerbaijan to focus on gas projects, not oil (exclusive) By Anvar Mammadov – Trend

Azerbaijan has potential for increasing oil production, the senior director at Fitch Ratings international rating company Maxim Edelson told Trend. Edelson said that the example of the US showed that one can find a way to increase oil production even on the best explored territory.

“Everything depends on how actively geological exploration is conducted, what technologies are used in drilling,” he said. “Through the use of the right technologies, one can increase the efficiency of deposits and extend their life. So one shouldn’t say it's impossible, it just requires investment.”

Edelson went on to add that the costs for building production capacity can sometimes be just enormous, so Azerbaijan needs to highlight its gas projects. “Such projects as the

construction of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and the Trans-Anatolian (TANAP) Pipeline should be very attractive for Azerbaijan,” he said.

“Today, due to the geopolitical relations, Europe tries to reduce its gas dependence on Russia,” he said. “Here, Azerbaijan can play a role of an initially small, but potentially, an increasingly important additional supplier.”

Moreover, Edelson said that Azerbaijan will be able to become a transit country for supplying Turkmen and Iranian gas to Europe.

Azerbaijan’s geopolitical position allows it to deliver not only its gas, but also that of Turkmenistan and Iran by increasing the pipeline’s capacity in the future, he said, adding that this will also bring additional dividends to the country.

Edelson said in particular that the oil market is different from the gas market.

“Switching to the gas production can be a very wise strategy for Azerbaijan,” said Edelson, adding that many companies in the world have already done this, since the gas market is less saturate and less competitive, unlike the oil market. “Therefore, it would be beneficial for Azerbaijan to switch to expanding the gas production volume,” he said.

As part of ensuring Azerbaijani gas supply to European market, the final investment decision was made on Dec.17, 2013 on the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz offshore gas and condensate field's development. The gas produced at this field will first go to the European market (10 billion cubic meters), while six billion cubic meters of gas will be annually delivered to Turkey.

As part of the second stage of the field’s development, gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus gas pipeline and the construction of Trans-Anatolian (TANAP) and Trans-Adriatic (TAP) gas pipelines.

The contract for development of the Shah Deniz offshore field was signed on June 4, 1996. The field’s reserve is estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas.




India to auction 69 small oil, gas blocks under revenue-sharing Indo-Asian News Service

For the first time, the Indian government will soon begin the process for auction of 69 small and marginal oil and gas fields on a new revenue sharing model, where bidders will quote the revenue

they will share with the government at both low and high ends of the price and production band. An official source told IANS here that the change in model is designed to help keep the government share in cases of windfall from both steep rise in prices as well as quantum jump in production. The new revenue sharing model will replace the controversial production sharing contracts (PSCs) - by which oil and gas blocks are

awarded to those firms which show they will do maximum work on a block - that has governed the bidding under the earlier nine New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) rounds. The PSC regime, which allows operators to recover all investments made from sale of oil and gas before profits are shared with the government, was criticised by India’s official auditor, who said it encouraged companies to keep inflating costs - “gold plating” - so as to postpone giving higher share of profits. The source said of the 69 fields of state-run explorers of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) which are to be auctioned, 27 are in Mumbai offshore while another 15 are in the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin. On offer are also 10 discoveries in the Assam Shelf. However clubbing together of adjacent fields has brought down the number to be auctioned to 48, while the final number on offer may be still lower, the source added. ONGC and Oil India surrendered 63 and six oil and gas fields, respectively, which they found uneconomical to develop in view of small reserve size and high economic cost. Cumulatively the surrendered fields hold about 50.8 million tons of oil and 53.45 billion cubic meters of gas, the source added. The biggest discovery is D-18 in the Mumbai offshore that holds 14.78 million tons of oil reserves. Earlier this month, the union cabinet approved the landmark change in India’s hydrocarbons exploration regime.




NewBase 14 September - 2015 Khaled Al Awadi

NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502 , Dubai , UAE

Crude oil prices fall as demand stalls

Oil prices dipped on Monday as weakening demand weighed on international markets, although U.S. futures received some support from reduced American drilling.

Front-month Brent crude futures were trading at $47.86 a barrel at 0254 GMT, down 28 cents from their last close. U.S. crude futures dipped 5 cents to $44.58 a barrel, supported by a slight fall in drilling activity.

The U.S. oil rig count fell by 10 to 652 last week, the second straight monthly drop, while the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday a cut in production from non-OPEC suppliers, especially the United States, would lead to a rebalancing of the market by next year.

"Both the supply and demand pictures look less favorable over the coming months... Outside the U.S., oil fundamentals appear to be slipping seasonally," Morgan Stanley said on Monday in a note to clients, adding that there was potential for some floating storage within the second half of 2015.

"Sales were 1.0 percent lower YoY (year-on-year), slightly more than the 0.8 percent fall seen in July 2015," the bank said, although it added that sales could pick up towards the end of the year.

Oil price special

coverage




In part due to oversupply and to defend market share, Middle East supplier Kuwait set its October Official Selling Price (OSP) for crude to Asia 60 cents lower than September at a discount of $1.95 per barrel versus Oman/Dubai levels.

