Control System World

Kepware Technologies, a software development company focused on communications for automation, announced today that its flagship product KEPServerEX v5 has passed the functionality testing conducted in March by an internationally recognized, independent research laboratory located in San Antonio, TX. The testing focused on KEPServerEX v5's EFM Exporter functionality, which collects gas measurement custody transfer data from industry-leading flow computers and exports it into the specialized formats used in common industry measurement accounting solutions.

"The accuracy of measurement data collection is critical in the Oil and Gas Industry because it is tied to major revenue for multiple stakeholders," said Tony Paine, president and CEO of Kepware Technologies. "Passing this test is a significant milestone for us, as it provides relevant Third-Party validation of applicability of KEPServerEX for critical custody transfer natural gas applications."

The Oil and Gas Industry uses the Electronic Flow Measurement (EFM) data calculated and stored in flow computers as the commercial basis for the measurement of volume and energy: EFM data is the foundation of its financial transactions. KEPServerEX's EFM Exporter polls the flow computers for EFM data on user-defined intervals, and collects transactions involving the transportation of physical substances from one operator to another through a scheduled polling mechanism. It then prepares export files formatted for direct import into common industry accounting solutions or data editing software platforms.

"KEPServerEX v5 is the next generation of Kepware's communications technology, and represents more than a decade of development," said Steve Sponseller, Product Manager at Kepware Technologies. "Independent laboratory validation confirms that KEPServerEX's EFM solution is suitable for the collection of EFM data and the delivery of that data to office measurement accounting systems. (In accordance with the requirements expressed in the American Petroleum Institute's Manual of Petroleum Measurement Standards; specifically, Chapter 21 - Flow Measurement using Electronic Flow Computers, Section 1 – Electronic Gas Flow Measurement [API MPMS 21.1]). It also demonstrates Kepware's commitment to support the Energy Industry as it moves forward."

Wahl Instruments, Inc. announces the addition of the new AOIP FD5 Line of data loggers to its line of temperature and pressure products. With modern and flexible features, the FD5 series accommodates a wide variety of applications, including temperature monitoring. Equipped with 5, 10 and 15 universal synchronized channels, the new generation of fast (470 Hz / channel) and flexible modules can be used in the field as stand-alone system or on test benches. The FD5 Series uses a web server concept; all necessary configuration and management software are embedded into the unit itself for a plug-and-play design.

Easy-to-use, the web server interface allows real time and remote control of the data acquisition through any web browser; including setup, start, result display, monitoring, and data exportation functions. As stand-alone modules, FD5 series loggers have embedded flash memory that can be expanded with the SD card slot and USB drive slots. Connect up to two additional slave modules to extend the number of inputs available for maximum flexibility.

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Invensys Operations Management has expanded the territories of its trusted Foxboro® equipment sales channel in North America.

Andon Specialties, Inc., Canada Company and Rust Automation have been Invensys channel partners for a combined 50 plus years. Each has an excellent record of bringing Foxboro products, solutions and services to the marketplace, coupled with a strong reputation for exceptional customer service and product support.

“Broadening the territories of our Foxboro M&I representatives in North America improves our ability to serve and support an important customer base,” said Bob Jones, vice president and general manager of the company’s M&I business. “These select partners bring more than 130 years of combined industry knowledge and expertise to the table, and are recognized for their leadership when it comes to client intimacy, delivery and collaborative mindset. We look forward to working with them as they help our customers improve the efficiency, safety and environmental performance of their operations.”

Andon Specialties, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, will represent Foxboro M&I products for industrial and municipal markets in Texas and New Mexico. In Texas, Andon has expanded its coverage to the counties of Anderson, Angelina, Archer, Bailey, Baylor, Clay, Concho, Coryell, Cottle, Crockett, Falls, Floyd, Foard, Freestone, Hale, Houston, Lamb, Lampasas, Limestone, McCulloch, McLennan, Motley, San Augustine, San Saba, Schleicher, Sutton, Terrell and Tom Green. Its coverage excludes El Paso. In New Mexico, Andon will oversee Chaves, Eddy and Lea counties.

Canada Company, based in Tulsa, Okla., has expanded its territory in the Texas Panhandle to include industrial and municipal markets in Briscoe, Castro, Childress, Hall, Hardeman, Parmer, Swisher, Wichita and Wilbarger counties.

Rust Automation and Controls Inc., based in West Jordan, Utah, has expanded its territory assignments to include the industrial and municipal markets in the state of New Mexico, except in Chaves, Eddy and Lea counties. It has also taken responsibility for El Paso county in Texas.

Saudi Minister of Water and Electricity Abdullah Al-Hussayen has signed 29 contracts worth SR519 million ($138 million) to implement water and sewage projects in various regions of the Kingdom. The contracts were part of the ministry's plan to develop the public utilities and improve the basic services so as to meet the increasing requirements of the fast-growing population in various cities and regions across the Kingdom.

The major contracts, including their amount and period of implementation, involve the construction of main water tank in Al-Shaaf town in Asir region -SR51.28 million (24 months), main water pipeline from the purification plant to Al-Homda town in Tathleeth region in Asir - SR49.88 million (30 months), phase 2 of sewage networks in various localities in Buraida City in Al-Qassim region - SR40.1 million (40 months), sewage treatment plant in Al-Shannan City in Hail region - SR37 million (24 months), operation and maintenance of sewage pumping plants and treatment plant in Khamis Mushyat in Asir region - SR28.51 million (36 months), operation and maintenance of sewage pumping plants and treatment plant in Abha City in Asir region - SR28 million (36 months), and main pipeline from purification plant to Al-Subaiha town in Tathleeth region in Asir - SR24.82 million (30 months).

