American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2016 - 114

IndustryFocus: Companies, People and Products

TUM Opens New Building At Catalyst Research Center
MUNICH, GERMANY-Specialty
chemicals company Clariant says the
Technical University of Munich (TUM)
has inaugurated a new building for its
Catalysis Research Center (CRC), which
is home to MuniCat, the Munich catalysis
research alliance between the company
and the university.
Clariant points out that MuniCat follows an "industry on campus" approach,

in which TUM scientists and Clariant
researchers cooperate to resolve questions
of fundamental and applied research in
chemical catalysis. Since its 2010 inception, more than 50 Ph.D, master's
and B.S. students have worked on 10
successful MuniCat research projects,
the company says.
The new CRC building is dedicated
entirely to research, Clariant indicates,
with more than 75 state-of-the-art chemistry and physics laboratories to facilitate
collaboration among the 19 CRC research
teams, which represent complementary
aspects of catalyst studies.
The facility is one of TUM's largest
research centers and is adjacent to the
university's chemistry department.
For information, visit www.clariant.com.
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The MuniCat catalysis research alliance, a
partnership between Clariant and the Technical University of Munich, has relocated to
a $94 million building dedicated entirely to
research.

WellDog Receives Citation With President's 'E' Award
LARAMIE, WY.-U.S. Secretary of
Commerce Penny Pritzker presented
WellDog with the President's "E" Award
for exports at a May 16 ceremony in
Washington. WellDog notes that the
award is the highest recognition any
U.S. entity can receive for making a
significant contribution to expanding
U.S. exports and excelling in export
market innovation.
"WellDog has demonstrated a sustained
commitment to export expansion," Pritzker
stated. "The 'E' Awards committee was
very impressed with WellDog's substantial
growth in export sales from 2012 to 2015.
The company's focus on economic, environmental and societal sustainability also
was particularly notable. WellDog's
achievements undoubtedly have contributed
to national export expansion efforts that
support the U.S. economy and create
American jobs."
The company says it began exporting
its products and services to Australia in
2010, where it became a top supplier to
the Queensland coalbed methane industry.
WellDog credits the low-cost CBM environment with helping it learn to develop

cutting-edge technical solutions and deliver
them through innovative, cost-effective
business models, WellDog describes. It
adds that it subsequently has addressed
coal mine greenhouse gas emissions and
adapted its products and services to enable
commercial-scale carbon capture and sequestration.
For information, visit www.well dog.com or www.export.gov.
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LAGCOE Receives Award
Recognizing Export Service
LAFAYETTE, LA.-U.S. Secretary of
Commerce Penny Pritzker presented a
President's "E" Award for export service
to the Louisiana Gulf Coast Oil Exposition
at a ceremony on May 15 in Washington,
offering the highest recognition any U.S.
entity can receive for significant contributions to expanding U.S. exports.
In her congratulatory letter announcing the selection, Pritzker lauds LAGCOE for demonstrating a sustained commitment to export expansion. "The 'E'
Awards Committee was very impressed
with LAGCOE's work to promote sales
opportunities for oil and gas companies
in international markets," she writes.
"The company's extensive support of
matchmaking activities also was particularly notable. LAGCOE's achievements undoubtedly have contributed to
national export expansion efforts that
support the U.S. economy and create
American jobs."
"We are thrilled to receive this recognition of our hard work in assisting U.S.
companies with their international business
development efforts, reducing barriers to
foreign markets, and opening the door to
more trade around the world," says LAGCOE Executive Director Angela Cring.
"The combined efforts of our international
committee, LAGCOE volunteers, staff
and community partners play a major
role in effectively serving our companies.
We look forward to continuing to grow
our international business development
programming to further assist energy
companies with export efforts."
For information, visit www.lagcoe.com
or www.export.gov.
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Borets Adds Siemens' VFD To Its Downhole PMM Line
TULSA-Borets has added the Siemens
SINAMICS Perfect Harmony GH180
medium voltage VFD system (MV VFDS)
to its family of low-voltage drive systems
with step-up transformers and filter.
According to the company, permanent
magnet motors typically range from 93
to 95 percent efficiency, with a power
factor greater than 0.98, while their counterpart-traditionally costly induction motors-range from 85 to 87 percent efficiency
with less than 0.95 power factor. Tests of
the MV VFD's PMM ESP solution repeatedly show a 10-20 percent direct cost

114 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

savings on the operating electric bill,
Borets reports, noting these savings can
exceed $158,000 a year in operating expenses with near-unity power factor.
The company says full power proof of
concept testing in Borets' Tulsa facility
with Siemens SINAMICS Perfect Harmony drive demonstrates stable operation
from start and at varying speeds, torques
(both constant and quadratic) and loads
reflecting various well regimes of operation.
For information, visit www.borets.com.
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American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2016

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