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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Roebear who wrote (64833)	4/17/2000 10:02:00 PM
From: Think4Yourself	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

Thought this article was a fascinating example of one possible direction electricity generation can go. Hope folks enjoy reading it as much as I did. 04/17/00 17:33 Siemens Westinghouse Creates Fuel Cell System for Power Plants By Liz Skinner Washington, April 17 (Bloomberg) -- Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp. has combined a natural gas-powered fuel cell with a microturbine to create a new system for power plants that generates electricity more efficiently with little pollution, the company and the U.S. government said. The unit is expected to convert 55 percent of its fuel into electricity, compared to conventional coal plants that convert about 35 percent, the Energy Department said. Even a small efficiency increase can reduce fuel costs by millions of dollars over the life of a plant, the agency said. The Orlando, Florida-based company, the Energy Department and some state and local agencies spent $16 million to develop the hybrid power system, which will undergo commercial tests next month at the University of California at Irvine. ``The factory testing has proven the viability of the hybrid concept, which could very well become a commercial model for future large-scale, highly efficient and environmentally sound power generation projects,' said Richard M. Rosenblum, a senior vice president at Southern California Edison, which will conduct the testing and performance evaluation of the plant in Irvine. Electric companies are interested in fuel cells because they are far less polluting than conventional power plants since no fossil fuel combustion occurs. Fuel cells generate power through an electrochemical reaction of fuel that leaves mostly water vapor and carbon dioxide as byproducts. Two Components The Siemens Westinghouse power plant has two components that generate electricity. First, natural gas is used to power the fuel cell. In tests, the fuel cell generated about 89 percent of the system's electricity. In the second stage, exhaust gases from the fuel cell process, mostly water vapors and carbon dioxide, are directed into a microturbine. That part of the unit created 11 percent of the system's total electricity in factory tests. The Siemens Westinghouse power plant, which was built at the company's Pittsburgh facility, is the first to use hot, pressurized exhaust gases to drive a microturbine generator, the Energy Department said. ``This kind of system is designed to run at full power continuously, like for hotels, hospitals or for a utility to use to replace a substation,' said Rhett Ross, development director of Breakthrough Technologies Institute, a Washington group that promotes fuel cells. Siemens Westinghouse, a unit of Siemens AG, said it doesn't plan to sell this 220-kilowatt power plant, which executives are calling a ``proof of concept.' The company plans to create a 350- kilowatt unit for commercial sale, said Chris Forbes, a business development manager for fuel cells at Siemens Westinghouse. Forbes estimated the plants would cost about $1,500 a kilowatt when they are sold. `Need is Growing' Company executives said they believe electrical efficiencies of more than 70 percent can be achieved as the technology improves. The government and Siemens Westinghouse are working towards development of a 1-megawatt fuel cell and microturbine power plant in 2002. ``America's need for electricity is growing,' said U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson in a news release. ``This innovative hybrid fuel cell-turbine will help meet that need by providing us with reliable electrical power-generation resources.' The new power plant produces no sulfur dioxide pollutants and its nitrogen oxide emissions are about 50 times less than average gas turbines today, the Energy Department said. ``The ultra-clean performance is the major reason why fuel cells can be sited in the most environmentally sensitive regions,' the agency said.

To: Roebear who wrote (64833)	4/17/2000 10:07:00 PM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

Offshore rig construction cycle ending Oil & Gas Journal, April 17 By Dean Gaddy The current construction cycle for offshore drilling rigs is coming to a close. According to Offshore Data Services Inc. (ODS), from 1996 to the present, a total of 55 semisubmersibles, drillships, and jack ups have been ordered, with 32 delivered to date. Of the remaining vessels, 5 drillships are to be delivered by the end of the year, finishing up construction activity for this category. In addition, the 14 remaining semisubmersibles are to be delivered by the end of 2001. Finally, 3 of the remaining 4 jack ups are to be delivered in 2000 and the last in 2001. Other than these, there are no firm orders on hand. So far this year, six rigs have been delivered. Tom Marsh of ODS expresses concern about the current state of bottom-supported drilling vessels, especially the older jack up fleet, which consists of 385 rigs worldwide. "The bulk of the jack up fleet (238 vessels) is 16-20 years old, while 105 are older than 20 years," he said. With only 42 jack ups less than 15 years old, and only 9 more next-generation vessels to be added in all, attrition may place a damper on continental shelf drilling activity unless new rigs are added over the next 5-10 years. As of Apr. 7, 504 of the world's 639 mobile offshore drilling units are under contract, a net three-rig increase over the prior week.