Transnet Saldanha Bay

Global locomotive supplier GE Transportation has completed the installation of a distributed power system on the Orex iron-ore line, making it possible to increase the line’s freight capacity.

South Africa’s Orex line, which is owned and managed by State-owned utility Transnet, is the critical ore feeder line running from Kumba’s Sishen mine, in the Northern Cape, to the Port of Saldanha Bay, on the West Coast of the country.

GE South Africa Technologies CEO Phedzi Radzilani explains that the Locotrol distributed power system, the first train power distribution and control system of its kind worldwide, allows for longer freight trains and increased freight capacity without the need to invest in costly infrastructure.

“Through this system, power is distributed to locomotives spaced throughout the train.”

“The system provides not only single- station power control, but also readily accessible, centralised diagnostics in the event of a breakdown.

“With Locotrol, the train driver knows at all times exactly what each section of the train is doing, including what speed it is travelling at, what braking power it needs or is exerting, and how healthy it is.

“In-train sections are shorter and weigh less, and need less braking force, which results in substantial cost savings on fuel, brake wear and tear, and maintenance”.

Radzilani elaborates that the system has been tested and proven for more than two decades, and has been installed in more than 6 000 freight systems globally.

Transnet awarded the contract in July 2005, with the first prototype commissioned a year later.
Locotrol has now been fitted on thirty-one 9E electric units and 20 diesel locomotives altogether.

The Locotrol system has enabled Transnet to run the longest multiengine system freight train in the world, with a length of 3,8 km.

The system has also enabled Transnet to increase freight capacity, boosting iron-ore exports.

In addition to the installation of the Locotrol system, Radzilani explains that Transnet has also selected GE Hydra-Switch tech- nology for the Saldanha yard and secondary lines. This Hydra-Switch mechanism allows customers to increase automation for additional productivity and worker safety.

These projects form part of Transnet’s R5,8-billion iron-ore export channel expansion programme between Sishen and Saldanha.

The upgrade is being undertaken by Transnet and Kumba Iron Ore in order to facilitate the planned expansion in iron-ore export volumes to a maximum capacity of 93-million tons a year.

This project involves the upgrade of the Sishen–Saldanha iron-ore line from the current 38-million tons a year to 47-million tons a year by 2009/10, and a further expansion of the line from 47-million tons a year to 60-million tons a year by 2012.

According to GE Transportation regional sales leader for sub-Saharan Africa Swaady Martin, Transnet is the company’s single largest customer on the continent.

“Despite the economic downturn, the train operator told us that they expect projects to continue with some possible reprioritisation,” concludes Martin.

Edited by: Martin Zhuwakinyu

West Coast Gas Field drilling has started

Gas exploration company Forest Exploration International and its project partners plan to spend between $3-billion and $4-billion over the next 20 years to develop the Ibhubesi gas field, off South Africa’s West Coast.

The initial drilling programme into the gas field has been “highly successful”, producing a gas well that tested better than any other well drilled off the South African coast. However, the second phase of the $100-million drilling programme was less successful.

Forest Exploration International commercial director John Langhus told Engineering News Online that it had not yet defined a definitive resource estimate of the gas field. However, “we do consider it a world-class asset and a world-class discovery, and it is large enough to move ahead”.

Langhus stated that the company was awaiting a decision from the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) on whether production at the Ibhubesi gas field could go ahead. If the production right was received within the expected date, which was June this year, it was likely that production would start in 2012.

The gas from the project was most likely to be used for electricity production, and Langhus noted that although the company did not have any definitive offtake agreements in place, it was in advanced discussions with several parties.

“We are pretty confident that there is plenty of market here to be developed.”

Langhus told the Cape Town regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry that it planned to draw 100-million cubic feet of gas a day and that this was expected to rise to about 225-million cubic feet.

The initial supply would be enough to power a 700-MW combined-cycle gas turbine to supply base-load electricity or 400 MW of peaking power from an open-cycle gas turbine. These power stations would be able to compete with coal-fired power stations but would be cleaner and could be constructed in a shorter time.

Offshore oil exploration on the West Coast of South Africa

(Adds comment from the Petroleum Agency.)
JOHANNESBURG -(Dow Jones)- Petroleum Agency South Africa, the body in charge of oil and gas exploration in the country, will offer offshore areas for exploration from March 15.
The bidding round will close Sept. 30 for acreage in the Orange Basin off the west coast north of Cape Town and Tugela off the coast near Durban, the agency said in a statement on its Web site.
Companies have been invited to submit bids for either exploration rights or a technical cooperation permit, it said.
"The license round aims at increasing and sustaining South Africa's current oil and gas production with a view to increasing the country's level of self sufficiency and economic development," the agency said.
David van der Spuy, resource evaluation manager at Petroleum Agency SA, said the notice of the fourth license round was posted toward the end of February, although most unlicensed acreage is available by direct application.
The last license round was held in 2007.
-By Robb M. Stewart, Dow Jones Newswires; +27 11 783 7848; robb.stewart@dowjones.com

Modernization of Saldanha Bay facilities ups Sea Harvest capacity to 80,000 tons.

This story was written back in October 1994

Saldanha Bay, a protected inlet some 150 kilometers north of Cape Town, is home to Sea Harvest Corporation Limited. For more than a quarter of a century its fleet has docked there to unload South African hake (Merluccius capensis) and other species caught in the cold, nutrient-rich waters of the West Coast Benguela current ecosystem.

Indeed, the company's core center of activities and corporate head office are situated at Saldanha Harbour, where a factory operates from a deepwater quay built on reclaimed land. Here the trawlers are able to tie up directly alongside the plant to become a virtual part of the production line.

In 1993 a five-year building and modernization project was completed, entirely replacing the original factory and increasing work space to about 20,000 cubic meters. The premises now incorporate state-of-the-art processing systems and equipment operating in an air-conditioned, highly hygienic environment. The production facility is directly linked to the main holding warehouse, which allows for immediate temperature-controlled transfer of finished products to coldstores. With capacity of 6,000 tons, it too is on the quayside and is thus able to receive product directly from freezer-equipped factory ships.

The fish is caught and landed by a flotilla of 16 deep-sea fresh fish trawlers, seven inshore fresh fish vessels, and two factory-freezer-ships. The freezer-equipped vessels process and pack their catch to be market-ready while still on the fishing grounds.

Sea Harvest strives to remain in the forefront of the regional trawling industry through operating efficiently and cost-effectively, by development of new technology and processes, and by engaging in differentiated marketing programs. It employs more than 3,000 people and has the capacity to catch and process about 80,000 tons of fish per annum.

The company's primary focus is on natural hake, fillets and portions, as well as coated fillets, portions and snacks. Products are supplied to retail, foodservice and bulk customers. All processing is done to meet client requirements, and as such the line of items packed is wide and varied. Fish may be whole or filleted, deep-or shallow-skinned, deboned and de-fatted, or further processed into cuts such as steaks, loins and loin fillets. Customized fish block specifications also form part of the range.

The South African firm (fax: 02281-43555) consistently invests in the development of new products that appeal to changing consumer needs and address shifting trends. And methods of improving existing lines and processes are constantly under review.

"Our quality assurance program starts from the moment a net is lowered into the water," said Denis Handley. "Experience has taught that no amount of care in the factory can undo damage done by poor handling at sea."