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End Of Study Project Report
Solar Turbines Europe SA Project Operation
PREPARATION OF TECHNICAL PROPOSALS FOR INSTALLATION OF NEW
EQUIPMENT GAS TURBINE PACKAGES AND CONTROL SYSTEMS.
Christophe Huth GM5 EI Professor: Mr. Thierry Engel
Industrial Tutors: Mr.Erik DeVos
Mr.Marc Lempereur
September 2011
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 2
In Memory of my loved Grandmother who died the first week of my internship.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 3
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to thank Erik DeVos, the EAME operation manager, for the great opportunity he gave me.
However I was an intern, I was not excluded from any part of the PAE job. This sign of trust can only
be outlined. I want to thank Marc Lempereur, my tutor together with Erik DeVos, and all my col-
leagues Christine, Bruno, Eric, Jean-Baptiste and especially Luis, who taught me a lot. Are also in-
cluded the colleagues from Construction Service and their manager Joe McDonaugh, and all the oth-
er Solar employees. Naming everybody is impossible, therefore: thanks a lot for the great welcome!
I want also to thank Maxime Lecart, who informed me about this internship opportunity, and
Mr.Engel, my school tutor.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 4
TABLE OF CONTENT 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 6
2. Solar Turbines ............................................................................................................. 7
2.1 History ............................................................................................................................ 7
2.1.1 Solar turbines and compressor .......................................................................................................... 7
2.2 Solar’s portfolio .............................................................................................................. 9
2.2.1 Gas compressor sets: ......................................................................................................................... 9
2.2.2 Electrical Motor Drive (EMD): ....................................................................................................... 11
2.2.3 Generator Sets: ................................................................................................................................ 12
2.2.4 MPU: ............................................................................................................................................... 12
2.2.5 Mechanical drives: .......................................................................................................................... 12
2.3 Solar Business Units ...................................................................................................... 12
2.3.1 Oil and Gas:..................................................................................................................................... 12
2.3.2 Power generation: ............................................................................................................................ 13
2.4 Compressor station: ...................................................................................................... 13
3. The proposal .............................................................................................................. 16
3.1 Proposal Content........................................................................................................... 16
3.2 PAE Tasks for preparing a proposal ............................................................................ 17
3.2.1 Overview of the proposal tasks ....................................................................................................... 17
3.2.2 Other PAE jobs ............................................................................................................................... 24
3.3 Different proposals for different projects ..................................................................... 26
3.3.1 The tender ....................................................................................................................................... 26
3.3.2 The sales strategy ............................................................................................................................ 27
3.3.3 Construction service ........................................................................................................................ 27
3.4 Detailed description of how to build a proposal ............................................................ 29
4. The PAE Tools .......................................................................................................... 33
4.1 Phoenix .......................................................................................................................... 33
4.2 PDSWin......................................................................................................................... 33
4.3 FASTE .......................................................................................................................... 34
4.4 GasComp ...................................................................................................................... 35
4.5 Windchill ....................................................................................................................... 35
4.6 Gas Fuel Suitability ....................................................................................................... 36
4.7 Skid edge pressure ........................................................................................................ 37
4.8 API datasheet builder ................................................................................................... 37
4.9 Utility list generation ..................................................................................................... 37
4.10 Pricing build up sheet ................................................................................................... 38
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 5
4.11 The PAE website ........................................................................................................... 38
4.12 The phone and the email-service ................................................................................... 39
5. My actual Work ......................................................................................................... 40
5.1 Description of the projects: ........................................................................................... 40
5.1.1 GASUNIE Deutschland 1 (DE1) .................................................................................................... 40
5.1.2 GASUNIE Deutschland 2 (DE2) .................................................................................................... 41
5.1.3 GRT Gaz France ............................................................................................................................. 41
5.1.4 TouatGaz ......................................................................................................................................... 42
5.1.5 Dowletabad ..................................................................................................................................... 42
5.1.6 E.ON Storage .................................................................................................................................. 43
5.1.7 TIGF ................................................................................................................................................ 43
5.1.8 OMV ............................................................................................................................................... 43
5.2 My actual work ............................................................................................................. 44
5.2.1 Gasunie Deutschland 1 .................................................................................................................... 44
5.2.2 Dowletabad ..................................................................................................................................... 48
5.2.3 GRT Gaz Beynes ............................................................................................................................. 48
5.2.4 Touat Gaz ........................................................................................................................................ 50
5.2.5 Gasunie Deutschland 2 .................................................................................................................... 50
5.2.6 E.ON Storage .................................................................................................................................. 51
5.2.7 TIGF ................................................................................................................................................ 51
5.2.8 OMV ............................................................................................................................................... 51
5.3 Resume of my work ....................................................................................................... 52
6. Summary ................................................................................................................... 55
7. Table of Illustrations ................................................................................................. 56
8. Bibliography .............................................................................................................. 57
9. Annexes ..................................................................................................................... 58
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 6
1. INTRODUCTION
During the studies at the INSA Strasbourg, mainly the research and development (R&D) aspect of the
work of an engineer is taught. However, a look on the yearly graduate job report shows that engi-
neers, especially mechanical engineers, have opportunities in a lot of different functions besides the
R&D.
My end of study project is a great illustration of what type of jobs are available for engineers. The
title of this work was:
“Preparation of technical proposals for installation of new equipment gas turbine packages and
control systems.”
The aim of this work is more related to the sale process. However, R&D makes only sense if the
products can be sold. Solar Turbines Europe SA offered me the opportunity to discover this new as-
pect of an engineer’s business.
The report hereinafter presents in a first section the company and its business. Then, the proposal is
described in detail. In a third part, the tools used to create the technical proposal are presented. My
actual work, including a description of the projects I’ve worked on, is part of the last section.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 7
2. SOLAR TURBINES
Solar Turbines Inc., headquartered in San Diego (California, USA), is a subsidiary of the Caterpillar Inc.
The company is designing, manufacturing, installing and servicing gas turbine-driven generator sets,
mechanical-drive packages and centrifugal natural gas compressor sets. Solar Turbines is the leader
of industrial gas turbines in the 1 to 23 MW power range.
