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da, the national oil company, an- nounced a discovery at another field known as Terra Nova. In addition, there are at least seven other com- mercially exploitable oil fields and several more natural gas deposits that have been identified off the coast of Newfoundland. In the inter- im, exploration, seismic work, and delineation drilling offshore are continuing apace. All this offshore activity has spur- red a considerable amount of devel- opment onshore in Newfoundland, especially in the capital city of St. John's. At present there are several major construction projects under way in the capital that total close to $100 million. A convention center/ hotel complex is being built, Manu- facturers Life Assurance Company has started the first phase of a three-phase office complex, a major Canadian bank is constructing a new office and banking complex val- ued at approximately $30 million, and another $8-million office build- ing is under construction. Outside the capital, onshore de- velopments include an $ll-million oil rig servicing facility and the sites being prepared for the construction of the Mobil concrete platform, as well as other major developments either planned or in progress esti- mated to total approximately $100 million in expenditures. Almost $100 million has been in- vested recently in two major marine research establishments in New- foundland—the $56-million Insti- tute for Marine Dynamics, one of the largest hydrodynamic centers in the world featuring the largest ice tank in the world; and the $42-mil- lion Newfoundland Institute of Fisheries and Marine Technology. Roger Nejes Appointed Assistant To President, Todd Shipyards Corp. Roger Nejes was appointed as- sistant to the president of Todd Shipyards Corporation at a recent board of directors meeting and will be responsible for facilitating and implementing the integration of the company's newly acquired subsid- iary, formerly The Aro Corporation, into the Todd organization. As an officer of the corporation, he will report to the president, Hans K. Schaefer, on all matters concern- ing marketing, manufacturing and finance. Aro is a multinational manufac- turer of air-powered equipment with annual sales of $100 million. Aro offers a broad line of pneumatic air tools, hoists, fluid handling equipment, fluid power equipment and lubrication equipment. Mr. Nejes, who joined Todd Shipyards in 1978 as director of financial planning and contract analysis, has been active in the Aro acquisition program through his re- sponsibilities relating to corporate strategic planning. Prior to coming to Todd, he was employed by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation where, from 1965 to 1978, he successively worked as design engineer, cost estimator, long-range planner, and finally as chief of financial analysis for the division. In addition to the Aro acquisition, Armco Continues To Upgrade Speciality Steels Facilities —Literature Available Hibernia Project (continued) billion barrels of recoverable oil and two trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The Hibernia Field will be devel- oped by Mobil Oil utilizing a con- crete, gravity-based production platform; it is anticipated that oil will start to come ashore by 1991 or 1992. Prior to the production phase, however, an incredible amount of industrial activity is slated to oc- cur. The work that will begin this year involves the construction of two ma- jor facilities in Newfoundland for the fabrication, outfitting, and ac- tual construction of a concrete pro- duction platform. It should take about 18 months to fully develop the construction site, and an addi- tional three years to construct, out- fit, commission, and situate the platform at the Hibernia Field. Ap- proximately the same time frame is required to establish facilities for construction related to the above- water elements of the platform. The concrete base of the produc- tion platform that Mobil will utilize in developing this oil resource is so massive that realistically it can only be built in Newfoundland. Such a structure is not designed to be towed a long distance. The entire project is comparable to construct- ing a 40-story building in a deep- water habor, floating it almost 200 miles offshore in the North Atlantic, and then resting it on the bottom of the ocean. While there are concrete oil pro- duction platforms in use in the North Sea fields, none of those are comparable in size to the structure that will be built for Mobil's Hiber- nia project. The concrete base of the structure will be about 280 feet high with a diameter at the base of 344.5 feet. It will require 70,000 tons of cement and incorporate some 50,000 tons of reinforcing steel. The above-water part of the structure, measuring about 300 feet on each side, will consist of three levels—a cellar deck, module deck containing accommodations, and weather deck topped by the drilling rig and helicopter platform. Water depth at the site is 262.5 feet (80 meters). Of the $5-billion total cost of the Hibernia project, including the de- velopment of onshore facilities, some 50 percent is estimated