WATER & WASTE-WATER

EBRD LOAN FOR ROMANIAN

TREATMENTWORKS

The European Bank forReconstruction and Devel-opment (EBRD) is lendingthe Romanian water utilitycompany Regia Autonoma de Gospodarire ComunalaBacau �13 million to financerehabilitation works forBacau’s wastewater treat-ment facilities.

The loan, which comple-ments a �39 million grantfrom the European Union’sISPA programme, is beingprovided under the MunicipalEnvironmental Loan Facility,set up in 2000 to provide co-financing with the ISPA pro-gramme for wastewater relatedprojects in Romania. Sincethen the EBRD has lent morethan �80 million to nine trans-actions.

FUNDING FORAZERBAIJAN

WATER IMPROVEMENTS

Two loans totalling US$30million from the AsianDevelopment Bank (ADB)will give three Azerbaijantowns access to improvedwater supply and sanitationservices.

A project, due for comple-tion in December 2010, willconstruct and rehabilitate thewater supply and sanitationinfrastructure in Agdash,Goychay and Nakhchivan. Thefacilities will be least-cost andoptimally sized, involving theconstruction of well fields,pipes, reservoirs, chlorinationfacilities, waste stabilisationponds, sewers, and seweragepumping stations.

The loans will also financeinstitutional reform and

capacity building activities,including the establishmentof new utilities in the form ofjoint stock companies withmodern managerial skills,providing efficient and finan-cially viable long-term operations.

USFILTER TOUPGRADE

CALCASIEUREFINING PLANT

Calcasieu Refining hasselected USFilter to designand supply a completewastewater treatment plantupgrade for its refinery inLake Charles, Louisiana.

The new plant will includeoil/water separation, aeration,clarification, sludge handlingand VOC control equipment,allowing Calcasieu Refining totreat increased wastewaterflow from the current level of124 gpm to 300 gpm. Theincrease in wastewater flow isassociated with a majorprocess expansion at the refin-ery, which will increase crudeoil processing capacity from 31 000 bbl/day to 86 000bbl/day.

USFilter has provided anumber of upgrades to thewastewater treatment facilitysince 1980. The most recentexpansion at the refinery wasin 2001, which increasedrefining capacity from 22000 bbl/day to 31 000bbl/day.

POWERGENERATION

BLACK & VEATCH,UHDE TEAM UP

FOR CLEAN COALPROJECTS

Black & Veatch Corp andUhde GmbH have formed analliance to pursue andaddress the growingdemands for coal gasificationin the USA.

The alliance will facili-tate commercial offerings forengineering, procurementand construction (EPC) ofgasification and integratedgasification combined cycle(IGCC) projects, which haveselected the Shell coal gasifi-cation technology for solidfuels such as coal and petro-leum coke.

OIL & GAS

BECHTELAWARDED UAE

GAS EXPANSIONPROJECT

Abu Dhabi Gas IndustriesCo, the onshore gas-process-ing subsidiary of Abu DhabiNational Oil Company, hasawarded Bechtel the US$1.5billion Onshore Gas Devel-opment III project to expandproduction of the oil and gasfield in Habshan, Abu Dhabi,United Arab Emirates.

The project will run fromDecember 2004 to April 2008,and the scope of work coversengineering, procurement,and construction and commis-sioning.

PETRO-CHEMICALS

FLUOR TODESIGN, MANAGE

KUWAITIOLEFINS UNIT

Fluor Corp has signed a mem-orandum of understandingwith a joint venture of DowChemical Co and Petrochemi-cal Industries Co, which willprovide utility and infrastruc-ture front-end engineeringand overall project manage-ment consultancy services fora petrochemical project inKuwait.

The billion-plus dollar,integrated petrochemical complex, known as the

Olefins II Program, will belocated approximately 25miles south of Kuwait City inShuaiba. It will include con-struction of an 850 000-tonnes-per-year cracker, a 600000-tonnes-per-year ethyleneglycol unit, a 50 000-tonnes-per-year ethyl benzene/styrene monomer unit and adebottleneck expansion of anadditional 225 000 tonnes peryear of polyethylene capacityat the existing complex. Thecompleted facility will doublethe capacity at the existingolefins complex.

Groundbreaking is sched-uled for early 2005, with com-pletion expected in 2007.

PROGRESS MADEON IRAN LNGINTEGRATED

PROJECTTotal has concluded anagreement with the NationalIranian Oil Co (NIOC) set-ting the framework in placefor the future Pars LiquefiedNatural Gas (LNG) projectand its main commercialterms.

The agreement organisesthe relationship between thePars LNG, in charge of lique-faction activities, and block 11of South Pars (SP11) attributedto Total (60%) and Petronas(40%) to supply the LNGplant. This agreement is pend-ing approval by Iranian author-ities.

The Pars LNG joint ven-ture is a partnership betweenNIOC (50%), Total (30%) andPetronas (20%). The project isdesigned for an initial capacityof two trains of 5 milliontonnes of LNG per year each.

This agreement allows thestart of engineering studies forboth the LNG plant and theSP11 development. Thesestudies will be performed dur-ing 2005 and should lead tothe decision to launch the pro-ject by the end of 2005 or early2006.

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December 2004 Filtration Industry Analyst

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