2 . 1 H i s t o r y
When Solar was founded in 1927, the company was a manufacturer of all-metal airplanes. In the
1930’s, Solar began the manufacturing of stainless steel manifolds for aircraft engines, and became
few time after a major supplier of manifolds, stacks and heat exchangers for both military and com-
mercial aircraft. Solar participated in the first U.S. jet engine programs beginning in 1944. The com-
pany’s knowledge in manufacturing aircraft engine components, and also achievements in high tem-
perature metallurgy, resulted in the designing and building of the first successful jet engine after-
burner.
The end of the war and new business opportunities led Solar to design gas turbines. The first radial
gas turbine (the original Mars) was introduced in 1948. The 60 HP turbine was used as an auxiliary
power unit for aircraft and mainly to power portable fire pumps for the United States Navy.
The early work in the aviation industry explains the localization of the headquarter and first facility
close to the San Diego airport. Actually, the Spirit of St. Louis, aircraft used by Charles Lindberg for his
historical flight across the Atlantic Ocean, was built in this place.
The Saturn engine, launched in the 1960’s, was the first Solar gas turbine designed for industrial ap-
plications. In opposition to other competitors, the industrial gas turbines were not modified aircraft
engines, but turbines especially designed for land/sea based application. Nowadays, more than
14,000 units are running worldwide, and this numbers rises every year by 200 units.
2.1.1 Solar turbines and compressor
The current portfolio consists in 6 turbine families, as shown below:
Illustration 1: Stainless Steel Manifold and Jet Engine Afterburner
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 8
Illustration 2: Solar turbines
The compressor sets and the mechanical drives are two shaft engines, whereas the generator sets
are mostly single shaft units. The needed flexibility for the operating of CS and MD packages requires
the separation of the compressor shaft and the power turbine shaft.
Hereinafter, the figures of the turbines for Generator set applications:
Table 1: Gas turbines for generator set applications
The table below details the dimensions and weight of the two shaft engines.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 9
Table 2: Gas turbines for compressor sets
The Titan 250 is the newest and also most powerful gas turbine in Solar’s offer. The first compressor
package driven by this turbine has been shipped to Waidhaus (Germany), close to the Czech border.
The turbines can be run with fuel gas only. Dual fuel (liquid and gaseous) engines are also available.
More and more stringent emissions regulations, also in offshore applications, led Solar to develop
low emission engines: a so called SoLoNOX version is available for nearly each type of turbine.
The company has sold over 4,000 compressor sets and 7,500 generator sets. In total, over 14,000
turbines have been sold. In order to maintain this population of units, Solar has developed a com-
prehensive customer service. Solar customer support centers are located all around the world to
cover all the countries where Solar products have been sold.
Illustration 3: Worldwide support center localization
2 . 2 S o l a r ’ s p o r t f o l i o
2.2.1 Gas compressor sets:
Solar manufactures gas compressor for several uses. The compressor is mounted on its own skid and
driven either by a turbine, or in some cases by an electrical motor.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 10
Illustration 4: Gas compressors
As shown in the table above, two compressor families are available. Applications for the gas com-
pressors are:
Gas production: for this type of application, high-pressure ratios are required to operate the
gas wells. The number of stages is therefore more important.
Oil production: associated gas is present when crude oil is extracted. This gas can be used to
counterbalance the natural pressure decrease of the well and ensure a longer oil well operat-
ing time.
Gas transport: the gas compressor has only to counterbalance the pipeline pressure drop.
The pressure ratios are low. Therefore, the number of stages is less important. High flow ca-
pabilities are required.
Illustration 5: Turbine driven generator set
Gas turbine Centrifugal
compressor
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 11
Illustration 6: European gas transportation network (source: www.dw-world.de)
Gas storage: the gas compressor is required to inject the pipeline gas into the gas storage
and also to extract the gas of it in order to feed the pipeline.
2.2.2 Electrical Motor Drive (EMD):
An electrical motor replaces the turbine on the compressor package. Advantages of this solution are
a lower noise emission, no pollutant emission and lower package price. An important disadvantage of
this solution is the reliable electrical power supply requirement, which has a great cost effect on the
projects.
Solar doesn’t manufacture electrical motors. Supplier equipment is requested and adapted on the
package in order to furnish a complete solution.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 12
Illustration 7: EMD
2.2.3 Generator Sets:
Solar Turbines is also offering a solution for power generation. The turbine drives a supplied genera-
tor in order to produce electricity. The power range extends from 1,210 kWe to 21,745kWe. The
generator sets can be equipped with a waste heat recovery unit or a steam producer for special ap-
plication.
2.2.4 MPU:
Mobile Power Units are pre-engineered, reliable and short time deliverable power generation units.
The trailer-mounted package is easy to transport and therefore a solution for emergency and tempo-
rary power needs.
2.2.5 Mechanical drives:
Turbines are not only intended to drive a generator or a Solar compressor. They can also be used to
drive a pump or OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) supplied compressors.
2 . 3 S o l a r B u s i n e s s U n i t s
Solar Turbine is split in two business units:
2.3.1 Oil and Gas:
The product range includes the gas turbine driven compressor set through the EMD, the mechanical
drives and the power generator sets, in order to provide solutions for the oil and gas market. Cus-
tomers are oil and gas producers like Exxon Mobile, Total, Shell, ENI, Lukoil, Petrobras,…, gas trans-
porters like Gasunie, GRT Gaz, OMV,… and gas storage companies like Storengy…
Compressor Electrical Motor
Gearbox
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 13
2.3.2 Power generation:
Main customers of power generation are industries and public institutions (Hospitals, Schools, Gov-
ernments…). Solar offers electrical power generation for facilities to cover customers’ need in reliable
power supply and heat or steam production for the manufacturing process (like for the food industry
or rubber industry).
2 . 4 C o m p r e s s o r s t a t i o n :
As intern within Solar Turbines, I’ve mostly worked on important proposals for compressor stations
in Germany, France and Austria.
These projects can be seen as complex projects due to the scope of supply. In fact, not only a turbo-
compressor package has to be provided, available Ex-Works in San Diego. The package has to be in-
stalled and commissioned on site by Solar. Furthermore, specific European, German, Austrian, or
French requirements and standards have to be taken into account. Therefore, Solar has to supply
specific equipment that can’t be provided by San Diego.