by the Canadian Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Association to be marine- related. And this entire project is designed for the development of just one oil field. There are several other commer- cial deposits of oil offshore New- foundland that have been discov- ered in recent months, including a discovery at the North Ben Nevis Field by a Canadian company, Hus- ky/Bow Valley Limited. Plans for the development of this field are now being formulated, and oil could be flowing from Ben Nevis as early as 1990 if the company decides to utilize a floating production sys- tem. Several months ago Petro Cana- Major Manufacturers Attend First Diesel Propulsion Conference Held In Seattle Some of the foremost diesel en- gine manufacturers, shipping com- panies and engineering firms were represented at the first Diesel Pro- pulsion Conference recently held in Seattle, sponsored by Trans Marine Propulsion Systems of Seattle and International Power Engineering, Copenhagen, Denmark. According to Trans Marine Pro- pulsion Systems president Her- bert Roeser, the conference, which he hopes will become an an- nual event, was very successful. The international panel of speak- ers from Japan, Switzerland, Ger- many, Norway, Denmark and the U.S., and the audience discussed such topics as: low- and medium- speed diesel engine development; turbocharger development; compu- terized, planned maintenance and performance; and modernization schemes of diesel engines and ships. Representatives from such major companies as Sulzer Brothers, Brown Boveri, International Power Engineering, The East Asiatic Com- pany, Caterpillar Engine Division, Trans Marine Propulsion Systems, Waukesha Engine Division and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries were all in attendance. Armco's Specialty Steels Division has begun commercial operation of a $7-million Automated Pickle Line at its Baltimore Works. The new "tunnel" pickle line and accompa- nying pollution control facility is one of the most modern in the world. The pickling cycle and bath tem- perature of the new unit are auto- matically programmed, while the bath chemistry is rigidly main- tained. It is expected to produce a minimum of 80 tons per turn which will provide more than required ca- pacity to satisfy internal needs for i stainelss rod and wire products. The totally enclosed system cap- tures fumes and runs them through a scrubber. All acids are collected and neutraulized in an environmen- tally clean operation. The new unit is part of a continu- ing modernization program begun in 1981 at Armco's Baltimore Works with installation of a 50-ton electric arc furnace, and includes a $24-mil- lion precision rotary forge, the first in operation in the U.S. for stainless production. It also includes the only two-strand horizontal continuous caster in use by a stainless bar, rod and wire producer. The rolling and finishing areas Todd Shipyards Corporation, a leading shipbuilding and ship repair company, operates yards in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Galves- ton and New Orleans. Sperry Awarded $7.3-Million Navy Order Sperry Corporation, Systems Management Group, Long Island, N.Y., is being awarded a $7,326,000 fixed-price man-day contract for services for the Trident logistics as- sistance program. Work will be per- formed in Great Neck, N.Y. (20 per- cent), and Reston, Va. (80 percent), and is expected to be completed September 20, 1986. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-86-C-4006). Navy Awards Tracor MBA $5.5-Million Contract To Furnish Chaff Tracor MBA, San Ramon, Calif., is being awarded a $5,571,201 firm- fixed-price contract to furnish 2,746,320 RR-170A/AL chaff and 3,334 rolls of RR-171/AL chaff. Work will be performed in Lilling- ton, N.C., and is expected to be completed in April 1987. Two bids were solicited and two offers were received. The Navy Ships Parts Control Center, Mechanicsburg, Pa., is the contracting activity (N00104-86-C-A025). have also been modernized with the additional of grit blasting facilities for improved surface conditioning, and installation of a large bar turn- er, automatic planishing facilities for small diameter bars, and rotary annealing furnace which increases capacity, size availability and prod- uct quality. "Today's highly competitive mar- ket requires suppliers of specialty steels to continuously improve qual- ity and customer service," said Raymond E. Hein, vice president and general manager of Armco's Baltimore organization, "and Arm- co is committed to being a viable supplier of specialty steel products which meet our customers' require- ments for quality, dependability and service." Mr. Hein further stated, "Conversion orders from other specialty steel producers will be solicited for the excess capacity of our new pickle line." The Baltimore Plant produces stainless steel bar, rod, wire and semifinished products and is part of Armco's Specialty Steels Division, headquartered in Butler, Pa. For free copies of literature de- scribing Armco's Specialty Steels facilities and products, Circle 11 on Reader Service Card 14 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
