Pump Industry Analyst November 1999

JACOBS WINS MAJOR MILL

UPGRADE Donohue Industries Inc has awarded Jacobs Engineering Group Inc the engineering, procurement and construc- tion services contract for a US$210 million modernisa- tion project at Donohue’s newsprint mill in Lufkin, Texas.

The Lufkin project involves retiring three of the mill’s four existing machines and replacing them with a sin- gle, more modem machine capable of producing 250 000 tonnes of uncoated supercalen- dered specialty paper annually. The facility’s kraft pulp mill will also be improved to com- ply with the stricter environ- mental standards set by the new Federal Cluster Rule in the USA. The scheduled com- pletion date is December 2000.

Jacobs is currently provid- ing engineering, procurement, and construction services for Donohue’s US$70 million de- inking plant expansion at its newsprint mill in Sheldon, Texas. Donohue bought the Lufkin facility along with another Texas newsprint mill in 1998.

KRUGER DOUBLES

DE-INKING CAPACITY

In Canada, Kruger has unveiled a C$51 million investment at its Bromp- tonville mill.

The project will allow Kruger to improve the quality of the paper, reduce production costs and double the capacity of the deinking facility that was built in 1992. The capacity increase at the de-inking plant will allow a higher percentage of recycled fibres in the paper

manufactured at the Trois-Riv- i&res and Bromptonville mills. Production capacity at the facility will increase from 70 000 tonnes to 140 000 tonnes annually.

HARNISCHFEGER PUTS BELOIT UP

FOR SALE Harnischfeger Industries Inc is set to sell Beloit Corpora- tion, the sole North America- based producer of pulp and paper machinery and systems.

In June this year Har- nischfeger and its US sub- sidiaries, including Beloit, tiled for reorganisation under Chapter 11 of the US Bank- ruptcy Code. The company owns 80% of the stock of Beloit and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries owns the remaining 20%.

OPTIMISTIC OUTLOOK FOR

OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY

Many factors encourage an optimistic outlook for the oil and natural gas industry in the next century, according to Red Cavaney, president of the American Petroleum Institute.

Addressing the Hart World Fuels Conference in Washing- ton, Cavaney cited the indus- try’s use of technology, its ability to reduce costs and increase efficiency and its suc- cess in responding to environ- mental challenges as important strengths looking ahead. He noted, however, that there are also a number of concerns, and that those who set the regula- tions affecting the industry must “strive for efficiency and fairness.”

Among the concerns, Cavaney noted the huge invest-

ments by the oil and natural

gas industry, which are required by environmental rules. Demand for petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel fuel and heating oil, is expected to grow by about 4 million barrels per day by 2010, and that means either heavy investment in new US refining capacity or importing more product.

FW TAKES ON BASIC

ENGINEERING ROLE

Foster Wheeler South Africa (Pty) Limited is to carry out the basic engineering on the expansion of National Petro- leum Refiners of South Africa’s (Natref) gasoline and jet fuel production refin- ery in Sasolburg, Free State.

Natref, South Africa’s only inland oil refinery, is owned by Sasol (63.6%) and Total (36.4%). The US$l20 million project will increase Natref’s output from 86 000 barrels per day to 105 000. Involving almost every aspect of refinery operation, 14 process units have been targeted for upgrad- ing in the conceptual engineer- ing phase. Basic engineering will be completed by March 2000, and the first shutdown to install some of the modifica- tions is scheduled for May 2000. The expansion project should be completed by May 2002.

ENTERGY BUILDS 500 MW

CO-GENERATION PLANT

Entergy Power Group (EPG), the power development arm of Entergy Corporation, is to build, own and operate a 500 MW natural gas-fired