The European regulations and standards are different from the USA. Customers from this region,
ENAGAS, E.ON, GASUNIE, GRT Gaz, OMV, Total, ENI… are well-known and old companies. Each cus-
tomer has his own “way of doing” that has been forged by his experience. This experience is reflect-
ed in the comprehensive tender documents.
Main differences for the European market are:
The control system: the customer has drawn his own control philosophy, based on the com-
munication between the unit control system and the station control system.
The electrical system: the design of motor control systems is different due to the different
requirements, NEC in the USA, CENELEC in Europe.
The stringent noise requirements: in Europe, the requirements regarding the noise emission
especially for projects in Germany, Austria and France.
Stringent pollutant emission requirements.
Solar’s common practice is to build the package (compressor set or generator set) and to prepare it
for shipment. The customer is then responsible for the shipment, installation and commissioning on
site. He is also in charge of the interconnecting piping between the lose-shipped equipment and the
package (like the oil cooler), interconnecting cabling (between the lose shipped instruments and the
package or between the off-skid control and the package…), grouting…
In Europe, the tender often requires the delivery, installation, and commissioning on site of all the
scope of supply, which includes the turbo-compressor, the ancillaries and the electrical/control sys-
tem. In this case, Solar delivers the installations ready to be operated by the customer, including all
the needed supply to run the turbine.
Solar differentiates between the turbomachinery and the balance of plant supply. The first item in-
cludes the turbine, the compressor (in case of a compressor set) and the skid including the control.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 14
The balance of plant is composed of all the equipment needed to run the turbomachinery, like the air
inlet and exhaust, the enclosure, the ventilation, the oil cooler, the fuel gas heating and filtering,…
The Balance of plant part in European projects is sometimes as important as the turbomachinery.
Illustration 8: Typical gas compression station layout (source: www.wintershall.com)
Electrical
Building
Control Building
Compressor
Building
1
Compressor
Building
2
Gas
Cooler
Gas
Cooler Gas Network
3. THE PROPOSAL
The illustration hereinafter shows the schedule of a project.
Illustration 9: Project Schedule
3 . 1 P r o p o s a l C o n t e n t
Besides the sales engineer, the project application engineer (PAE) is the only employee directly in
contact with the customers for new equipment sales.
The project application engineer is the owner of the proposal process, which means during the first 1
to 12 month of the project. He is taking care of all the technical part of an offer. The sales engineer
manages the commercial aspects of the offer. However, the PAE determines the list price of the
project, which is adapted by the sales before submitting to the customer. The final price, which can
reach several 10 million US dollars, is never equal to the list price.
The technical proposal is a comprehensive document with all the information the customer needs to
perform an evaluation of the proposed equipment.
The technical proposal includes typically:
An introduction with a brief history of the company and the products.
A list of reference for the proposed turbine.
The listing of the scope of supply with a comprehensive list off the offered equipment to
match the customer requests.
A technical description of the main elements.
API datasheets with the different performance values.
1 to 12 month
•Technical, commercial and legal negociations (clarifications, proposal, negociations...)
12 month
•Production
3 to 12 month
•Delivery
•Installation
•Commissioning
•Tests
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 17
In the case of a compressor set: the compressor maps with the requested operating points.
Solar comments and deviations to the tender.
Solar comments and exceptions to the common API standards.
Typical drawings of the unit(s).
A list of Solar’s standard documentation delivery.
A typical delivery schedule.
Solar’s quality manual, which explains the quality insurance of the company.
Third party quality certifications.
3 . 2 P A E T a s k s f o r p r e p a r i n g a p r o p o s a l
My end of study project was the preparation of technical proposals for gas turbine package. In fact,
I’ve learn how to perform the job of the project application engineer, responsible of the technical
part of the project from the first customer questions till the handover to the project management.
I’ve learned and also performed most of the following tasks necessary to accomplish my end of study
project.
3.2.1 Overview of the proposal tasks
1. Establish Sales Strategy with Sales Engineer (Strategy Review Form)
As stated above in the report, the proposal process can’t be started without a strategy. What will
Solar offer? How much Solar will comply with the tender? The sales engineer fills the Strategy Review
Form where the project is described, some background is given, and the most important: what strat-
egy Solar, and also the strategy the PAE will follow to build the proposal.
2. Review Specifications and Create Specification Review Summary/Strategy
The first duty of the PAE is to read through the specifications as soon as he gets them. It allows him
to get an overview of the project. Furthermore, he is able to recognize what help he’d need, what
quotation he needs to prepare and what the deadlines are.
3. Select equipment for proposal
The compressor selection is performed by the system analysis group in San Diego. The PAE has to
send the customer operating points to the engineers over there.
For generator sets or mechanical drives, the PAE can select the equipment by his own by taking ref-
erence to the tender.
4. Performances calculation
For compressor sets:
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 18
The system analysis engineer provides the equipment selection with the needed mechanical power
for each specified operating point. Customers often request the turbine power and fuel consumption
for achieving the operating points with the compressor. Therefore, the PAE runs FASTE with the dri-
ven equipment speed and shaft power to get these values.
Illustration 10: Equipment selection for compressor sets
For generator sets:
The customer commonly requests the power output of the operating units taking in consideration
the ambient temperature and humidity. In this case, the PAE runs FASTE with full load output for
different operating points with changing ambient characteristics.
5. Initiate SERs for special turbine requirements, if applicable
The PAE has to check the fuel suitability. Therefore, he runs the Gas Fuel Suitability tool. If the fuel
doesn’t fulfill the requirements, a Special Engineering Request could be required. The engineer has to
fill the demand form and follow the process. The answer can be negative, so that the PAE has to go
back to the customer, who will have to clean his fuel gas before. In other cases, changes on the tur-
bine can be performed to run with the client’s gas. These modifications have cost effects and are
included by the PAE in its proposal.
6. For special lube oil coolers, intake and exhaust systems, and enclosures, or any noise is-
sues, request input from Construction Services
In European projects, Construction Service supply is often required. The PAE determines the scope of
European supply and requests a Construction Service quotation.
