Control System World

MatrikonOPC™ simplifies open data sharing with the HC900 line of Hybrid Controllers in the release of its latest OPC Server for Modbus. With expanded communication options and a streamlined interface, the MatrikonOPC Server for Modbus provides users with an optimized workflow making configuration and maintenance faster and more intuitive.

With built-in role-based security down to the per- tag-level, the Modbus OPC Server actively protects the integrity of automation system data. Based on each user’s login, this OPC Server selectively grants or denies access to specific tags, providing only the right users with secure access to the right process data. Granular control over data access helps prevent accidental or intentional unauthorized OPC data access. As a part of the overall infrastructure, this OPC server adds another layer to a system’s overall defense-in-depth strategy.

"Secure, reliable access to data in control automation systems is crucial," said Darek Kominek, marketing manager at MatrikonOPC . "With an optimized user interface and an expanded range of natively supported Modbus variants, the MatrikonOPC server for OPC devices helps make your projects more successful.".

Key features include:

• redundant device communications

• precise control over who can access what data via role-based security

• support for OPC Alarms and Events

For the second year in a row Beckhoff Automation has closed the financial year with exceptionally high growth in turnover. Annual turnover of 465 million Euros was achieved in 2011. This corresponds to a growth of 34 % compared to 2010, in which growth of 47 % had already been achieved compared to the financial crisis year of 2009. Turnover has thus been virtually doubled within two years. The number of employees also grew by 24 % to 2,100 worldwide, of which every fourth employee now works at one of the international Beckhoff subsidiaries.

Beckhoff can look back on a very successful financial year. “It is the second robust growth year in a row and we have even exceeded our own optimistic expectations. It is also particularly pleasing that all of the large markets – Europe, Asia and America – and product groups have contributed more or less equally to the growth. Naturally we are extremely satisfied with this result,” summarises Hans Beckhoff, Managing Director and Owner of Beckhoff Automation GmbH.

Please click Beckhoff for further details.

Houston, Texas — April 9, 2012 — KBR (NYSE:KBR) announced today it will design and construct an ethylene furnace for INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA (INEOS) that upon commissioning will provide the highest achievable ethylene yields in the industry. The executed agreements with INEOS include provision of a technology license, engineering, procurement, supply of equipment and materials, and construction of the furnace.

The furnace design will add 465 million pounds per year of furnace production capacity to the INEOS Chocolate Bayou Works Olefins Complex in Alvin, Texas.

This furnace will use KBR's high-performance Selective Cracking and Optimum Recovery (SCORE™) ethylene technology and process NGL feedstocks. The furnace will also include KBR’s latest generation Ultra Low NOx burner technology and a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) bed to reduce emissions of nitrous oxides.

The compelling case that Plant Asset Management (PAM) Systems provides for reducing operational costs while simultaneously improving performance is the primary factor driving growth of PAM. The worldwide market for Plant Asset Management Systems will experience growth this year and throughout the forecast period according to a new ARC Advisory Group study.

Plant Asset ManagementPAM growth is being fueled in part by the increased amount and complexity of automation equipment in manufacturing plants that requires a higher order approach to maintenance provided by PAM systems. “As aging workers leave the workforce, maintenance specialists are vanishing and are being replaced with generalists. These generalists will need user-friendly tools and more simplified work procedures to maintain plant equipment,” according to Sr. Analyst Paula Hollywood, the principal author of ARC’s “Plant Asset Management Systems Worldwide Outlook”.

Please click ARC to read i detail.

Exida, an accredited global certification company, has certified Moore Industries’ STA logic solver for functional safety, ensuring that it meets the functional safety requirements for Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 3 capable per IEC 61508.

“Moore Industries has a strong development process that meets the requirements of SIL 3 - IEC 61508,” says exida Certifying Assessor Iwan van Beurden.

Tina Lockhart, director of engineering at Moore, says exida’s understanding of the safety lifecycle has helped integrate the 61508 standard into Moore’s product development process.

"exida certification is the best choice for global functional safety certification,” Lockhart says. “They trained our experts to perform FMEDA analyses and helped us to migrate to version 2 of 61508. Their understanding of the safety lifecycle has been invaluable.”

“This product fits a niche market needing a single loop safety rated logic solver,” adds exida Managing Director Dr. William Goble. “We are pleased that Moore Industries chose exida.”

The Digi Transport WR21 is based on the hugely successful Digi Transport series of enterprise class routers. It is from this legacy that the WR21 inherits its advanced routing functionality and resilient cellular network features. However, the WR21 sets itself apart with its compact rugged design, future proof 4G communications and a price point that rivals many basic cellular modems on the market.

In addition, the WR21 is extremely versatile, it has many different options of hardware and software features – meaning you only pay for the features you need for you application.

Rugged features include a wide operating temperature of -35°C to +75°C, various mounting options such as panel and DIN-rail, dual SIM card for cellular network backup and a best in class 5 year warranty. The WR21 supports HSPA+ which means that it is ready for the next generation of cellular infrastructure currently being rolled out in the UK and is quad band for world wide mobile network compatibility.

SAN RAMON, Calif., April 17, 2012 - Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) today announced that its Australian subsidiaries have signed a non-binding Heads of Agreement (HOA) with Chubu Electric Power Company Incorporated (Chubu) for the delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Chevron-operated Wheatstone natural gas project in Australia.

Under the agreement, Chevron, together with Apache Energy and KUFPEC, is expected to deliver 1 million tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG to Chubu for up to 20 years.Joe Geagea, president, Chevron Gas and Midstream, said today's agreement further strengthened the company's relationship with Chubu, which is also a foundation customer and participant in the Gorgon Project.

"Chubu is a long term customer of our Australian natural gas portfolio and is due to receive 2.5 MTPA of LNG collectively from the Gorgon and Wheatstone projects."

Roy Krzywosinski, managing director, Chevron Australia, said, more than 70 percent of Chevron's equity LNG from Wheatstone is now covered under long-term off-take agreements with customers in Asia.

The Shah Deniz consortium has reached an important milestone and approved the decision to commence Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) on the estimated $25 billion Shah Deniz Stage 2 project. This was officially announced in Baku today during the meeting between the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan H.E. Ilham Aliyev and Bob Dudley, Group Chief Executive of BP, the Operator of Shah Deniz, who is on a working visit to Azerbaijan.

The Shah Deniz Stage 2 project will bring gas from the Caspian Sea to markets in Turkey and Europe, opening up the ‘Southern Gas Corridor’. Achieving this important milestone allows the consortium to maintain its target for first gas exports around the end of 2017.

The Shah Deniz 2 project is set to produce 16 billion cubic metres of gas per year. The entry into FEED represents the start of a key phase in the project during which engineering studies will be refined, further wells will be drilled, commercial agreements will be finalised and key construction contracts will commence.

During the FEED phase of the project, the Shah Deniz consortium will finalise its selection of export routes across Turkey and into Europe.

Please click BP News to read in detail