Flotech helps brings Kupe to life

Media Release August 2007

Flotech helps brings Kupe to life

Globally successful South Auckland based engineered solutions company Flotech has turned their attention closer to home to help bring the Kupe project to life.

New Zealand’s own Flotech has followed a string of successful global multi-million dollar deals by securing a deal with Origin Energy to build four huge customized gas compressors as part of the onshore development for the new Kupe project in Taranaki. .

Flotech, with the assistance of project partner Independent Technology Limited (ITL), has signed a deal worth over $7.5M with Origin Energy Ltd, to develop and engineer four customized gas compressors that are critical to the Kupe gas processing operation.

Director of Compression Technology Steve Rowntree said, “One of the exciting aspects of Kupe for Flotech is that it is a large scale project in our own backyard. While Flotech is known globally for its engineering solutions, and the majority of our work is offshore, we jumped at this opportunity to get involved in the Kupe project here in New Zealand. It also demonstrates that the New Zealand oil and gas industry no longer has to look exclusively overseas for world-class compression expertise, because world-class expertise is already here.”

Flotech’s deal with Origin has maximized New Zealand involvement on the Kupe project, with all engineering design and fabrication undertaken in the two Flotech Auckland workshops along with process design assistance and pulsation studies with ITL in New Plymouth.

The Kupe packages are unique in terms of size and scale, with two being 1000 kW ‘de-ethaniser overhead’ compressors, which operate at cryogenic temperatures meaning they are engineered from special materials able to withstand extremely low temperatures. The other two compressors are 1550 kW ‘flash-gas’ compressors, made from stainless steel and utilizing medium voltage variable speed drives. This enables efficient operation with large turndown capability to cope with the reducing flow requirements over the expected life of the Kupe plant.

Built at the Flotech workshop in South Auckland, the enormous compressors & cooling systems will be transported to Taranaki, and when assembled will cover a combined plot area of approximately 17m x 32m.

Rowntree added, “We are immensely proud to be involved on the Kupe project, and excited by the opportunity to use our global experience to help meet the growing demand for energy in New Zealand over the next few decades.”

The Kupe project is currently New Zealand’s second largest gas field under development, after Pohokura, and once online and running is expected to meet up to 15% of New Zealand’s gas energy demand.

Flotech has been steadily forging a global reputation as a provider of leading edge engineered solutions to the biogas, gas compression, and heat exchange industries. Having more than doubled in size over each of the last two years, Flotech is increasingly a highly successful New Zealand business on the global export, and now the New Zealand, stage.

ENDS

www.flotech.com

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