7. Send commercial section to Contracts group for review
This section has normally to be done by the sales engineer. However, if legal or commercial items are
“hidden” in the technical specifications, the PAE has to send them to Contracts group.
8. Establish validity of proposal (Discuss with Sales)
Depending on the project, the due date is written in the tender. If not, the PAE has to clarify the due
date with the sales engineer. Knowing the deadline is necessary for the PAE because he has to finish
the entire proposal at this date, gather all the information, comments, deviations and quotations,
and therefore has to put deadlines to all the interfaces he is in relation with.
9. Complete Project Info in Phoenix/PDSWin (if applicable)
Customer operating points and
ambient conditions sent by PAE
Compressor and Staging
Selection with GCASE
Turbine Selection
Send Equipment Selection, GCASE and Compressor Maps to PAE
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 19
The price of a project is depending on when it will be booked and when it shall be delivered. To get
the right price, the book and ship dates are to be filled in PDSWin and/or Phoenix. If not specified in
the tender, these dates are to be discussed with the sales engineer.
10. Send performance and relevant specifications to OEM equipment vendors (Compressor,
Pump, Generator, EMDs, gearboxes, anti-surge valves)
The PAE is not only in contact with Solar groups. He is the requestor for quotations regarding gear-
boxes, generators for generator sets, compressor or pumps for mechanical drives, and electrical mo-
tors for EMDs. Specific request forms have to be filled with the information the OEM needs to pro-
vide in his offer. Furthermore, the customer requests have be submitted to the vendor to allow
comments or deviations to them. If applicable, they have to be added to the proposal. The duty of
the PAE doesn’t end after sending the requests to the OEM. He is the contact for all the vendors if
questions are rising. Deadlines have to be settled and the requests have to be followed to get the
price and technical description by time.
11. Establish due date for proposal and schedule for support groups
The project application engineer has one deadline: the proposal submission date. He has to manage
all his interfaces to get all the information and quotations he needs by time prior finishing the pro-
posal.
12. Establish strategy for technical offer from Sales Engineer
The strategy for the technical offer is settled in the Strategy Review Form. However, changes during
the proposal process can lead the PAE to review the strategy with the sales engineer.
13. Obtain necessary information on how proposal is to be submitted, who is to be submit-
ted to, number of copies required. The addresses to send the proposal
14. Determine Construction Services scope of supply (if applicable) and notify them of needs
Like stated hereinafter, European projects often include items that are not part of Solar’s standard
supply. Whether some of them are not available, or not compliant with European standards. These
items have therefore to be quoted and later provided by Construction Service Gosselies.
15. Send the specifications off for review that are too difficult to comment to
Three project support engineers are available to support the PAEs. Senior PAEs in San Diego can also
be a well of information. In some particular cases, like for commenting standards, for specific engi-
neering requirements (e.g. for the EMD) etc, specific groups can also be contacted.
16. Send Solar specifications to Vendors when soliciting quotes from them
Solar has own engineering specifications the supplier has to respect. Supply that is not compliant
with these specifications can’t be used in the project in order to avoid issues.
17. Send the requested information to Prime vendors at their request
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 20
Depending on the project, Solar is not the prime supplier. This is the case if the company only sup-
plies the compressor, and others all the driver equipment. Solar acts as a supplier for another com-
pany bidding for the customer project.
18. Submit lube oil and interface requirements to Compressor/Pump vendors
If Solar only provides the mechanical drive, without own compressor, and another company supplies
the driven equipment, the PAE has to communicate to the supplier all design information needed to
assure the assembling and well performing of the entire package.
19. Obtain pricing for Customer Service Scope of Supply (Training, Commissioning, Spare
Parts and Tools lists, special Warranty)
Depending on the tender, the customer requests a offer including the on-site training, the commis-
sioning of the provided equipment, spare parts and tools, special warranties… The PAE has to include
the price for each of this item in his price and shall therefore request a quotation by sending a RFQ to
different contacts within customer service. The PAE has to gather all the quotations by time for the
proposal.
20. Make comments and exceptions to Specifications
Like stated in this report, comments and exceptions to customer specifications have to be included in
the proposal. Otherwise, the customer wouldn’t accept, and even notice them. In this case, it would
mean that Solar is compliant with all the specifications, and shall, if awarded, provide fully compliant
equipment. Solar would bear a great technical and financial risk.
21. Obtain field services rates and lump sum pricing for field work if required
These items are project specific and the PAE has to contact the district service manager to get the
quote.
22. Review comments and exceptions received back from discipline engineers
The PAE has to gather all the technical information and the comments coming from the different
support groups. A review is necessary to ensure that the comments are applicable to the proposal.
He is the only person who can perform this because of his overview of the project.
23. Complete deviations to Customer Specifications
The PAE comments, support groups comments, standard comments and supplier comments have to
be put together and included in the proposal.
The more comments and deviations to customer requests have to be added, the worth it is. Indeed,
the customer wants to buy what he really requested. But comments and deviations protect Solar
from expensive and unrealizable customer whishes. The compliance with the customer requests is
stated in the sales strategy.
24. Modify API deviations to the specific project, if applicable
APIs are standards of the American Petroleum Institute (API). The customer always requests the
compliance to these standards. Solar’s deviations to these have to be transmitted to the customer.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 21
25. Establish Scope in Phoenix/PDSWin
Once the compressor and engine selection has been performed by the System Analysis group, the
PAE can choose the equipment in Phoenix or PDSWin.
26. Develop Custom features for Scope with pricing
The basic items for a standard package are included in the PDSWin/Phoenix selection. In order to
comply with the tender and therefore to customize the package, so-called custom-features can be
added to the equipment selection. Some of the custom features have already been created for pre-
vious projects, and the PAE has to find it in the Windchill database. If a custom feature isn’t available
to respond to the customer requests, the PAE contacts the support group in San Diego and coordi-
nates with the engineer the creation of the new custom feature.
27. Create performance section of proposal
The performance section is an important part of the proposal. The GCASE with the customer re-
quested point is included. If performance guarantees are required, the PAE has to contact the system
analysis group for approval of the figures with the intern tolerances. He is also in charge of getting
the performance values from the suppliers of the compressor/pump/generator and the EMD if appli-
cable.