The contracts also included setting up of drinking water networks in Buraida City - SR24.48 million (36 months), water plants for some northern towns in Riyadh region - SR22.81 million (18 months), water tanks in some regions and villages in Hail - SR22.68 million (30 months), fourth phase of sewage networks in Ahad Rufaida in Asir - SR18.17 million (30 months), sixth phase of water networks in Hafar Al-Batin in the Eastern Province - SR17.44 million (24 months), operation and maintenance of comprehensive water project in Hail - SR15 million (24 months), second phase of operation and maintenance of drinking water projects in the villages in Al-Jouf region - SR14.88 million (36 months), second phase of expansion of sewage treatment plant, east of Khamis Mushayt in Asir - SR14 million (13 months), drinking water project in some regions of Riyadh - SR13.82 million (36 months), and water distribution plant in Al-Shaaf town in Asir - SR11.55 million (24 months).

Advantech’s Industrial Automation Group has launched two new entry level industrial monitors. The FPM-2000 series with 12”and 17” versions have been designed to fit into areas of limited space without compromising on quality.

Their ruggedized all round metal design with IP65 certificated fronts, ensure that even in harsh environments these monitors will continue to work. . The Lockable I/O connector design secures the cables and ensures they don’t work their way loose.

All models have been designed with the same modern look as others in the FPM series and have a reduced front bezel and smaller cut-out dimension size, so they will fit directly into machines with limited space such as machine builders.

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Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) today announced that its Australian subsidiaries have signed binding long-term Sales and Purchase Agreements (SPAs) with Chubu Electric Power Company Inc. (Chubu) for liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Wheatstone Project in Western Australia.

Under the agreements Chevron, together with Apache Energy and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company, will supply Chubu with 1 million tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG for up to 20 years.

Joe Geagea, president, Chevron Gas and Midstream, said, "Chubu, one of the world's leading LNG customers, is now a partner and customer of the Chevron-operated Gorgon Project. We are pleased to expand the strong partnership between our two companies with these SPAs for Wheatstone LNG."

Roy Krzywosinski, managing director, Chevron Australia, said, "More than 80 percent of Chevron's equity LNG from Wheatstone is covered under long-term off-take agreements with customers in Asia. The agreements demonstrate that Wheatstone is well-placed geographically to meet the Asia Pacific region's growing demand for a safe, reliable and cleaner-burning source of energy."

The Chevron-operated Wheatstone Project is located at Ashburton North, 7.5 miles (12 kilometres) west of Onslow in Western Australia. The project will consist of two LNG trains with a combined capacity of 8.9 million tons per annum and a domestic gas plant.

The Wheatstone Project is a joint venture between Australian subsidiaries of Chevron (64.14%), Apache Energy (13%), Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (7%), Shell (6.4%), and Kyushu Electric Power Company (1.46%), together with PE Wheatstone Pty Ltd. (part owned by Tokyo Electric Power Company, 8%).

Manufacturers, particularly those in process industries, can gain increased functionality and an enhanced operator experience with the latest version of the FactoryTalk View human-machine interface (HMI) software from Rockwell Automation. FactoryTalk View Site Edition (SE) and Machine Edition (ME) 7.0 applications, releasing in early 2013, offer more efficient alarm management, simplified installation, improved user experience, and integrated data sharing in a wide range of production environments.

“To stay competitive, our customers need scalable HMI solutions that are easier to install, enable operator productivity, and are more tightly integrated to company control and information systems,” said Tony Carrara, product manager for FactoryTalk View SE software, Rockwell Automation. “To meet all these needs, we are leveraging our deep experience to evolve our visualization software.”

FactoryTalk View SE 7.0 software will support larger numbers of HMI clients and servers in a single system, increasing the size of systems that can support the FactoryTalk View SE alarming subsystem, FactoryTalk Alarms and Events. The FactoryTalk Alarms and Events alarming subsystem has been enhanced to align with ISA’s Alarming Standard 18.2., and will now support the shelving state.

The newest version includes an improved installation process and design environment. The new installation process in FactoryTalk View SE and ME software saves time with a streamlined work flow that automates installation of FactoryTalk View components. From a design-time standpoint, a new find-and-replace for HMI and global-object displays will be available in the FactoryTalk View Studio design environment so the user can locate and replace tags or strings across multiple servers and screens. For run-time improvements, operators can more quickly and intuitively navigate screens and resolve production issues with a new navigation button that provides functionality similar to the navigation buttons in commercially available web browsers.

FactoryTalk View 7.0 software website: http://discover.rockwellautomation.com/HMI

India’s supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) market reflects the impact of new technology on SCADA components and cost- effective communications for both data and knowledge transfer. According to a new ARC Advisory Group report, “SCADA Systems for the Water and Wastewater Industry in India Market Research Study”, India’s SCADA systems market is spurred by the need to improve the sustainability of water utility infrastructure. The market for water & wastewater industries is expected to see significant growth over the next five years.

The latest SCADA systems encompass a new generation of technology components. According to G. Ganapathiraman, Country Manager ARC India and co-author of this study, “End users are utilizing SCADA technology for a range of operational improvement applications and linking these to business processes for a variety of purposes, both internal and external to the enterprise.”