| By Liza Mohamad
BLNG Managing Director, Dato Paduka Hj Hamdillah binte Hj Abd
Wahab with Mr Bill Dunnet at the signing ceremony held at the
BLNG main office in Lumut. A contract with an approximate value
of B$55 million for the installation of the new MCHEs and
associated plant changers was awarded to Halliburton KBR in
December last year
A signing ceremony had taken
place yesterday between Brunei LNG Company and Kellogg Brown
& Root International Inc (KBR) for the installation of new
units of Main Heat Cryogenic Heat Exchangers (MCHEs).
The ceremony was held at the
BLNG main office in Lumut. BLNG Managing Director, Dato Paduka
Hj Hamdillah binte Hj Abd Wahab presented a speech at the
function. Also present was Mr Bill Dunnet, the Senior Vice
President, Halliburton KBR.
BLNG produces Liquefied Natural
Gas (LNG) using five LNG Liquefaction Trains and during the
liquefaction process, natural gas passes through a series of
complex pieces of equipment (the train) before entering the
final liquefaction stage in the MCHE.
The MCHE is the largest and
most sophisticated peace of equipment in the train and is where
the liquefaction process taking place by lowering the
temperature of the natural gas to -165 degrees Celsius. The
existing MCHEs, having provided the continuous reliable service
for several decades, are anticipated to require an increasing
amount of maintenance in the years ahead.
In order to ensure BLNG
maintain its status as a world leader in the reliable supply of
LNG, a decision was made in December 2001 to replace the
existing MCHEs in trains 1, 2, 3 & 4 over the next three
years.
The new MCHEs will not only
reinforce BLNG's commitment to her traditional Japanese and
Korean customers, but will also strengthen her ability to
capitalise on the global LNG market.
The initial development and
planning for the MCHE replacement project began in May 2001 with
a submission to the BLNG Board concerning project strategy and
appropriate MCHE vendors made in June 2001.
Firm BLNG Board approval for a
project budget of B$120 million was obtained on December 2001.
An order for four new 100 tonne spiral wound aluminium MCHEs was
placed with LINDE AG (Germany) in March last year.
An Engineering, Procurement and
Construction (EPC) contract with an approximate value of B$55
million for the installation of the new MCHEs and associated
plant changers was awarded to Halliburton KBR in December last
year.
KBR was awarded because not
only their bid was commercially competitive with a high level of
technical expertise but also due to the significant involvement
of Bruneian contractors.
Bruneian participation in
financial terms accounts for approximately 42 per cent of the
contract value and around 400,000 man hours or 200 man years.
The installation of the new MCHEs in trains 4 & 1 is planned
for the year 2004 with new MCHEs being installed in trains 2
& 3 during the year 2005.
Following the completion of the
MCHE rejuvenation project, BLNG will have undertaken one of the
many planned Extension Rejuvenation Projects (ERP) designed to
secure BLNG ongoing reliable operation beyond 2013 which is the
expiry date of the existing Sales Purchase Extended Agreement (SPEA).
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