28. Fill in Data Sheets
API datasheets are used to summarize the performance of the supplied main equipment (turbine,
compressor, and gearbox). They use standard descriptions, which can be understood by all the par-
ties involved in the project. The PAE is also in charge of filling all the datasheets requested by the
customer (like consumption/CO2 emissions, maintenance costs… for the OPEX calculation) and has
therefore to contact other departments, perform some searches are run some performance calcula-
tions.
29. Review delivery terms and discuss with sales engineer and PAE Manager
The delivery doesn’t only include the transport from the Solar factory to the site. The Incoterms are
specific, worldwide applicable rules for the delivery of goods. The main question is: where does the
transfer of property take place, that means when stops the responsibility of Solar. Commonly, the
delivery terms are stated in the tender. Depending on the Solar strategy, deviations can be applied
and shall be discussed with the sales engineer. When the terms are settled, the PAE has to request a
quotation for the delivery of the goods.
30. Make updates to Scope Section (Phoenix/PDSWin Output)
The proposal process is a living process. Nothing is settled until the submission of the proposal.
Therefore, the PAE has to update the equipment selection.
31. Develop Commercial Section with Sales Engineer
The PAE prepares the pricing of the proposal including the list price of the standard equipment, cus-
tom features and other quotes (construction service, customer service, freight…). All the prices are
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 22
filled in the pricing build up sheet. The final price, and also the payment terms, are prepared and
added to the proposal by the sales engineer.
32. Review proposal after assembled and before sending to Customer
In general, those tasks are necessary for creating a proposal. The number can vary depending on the
project. However, every item is important to get a complete proposal that can be sent to the cus-
tomer. The illustration hereinafter summarizes the PAE tasks for the preparation of a technical pro-
posal.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 23
Review of the specifications
Equipment Selection
Determine Scope of Supply
Clarify Strategy
Request Quotations
Perform Gas Fuel Suitability
Request SER
Clarify technical issues
Request Internal Quotation
Construction Service
Spare parts and tools
Technical Training
Freight
Warranty
… Request Anti-surge analysis
Request External Quotation
OEM driven equipment
Electrical driver
Anti-surge valve
Strainer
…
Turbomachinery
Construction Service
Supplier/OEM
Prepare Proposal
Pricing Build-Up sheet
Prepare Proposal Inserts
Performance
API datasheets
Utility lists
Drawings
Comments
…
ACS Selection in PDSWin/Phoenix
Finalize proposal
Finalize Selection
Prepare Price build up sheet
Finalize scope description
Finalize proposal and Han-
dover to sales/customer
Illustration 11: PAE tasks for the preparation of a technical proposal
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 24
3.2.2 Other PAE jobs
The PAE job doesn’t start with the publishing of the tender and ends with the submission of the pro-
posal to the customer.
Indeed, the proposal is the main and most important document created by the PAE during a 4 to 6
weeks period. Projects last years, from the feed studies to the award of the winner. During all the
phases in between, the PAE is the main technical contact for the potential customer. The illustration
bellow shows the different steps of a proposal where the PAE is involved.
Illustration 12: The PAE tasks
Each project and each customer is different. Therefore, the proposal process is strongly dependent
on both the project and the customer. The sales engineer has to establish a sales strategy, which has
to be discussed with the PAE. The company’s proposed equipment and services will be strongly de-
pendant of a Strategy Review Form filled by both engineers.
The tender is commonly the last request sent by the customer before awarding the job. In fact, this
document is the result of a long preparation process. The customer often requests clarifications in
order to prepare the tender documents. The questions are transmitted to the PAE through the sales
engineer. Answering these issues is the task of the PAE, who gets in touch with the technical teams in
San Diego. This phase is interesting for both parties: the client can have a first overview of what
equipment Solar is supplying and Solar has a first approach of the project.
Building a compressor station is an important and complex project. It represents an important in-
vestment and technical risk. Commonly, a compressor station must be built every 200 km in order to
Hand over of the project to the project manager
Book the project if awarded
Participate to clarification meetings
Answer clarifications
Prepare the proposal
Answer clarifications after submitting the budget proposal
Prepare budget proposal
Answer first technical questions for Feed studies
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 25
compensate the pressure losses in the gas pipeline. The complexity of the projects, due to the regu-
lations, the technical issues and the economical aspects (costs, return on investment ROI…) is illu-
strated through the duration of the projects. It’s common that a compressor station is built five or
more years after the first feed studies. During this time, some budget proposals have been issued
and some clarifications given, so that the final tender and the proposal will be the result of these
clarifications.
Projet Application
Engineer
Customer
Service
Marketing
System analysis
Anti-surge
control
PAE support
engineer
Construction
service OEM supplier(s)
Certification
group
Other Solar
Teams
Sales manage-
ment
Engineering compa-
ny
Customer
Finance depart-
ment
Legal department
Sales engineer
Illustration 13: PAE interfaces
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 26
3 . 3 D i f f e r e n t p r o p o s a l s f o r d i f f e r e n t p r o j e c t s
The architecture of a project can be different from one project to the other. We can distinguish be-
tween:
A customer only project. The final customer has his own engineering team who designs the
compressor station and issues the tenders. (e.g. GRT Gaz)
An Engineer-Customer project. The final customer has chosen an engineering company to
design and issue the tender together with his engineering team. (e.g. Gasunie Deutschland)
An EPC-project (EPC: Engineering-Procurement-Construction). Several EPCs design the com-
pressor station and issue tenders. The final customer awards an EPC after comparison of the
offers. (e.g. Dowletabad) In some cases, the final customer performs a feed study by another
company than the EPC later in the race.(e.g. Touat Gaz)
Depending on the project architecture, the strategy of the proposal will be different. Also, each
project is unique, depending on following characteristics.
3.3.1 The tender
The basis for the proposal is the tender. The document is the expression of the customer needs. The
tender in the projects I’ve worked on, consisted of several documents:
The introduction of the tender with a description of the project, the proposal and project
schedule, the description of how the proposal shall be submitted (hard and/or soft copies,
number of copies, how to submit, where/whom to send to…) and the summary of all the
documents in the tender.
The commercial Terms and Conditions (T&C) for the purchasing of equipment.