The low oil prices will undermine the financial health of energy firms, analysts said, which have already seen steep falls in their share prices since the downturn began in 2014.

"The trajectory of the (oil price) recovery keeps getting shallower as our expectations for OPEC output shifts up... The financial condition of the sector deteriorates further through 2017," Jefferies bank said.

"We are lowering our Brent oil price forecast by 9 percent to $54 per barrel (bbl) in 2015, 10 percent to $61/bbl in 2016 and 6 percent to $73/bbl in 2017," it added.




IEA sees low oil price triggering largest cut in non-OPEC supply in more than two decades . Source: IEA

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said Friday that the low oil price is likely to trigger the largest cut in non-OPEC supply in more than two decades.

The latest tumble in the price of oil, which hit a six-year low in August, is expected to cut non-OPEC supply in 2016 by nearly 0.5 million barrels per day (mb/d) – the biggest decline in more than two decades, the IEA Oil Market Report for September informed subscribers.

Lower output in the United States, Russia and North Sea is expected to drop overall non-OPEC production to 57.7 mb/d. US light tight oil, the driver of US growth, is forecast to shrink by 0.4 mb/d next year.

OPEC crude supply fell by 220 000 barrels per day (220 kb/d) in August to 31.57 mb/d, led by declines in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Angola. The group’s output stood 1.2 mb/d higher than a year earlier. The "call" on OPEC climbs to 31.3 mb/d in 2016, up 1.6 mb/d year-on-year as lower prices dent non-OPEC supply and support above-trend demand growth.

Global oil demand growth is expected to climb to a five-year high of 1.7 mb/d in 2015, before moderating to a still above-trend 1.4 mb/d in 2016 thanks to lower oil prices and a strengthening macroeconomic backdrop.




OECD oil inventories swelled by a further 18 mb in July to a record 2 923 mb. Robust refinery throughput pushed crude stocks 9.9 mb lower, while refined products added 26.7 mb. At end-July, product stocks covered 31.2 days of forward demand, 0.6 day above end-June. Preliminary data suggest there were further builds in August.

Global refinery throughput reached a seasonal peak of 80.9 mb/d in August before the autumn turnarounds that are cutting runs through October. Refinery margins remained robust through early September, but with support shifting from gasoline to middle distillates as refiners gear up for the heating season.

The September Oil Market Report also features a detailed analysis of how the oil price rout is slamming the brakes on US light tight oil output; two other China-centered in-depth articles focus on expansion of the country's strategic petroleum reserves and the significance of business sentiment indicators on domestic oil demand.




NewBase Special Coverage

News Agencies News Release 14 Sep. 2015

In Japan, the Rise of the Machines Solves Labor and Productivity Bloomberg - Yoshiaki Nohara

The rise of the machines in the workplace has U.S. and European experts predicting massive unemployment and tumbling wages. Not in Japan, where robots are welcomed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government as an elegant way to handle the country’s aging populace, shrinking workforce and public aversion to immigration.

Japan is already a robotics powerhouse. Abe wants more and has called for a “robotics revolution.” His government launched a five-year push to deepen the use of intelligent machines in manufacturing, supply chains, construction and health care, while expanding the robotics markets from 660 billion yen ($5.5 billion) to 2.4 trillion yen by 2020.

“The labor shortage is such an acute issue that companies have no choice but to boost efficiency,” says Hajime Shoji,

the head of the Asia-Pacific technology practice at Boston Consulting Group Inc. “Growth potential is huge.” By 2025, robots could shave 25 percent off of factory labor costs in Japan, according to the consulting firm.

Worker Replacement

Automation also has huge potential for distribution. Toho Holdings Co.’s 10 billion yen distribution center, which became fully operational in January, employs about 130 workers, roughly half the number at another one of similar size. Productivity per worker is 77 percent higher with robots handling 65 percent of item-picking, the drug wholesaler says.

“We wanted to lower manpower requirements by using robots because we already found it hard to recruit people, including part-time workers,” says Mitsuo Morikubo, the company’s executive managing director.

Inside a three-story gray building in Saitama north of Tokyo, about 28,000 items such as vaccines, liquid food and suppositories are stored. On the spotless second floor, a handful of people open cardboard boxes and take out items for the machines to handle.

Industrial robots sort items at a distribution center in Kuki, Japan




The dexterity of the 16 robots is in evidence when one of them lowers its arm, stopping just above a rectangular box. Eight suction pads stretch down, latch on and drop it on one of the three narrow conveyor belts. “Swish, swish, swish,” its sound blends in with the clacking belts.

Depending on the type, size and weight of an item, the machine alters which pads it uses, how fast it moves and where it puts the item. The robots can pick up to about 10,000 items per hour with almost perfect accuracy. By adjusting the timing of the conveyor belts, the whole system can mix different products and make orders for individual customers.

The humans handle less strenuous work. Asuka Arai also makes up orders, using a hand-held device to read product bar-codes. The scanner then tells her how many boxes to

grab and where to put them.

“It’s easy for women to work here,” says Arai, 27. “You don’t need to lift heavy things and the system is set up to keep you from making mistakes.”

