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InTech, May 1999

Another oil industry pipeline merger

After the dust settles in the $26.6 billion BP Amoco Corp.-Atlantic Richfield Co. (ARCO) deal, BP Amoco's daily oil output will jump by 32% to 2.7 million barrels. In another step in the oil industry shuffle, Londonbased BP Amoco Corp. last month bought ARCO in stock in a deal that will make it the world's second largest oil company. About 2,000 jobs will be lost, with the impact likely concentrated on ARCO operations. Describing the deal as "a compelling strategic and geographic fit of quality assets," BP Amoco chief executive Sir John Browne says the move will boost BP Amoco's reserves and production, giving it the largest oil output of any nonstate company. The deal will also consolidate BP Amoco's position in Alaska. The merger comes on the heels of the $77 billion Exxon-Mobil deal late last year and the $57.6 billion BP-Amoco deal late last summer. The deal is subject to approval by shareholders in both companies. Browne hopes to complete the transaction by the end of the year.

Revised Foundation fieldbus process-monitoring system on launch pad

Fisher-Rosemount will release version 3.3 of process-monitoring system DeltaV in the second quarter, using patent-pending Inspect software. "No configuration or additional computer is necessary [with the NT-based system]," says principal technologist Terry Blevins. Location-independent Inspect shows operators the variability of control, Blevins says. Inspect shows up-to-date performance and utilization information on the controls in service, he says. Based on Foundation fieldbus architecture, Inspect operates with Fisher-Rosemount fieldbus devices and, with minor add-ons, other bus devices and even discrete and analog systems. "By early next year, we'll have adaptive-tuning and predictive-modeling capabilities," Blevins says.

Smart magnetic flowmeter growth projected through 2003

Falling prices will help drive worldwide demand for smart magnetic flowmeters through the year 2003, according to a study by Dedham, Mass.-based ARC Advisory Group. Two-wire magnetic flowmeters, which offer fieldbus compatibility and cost savings, are projected to make huge strides in the market, the study reports. Users say they need increased functionality from smart magnetic flowmeters to optimize their processes and reduce maintenance costs, the study reports. Price points for smart magnetic flowmeters should also drop to the level of conventional flowmeters. By 2003, about 300,000 smart magnetic flowmeters will ship worldwide, while close to 50,000 conventional flowmeters will ship, the study says.

Six oil-related environment projects to get U.S. DOE funding

Six teams are researching ways to improve methods used by the nation's oil industry to protect the environment. The research projects, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), include the University of Texas at Austin, which will design a system for removing contaminants from water produced during oil drilling and production and will collect data on contaminants at abandoned commercial drilling sites in four states; Terralog Technologies USA Inc., Arcadia, Calif., which will develop a cost-cutting plan to inject oil-field wastes back into the ground; Institute of Gas Technology, Des Plaines, Ill., which will clean soil contaminated during petroleum production; SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif., which will extract hydrocarbons from contaminated soils; and Basin Research Institute, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La., which will develop a geographic database that will include 47,000 Louisiana wells.

Groundwater cleanup made easier

Researchers will be able to directly study the breakdown of groundwater pollution in just a few steps after University of Toronto professor Barbara Sherwood Lollar developed an efficient way to monitor and improve the cleanup process of groundwater contamination caused by substances such as gasoline and chlorinated solvents. Scientists now use a complex method to measure how bacterial populations in groundwater break down pollutants. The new process, called compound specific stable carbon isotope analysis, uses mass spectrometer technology.

California to ban gas additive by 2003; blamed for water pollution

California Governor Gray Davis will ban by 2003 the gasoline fuel additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). MTBE, one of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's required oxygenated additives to cut air pollution emissions from vehicles, "presents a significant risk to California's environment," Davis says. He referred to contamination of recreational waters, like Lake Tahoe, from leaking underground storage tanks, jet skis, and small watercraft. Reacting to the governor's move, San Francisco-based Chevron Corp. officials say they want to remove MTBE, but they need approval from the federal government.

Entergy looks to close nuclear plant deal in second quarter

There are three federal approvals to go for New Orleans-based Entergy Nuclear Generating Co. to purchase the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Mass., after the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunication and Energy signed off on the deal. In the first sale of an operating nuclear power plant in the nation, Boston Edison sold thi 670-MW generating plant, a 1,600-acre site, and the Chiltonville Training Center in Plymouth for $121 million (January In Tech, page 11). An Entergy spokesperson expects approvals from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by the end of the second quarter.