The main technical specification, which is the backbone of the tender and therefore the main
reference for the PAE. This document includes all the technical aspects the equipment has to
fulfill (scope of supply, standards, operating points, ambient conditions, ancillaries, enclo-
sure, control system, electrical system, painting, fire & gas detection…).
Technical specifications. The main specification refers to a lot of specific requirements, such
as material requirements, design of valves, electrical systems, customer standards,…
Data sheets. Those data sheets (e.g. API 616, 617) are like the main specification a descrip-
tion of the scope of supply. In this case, the description acknowledge standards, that means
that the used wording and description is standardizes and can be understood by any compet-
itor.
The tender can also include some data sheets to fill in, for example regarding OPEX cost calculation
or document transmittal.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 27
3.3.2 The sales strategy
As stated in the PAE tasks above, the first duty of a PAE is to determine the sales strategy with the
Sales Engineer. This review is commonly done by filling the Strategy Review Form, a document that
summarizes the important items like purpose of the proposal, description of the project, customer,
competitors, and Solar’s position compared to the competitors (positive and negative points). A pro-
posal can’t be issued without a sales strategy. In fact, the compliance with tender requirements,
through the equipment selection, will be different from one project to the other depending on the
strategy. For example, Solar’s strategy regarding the Gasunie and the GRT Gaz project was to comply
as much as possible with the specifications, in contrary to the Algerian project, were the selection
was standard. Reason of this different choice was the customer. In the first case, the tender has been
issued by the final customer (Gasunie Deutschland and GRT Gaz). After submitting the proposal, the
winner will be awarded and the project will be realized. In the other case, the tender has been issued
by the feed engineering company. At this stage, the EPC is unknown and the project realization will
be later in time. Other tenders will be issued by the customer or the end-user before awarding and
purchasing of the equipment.
3.3.3 Construction service
Solar Turbines Europe has created the so-called construction service in order to fulfill the require-
ments of the expanded scope projects in Europe. Currently, the service, headed by Joe McDonaugh,
is composed of four project manager and two project engineers. The team has two tasks:
Preparing the technical offers for the European supply to be included in Solar’s proposal.
Managing of the projects with European scope of supply. Those projects are headed by two
project managers: one, based in San Diego, is responsible for US-supply, which means mainly
for the turbomachinery. The second one, based in Gosselies, is responsible for the balance of
plant. The overall project managing might be provided by the turbomachinery manager or
the balance of plant manager. This depends on the amount of European supply, and on the
customer. A general rule doesn’t exist.
Most projects I’ve worked on during my end of study work included some European supplied equip-
ment. I had the opportunity to join the construction service in order to discover another aspect of
Solar Turbines, and also to participate on another important part of a technical offer. As told before,
the PAE is responsible for the technical proposal. Construction service is one of the interfaces he is in
touch with. After a first review of the customer specification, he defines in collaboration with con-
struction service the European scope of supply. Highly customization often limits the US supply, so
that Gosselies has to take care of it. A project manager is assigned to the offer. He prepares the offer
for the construction service scope of supply.
During my time within the construction service, I’ve worked on a balance of plant offer regarding the
GRT Gaz project for a new compressor station in France. The specifications included a certain amount
of customization and stringent noise requirements. Therefore, the balance of plant is in Solar Tur-
bines Europe scope of supply. Following items are often included in the scope:
Air inlet and exhaust system: the standard inlet and exhaust system can’t fulfill the noise re-
quirements. Bigger silencers are required.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 28
Off-skid enclosure: the turbo-compressor units shall be installed outside, without a surround-
ing concrete building. To fulfill the stringent noise requirements, the enclosure noise perfor-
mance shall be superior to the standard enclosure supplied by San Diego. To allow mainten-
ance and easy access, a one-meter walk-around was specified in the tender. Therefore, an
off-skid enclosure, specifically design for this project, shall be proposed.
Enclosure ventilation: the noise requirements are the driver for the European supply of the
ventilation. Furthermore, the ATEX regulation requires an adequate ventilation of the com-
plete enclosure. Since the enclosure is off-skid, that means bigger than the standard one, the
ventilation has to be designed for the project.
Oil cooler: the noise requirements concerned also this equipment of the scope of supply.
Gas cooler: that equipment shall cool the gas that has flown through the compressor. During
recycling phases, the compressed gas is redirected to the compressor input to be brought to
a higher pressure. The temperature limit at the compressor intake shall not be achieved to
avoid a shutdown. The gas cooler assures that the trigger temperature is not achieved. Solar
Turbines San-Diego doesn’t offer such type of equipment. One reason is the fact that the
cooler is more process related, and is not required for the normal turbo-compressor opera-
tion.
Process gas strainer: this strainer is installed at the compressor inlet. It prevents the intro-
duction of solid particles in the compressor, which could damage the impellers due to the
high velocity. As standard supply, Solar can offer a temporary strainer for the start-up of the
unit. Remaining particles in the process piping, result of welding works and other installation
steps are filtered out of the process gas. Some European customers request a permanent
strainer, which may avoid any damages from particles during the compressor lifetime. The
permanent strainer is supplied by a German company and is therefore in the construction
service scope of supply.
MCC: the function of a Motor Control Cabinet is the control of all the electrical actuators in
the balance of plant (gas cooler and oil cooler fans, enclosure ventilation,…).
Process instrumentation: normally, Solar’s scope of supply doesn’t include process instru-
mentation in the field (temperature transmitters, pressure transmitters, flow meters). The
package supplied by Solar includes all the necessary equipment for the compressor opera-
tion. Regardless, in expanded scope projects, the customers require such type of instrumen-
tation to control the process.
Electrical installation: the control system cabinet (in case of an off-skid control), the VFD (va-
riable frequency drive), the MCC, the battery, the battery charger etc, are loosed shipped
equipment. Expanded scope projects require the complete installation of the electrical cabl-
ing between the different supplies.
Installation and commissioning: in this case, Solar is responsible for the installation of the
turbo-compressor, including the electrical cabling and the piping (excluded the process pip-
ing, e.g. the gas pipe to the compressor inlet and after the compressor outlet). As stated
above, the customer requests a ready to use installation.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 29
Seal gas filter and heater: depending on the customer specifications and operational parame-
ters of the process, a seal gas filter and heater can be required.