Further automation is planned for another 11 billion yen warehouse Toho will build in Hiroshima in a few years, according to the company.

Service Robots

Japan has been a leader in factory robots, especially in the car industry, for decades. Now, with China and South Korea making automated machines of their own, the new focus is on service robots. It’s a market the government aims to expand 20-fold to 1.2 trillion yen by 2020 while planning to double the market size of manufacturing ones to 1.2 trillion yen.

Among companies pushing that frontier is Cyberdyne Inc. Its bionic suit HAL detects signals from the wearer’s brain to their muscles and assists movement, reducing physical exertion. For factory and construction workers, it means less strain. For patients, it helps with physical therapy.

Yoshiyuki Sankai, president of Cyberdyne, thinks robots aren’t a threat but a solution to social issues in Japan. Inspired as a boy by Isaac Asimov’s “I, Robot,” he thinks robots will someday be so embedded in people’s lives that they will forget they’re wearing them.

“Our target is to make a new market,” Sankai, 57, says. “A new era won’t come without action. Somebody has to make it happen.”

HAL and other similar power-assist systems are coming to Tokiwa Koutai Co., an aluminum processing firm, this fall. In fact, they’re a bit of a

An industrial robot places an item on a conveyor




recruiting tool. Yutaka Tanikawa, who runs the company his grandfather started, wants them to boost productivity, ease backaches for older workers and most of all, attract younger employees by adding a cool touch to dusty, sweaty factory jobs.

“Looking ahead, everything points to a labor shortage,” says Tanikawa, 49, who hunts for recruits at schools and job fairs in the face of the tightest labor market in 23 years.

Tanikawa’s company, with 64 employees and two factories in Tokyo and suburban Ibaraki, is relying on government subsidies that cover two thirds of a robot’s cost, Tanikawa said. It costs about 90,000 yen a month to rent a HAL.

On the factory floor, machines process giant rolls of aluminum. In the corners of the room, giraffe-like yellow robots turn the rolls around. Yoshinao Kawasaki, 54, watches cranes hoist the rolls and helps guide them onto pallets. He wears a helmet and a long-sleeve shirt with black wristbands to keep him from getting dragged into the machinery. His skinny frame is wet with sweat and his waist aches from hernia after years of heavy lifting.

“I can hardly stand on my feet when my back aches a lot - I have to slouch like an old man,” Kawasaki says. “I

don’t know how the robot will work, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Getting costs down is key to expanding the use of service robots. They could assist workers at nursing homes, however costs are still high.

“We want to bring down the cost of a robot to 100,000 yen per unit, but it still costs 500,000 or a million yen,” Kentaro Okamoto, who works on robot-related projects at the economy ministry. “We don’t have an infinite budget.”

Still, some facilities are turning to automation and machinery to boost efficiency and lower the burden on their workers.

Caring Technology

At the Good Time Living nursing home in Chiba, east of Tokyo, caregiver Yuki Koriyama carries a tablet that displays the image of a resident. The tablet is linked to a camera in the resident’s room which detects their movements, and can alert helpers if assistance is needed. The 500,000 yen system has helped to halve the number of falls at the 10 facilities where it was installed in the past fiscal year, according to Orix Living Corp., which runs the home.

To move elderly residents from bed, Koriyama, 37, relies on a 400,000 yen automated lift. Like many who work in nursing care, she has chronic back

Employees operate machinery to stack coils of slit Aluminum strips




pain, often gets massages and wears a support belt to ease her discomfort.

Koriyama slips a green sling under the back of a woman in her 90s and attaches it to the lift. The sling wraps around the woman like a hammock and the machine softly lifts and then lowers her into a wheelchair.

“It’s done,” Koriyama says with a smile, putting a blue blanket on her laps. Koriyama used to do all this manually.

“I would’ve quit without the lift,” Koriyama says. “I used to take days off due to backache and thought I’d better quit when I burdened others.”

In Oil & Gas Industries

So much to say about Robotic technologies advances …..




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Khaled Malallah Al Awadi, Energy Consultant MS & BS Mechanical Engineering (HON), USA Emarat member since 1990 ASME member since 1995 Hawk Energy member 2010

Mobile: +97150-4822502 [email protected] [email protected]

Khaled Al Awadi is a UAE National with a total of 25 years of experience in the Oil & Gas sector. Currently working as Technical Affairs Specialist for Emirates General Petroleum Corp. “Emarat“ with external voluntary Energy consultation for the GCC area via Hawk Energy Service as a UAE operations base , Most of the experience were spent as the Gas Operations Manager in Emarat , responsible for Emarat Gas Pipeline Network Facility & gas compressor stations . Through the years, he has developed great experiences in the designing & constructing of gas pipelines, gas metering &

regulating stations and in the engineering of supply routes. Many years were spent drafting, & compiling gas transportation, operation & maintenance agreements along with many MOUs for the local authorities. He has become a reference for many of the Oil & Gas Conferences held in the UAE and Energy program broadcasted internationally, via GCC leading satellite Channels.

NewBase : For discussion or further details on the news above you may contact us on +971504822502 , Dubai , UAE

NewBase 14 September 2015 K. Al Awadi




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