Seal gas booster: depending on the customer specification and operational parameters of the
process, a seal gas booster may be required. It can be supplied either by San-Diego or by
construction service Gosselies.
Fuel gas heater and filter: depending on the customer specification and Solar’s fuel gas re-
quirements, a fuel gas heater and filter skid may be supplied by Gosselies. A standard pack-
age includes by default a filter with minimum performances.
Block and bleed valve: this valve is standard equipment in European installations. German
customers request a well-known valve supplier equipment (Kühme).
Fire and gas system: Solar’s standard fire and gas detection system doesn’t comply with Eu-
ropean regulations. Therefore, construction service supplies the fire and gas detection sys-
tem for packages in the EU.
The PAE has to include a technical description of the whole supply including the equipment provided
by the construction service, and a price to add to his selection-pricing. Therefore, construction ser-
vice has to request quotes from suppliers and prepare its own technical offer to add to the main pro-
posal.
3 . 4 D e t a i l e d d e s c r i p t i o n o f h o w t o b u i l d a p r o -
p o s a l
There is no doubt that the tender is the main and only reference for the proposal. In fact, it’s the
expression of the customer needs. That means that Solar will only offer what was clearly described in
the document.
The tender can be a comprehensive document. Each customer/engineering company has its own
vocabulary, especially when the companies are not coming from an English speaking country. The
requests don’t start from an empty sheet of paper. The opposite is the fact. Indeed, previous projects
are the basis for the tender document. Therefore, the described requests can be closer to the way of
doing of a concurrent. In such a case, Solar can comply as much as possible with the tender, even if
the solution is not standard and results in a cost increase without operational benefit for the end
user. The strategy is driving this choice.
The major task of a PAE is to decrypt what the customer requested in its tender. If a specific point is
not included in the standard package features, he has to find a way to add it in the proposal.
The technical proposal is based on operating points the compressor will perform. Therefore, the
compressor selection is an important step in the proposal. The tender commonly includes an API617
Data-sheet. This standardized form is filled with the operation points, the ambient conditions, the
gas composition, information about material and control…. Furthermore, the driver is chosen de-
pending on the compressor. The selection of the compressor is done in San Diego by the system
analysis and field performance team. To perform this selection, the engineers are using a Solar soft-
ware, called GCASE. The inputs are:
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 30
Gas composition: needed for the specific gravity
Suction pressure
Gas temperature at suction pressure
Discharge pressure
Standard flow
The tool calculates the energy needed to achieve the pressure rise. The output is a list of different
compressor stage configuration. The choice of the compressor staging is driven by the isentropic
efficiency and, with the help of FASTE, the best turbine match. The compressor is not project specific
engineered. The impellers are pre-engineered parts. Each compressor is build to match the re-
quested duty by assembling those pre-engineered impellers. Each impeller type is simulated per CFD
analysis. The simulation is confirmed by real aerodynamic tests. The values measured during this step
are fed into GCASE and are the backbone of the compressor selection.
The selection of the equipment for the proposal can’t be started before the compressor selection is
done. Therefore, this information is marking the first tollgate in the proposal project. Once the com-
pressor selection has been issued by the San Diego team, the driver is known, and the proposal
process can continue.
Based on the compressor selection and its performance on the operating points, a surge analysis has
to be performed. The compressor selection file is therefore sent to another team in San Diego, who is
taking care of the anti-surge analysis and provides the sizing of the anti-surge valve (and, if neces-
sary, the fast stop valve). These results are the basis of and request for quotation sent to Mokveld, a
well known valve manufacturer.
As noticed hereinabove, the PAE shall recognize all the requests and translate them in Solar proce-
dures.
This is for example the case for customer services related items. The tender can include a request for
on-site technical training, spare parts and tooling, maintenance contracts or commissioning. All those
services are provided by Solar, but have to be quoted for each project. Therefore, the PAE has to fill
and send Request For Quotation (RFQ) forms to the appropriate person (for example, the training is
quoted from Dublin, the parts and tooling from San Diego, and the commissioning from the district
manager customer service). Inputs are the type of machines, the dates, the location and the accurate
description of the request (e.g. for the spare parts: start up and commissioning parts, 2 years con-
sumable, capital spare parts,…).
The PAE gathers all the quotes and includes the description of the supply in his proposal and the
price in the pricing build up sheet. Depending on the requests stated in the tender, a comprehensive
spare parts and tooling list has to be added to the proposal. An RFQ form has also to be filled and
sent to San Diego, where the list is made starting from the ACS selection. Some customers requests
none Solar standard warranties. Especially for expanded scope projects, the warranty has to be ex-
pended (installation will also be covered by the warranty) and extended (a longer warranty time after
on site delivery or completion of work). Those specific warranties represent business risks for Solar,
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 31
and therefore have a cost. The expended and extended warranty has also to be requested from San
Diego.
San Diego is supplying standard, pre-engineered equipment, including the turbine and the compres-
sor on their skids, the on-skid enclosure and the ancillaries. Especially the ancillaries don’t fulfill the
customer noise requirements. The tender also includes some detailed requirements regarding the oil
cooler, the gas cooler, seal gas supply, off-skid enclosure, Waste heat recovery units…. In the case of
an expanded supply project, Solar has to take care of the installation of all the compressor units in-
cluding installation and commissioning. For all those items, Construction Service has to provide a
quotation. After reading of the tender, the PAE gets in touch with construction service to determine
the European part of the supply.
Once all the requests for quotation are sent, the actual equipment selection can be started. This se-
lection in Phoenix or in PDSWin is based on the specifications of the tender.
First, the basic selection is performed:
1. Type of package: compressor set/generator set/mechanical drive, engine, dual fuel, SoLoNOX
CENELEC or NEC package requirements, voltage (3-Phase and single phase)
2. Lube oil system: engine driven or AC lube oil pump, type of oil, lube oil cooler size,…
3. Compressor: package architecture (direct drive or gearbox, single/tandem compressor…),
type of compressor, compressor staging, seal gas system,…
4. Compressor control: anti-surge valve, type of process control (flow, pressure…)
5. Gearbox: speed increaser/decreaser, ratio,…
6. Control system: on/offskid control, communication interface, printer, remote desktop, lan-
guage,…
7. Quality: certifications (e.g. CE Mark), language of the Operator Maintenance and Interface
manual, number of OMI hard/soft copies, customer degree of observance,…
8. Inlet system: filter, silencer, ducting, material…
9. Exhaust system: silencer, ducting, material…
10. Enclosure: driver/full enclosure, ventilation, material, fire and gas detection and extinguish-
ing system…
As stated hereinbefore, the selection is based on the specifications exposed in the tender. The gen-
eral items of every project are covered by that selection. Customer specific requests can be handled
through so-called custom-features. These customizing items are created to respond to specific de-
mands and can therefore be project specific. The custom features are classified in a database and can
be found through a word search are after review with the engineers in San Diego. If none of the ex-
isting custom feature covers the request, the custom feature can be created and added to the ACS
selection by either the PAE or the engineering team in San Diego. Each custom feature includes a
description of the purpose and a price.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 32
The European projects are thoroughly customized. Therefore, the number of custom feature to add
to the basic selection can include more than 20 items. The toughest part of the PAE-job is to recog-
nize the special request of the customer in the request and to find/create the appropriate custom
feature.
The ACS is a living document. In fact, its purpose is not only to calculate the price, but also to de-
scribe what has been agreed upon the booking. The engineering and the production of the package is
based on this document and it should therefore be as accurate as possible to avoid issues during the
execution of the project.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 33
4. THE PAE TOOLS
A PAE has the access to several tools in order to generate the proposal and to answer the questions
of the customer. The none exhaustive list below describes some of them.
4 . 1 P h o e n i x
Phoenix is a proposal generation tool. The software has been implemented in order to simplify the
creation of the proposal. The offered equipment is selected in a tabs and drop list interface. The se-
lection is controlled in order to avoid unbuildable configurations. The standard documentation (his-
tory, references, description of the equipment, API comments,…) are included in the tool. They just
need to be selected. Additional information, like performance curves, API datasheets, training and
spare parts description, can be easily uploaded. The output of the software is the technical proposal,
with all the wording, the scope of supply, performances values and curves, etc… in a unique PDF fill
ready to be sent to the customer. The selection is exportable to PDSWin.
Illustration 14: Phoenix
4 . 2 P D S W i n
However PDSWin is used by the PAE in order to create the selection of the scope of supply, reducing
this tool to this function is a mistake. In fact, the selection done by the PAE will be used from the
creation of the proposal till the shipment of the built equipment from all the technical departments
of Solar. Indeed, the ACS (name given to the equipment selection) is the ID of the supply, like a guide-
line for every step in the manufacturing. PDSWin contains also the prices for the different items that
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 34
can be selected. The price building spreadsheet, Utility list generation and the API datasheet builder
are fed by PDSWin. An important issue is that the selection isn’t applying rules to check the selection.
Therefore, the selection must be performed thoroughly.
Illustration 15: PDSWin
4 . 3 F A S T E
FASTE is the turbine performance prediction tool. Based on measured performance values, correc-
tions are applied to adapt the known values to the project application. Inputs are:
Type of turbine (product family, 1 or 2 shaft, SoLoNOx, type of fuel)
Gas composition
Ambient Temperature, Relative Humidity, Site Elevation,
Inlet and Exhaust losses,
Gearbox losses,
Operating point,
The outputs are the predicted performance of the turbine running according to the site conditions,
the process and the gas composition. Those performances are:
Heat input
Fuel consumption. This value is calculated from the heat input and the gas fuel composition.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 35
Exhaust temperature. This value is important if the exhaust system includes a waste heat re-
covery unit.
Efficiency
Output power
Turbine Speed
Load
FASTE analyses are often performed to answer questions coming from the customer.
4 . 4 G a s C o m p
This tool is a little PAE “helper” in order to get a first compressor selection for a compressor set. The
inputs of this Excel sheet are:
Gas inlet temperature
Gas inlet pressure
Standard flow
Gas Outlet pressure
Isentropique efficiency
Gas composition. The gas composition is needed to convert the standard flow into the actual
flow for a given temperature.
Solar’s compressors cover a large range of flow and head. The input described above results in an
operating point, which is placed on a head vs flow diagram. The compressor operating areas are also
plotted on this graph, so that the operating point can be matched with the best compressor. As
stated above, this tool is only a first approach of the compressor selection. In fact, a so called system
analyst group is taking care of the compressor selection with a more comprehensive tool, named
GCASE, which allows the accurate design selection with for example Redlich-Kwong approaches. The
compressor selection output includes also the driver selection.
4 . 5 W i n d c h i l l
Windchill is a large database. All the drawings, CAD parts, procedures, technical documentation, cus-
tom features,… are centralized in this PTC software. The PAE mainly uses this tool to access to the
drawings and the custom features.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 36
Illustration 16: Windchill
4 . 6 G a s F u e l S u i t a b i l i t y
The purpose of this tool is to check the gas composition provided by the customer. This composition
is put in the software. The values for each component are compared to set values included in tool.
Following values are important to check the gas suitability:
Content in methane: the turbines are designed to run with high methane content gas.
Content in hydrogen: this gas has a high “Lower Heating Value” that could lead to higher
combustion temperatures.
Content in sulfur.
Water content.
The gas composition is compared to Solar’s requirements for fuel. If the water or the sulfur concen-
tration is above the prescribed limit, the tool informs the PAE that a Special Engineering Request has
to be launched, that means that the standard design of turbine has to be changed to allow the run-
ning with this fuel. Another purpose of this tool is to provide the gas fuel supply temperature versus
the gas pressure. This information is important to assure that the gas fuel will never reach the gas
dew point and the water dew point. If water is present in the gas fuel, it shall be gaseous in order to
prevent the formation of acid when associated with sulfur. These curves are included in the proposal
to inform the customer how the fuel must be supplied.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 37
4 . 7 S k i d e d g e p r e s s u r e
This tool provides curves that are included in the proposal. Those curves are gas fuel flow pressure
and versus gas fuel supply temperature. Those data’s are necessary to assure the correct fuel supply
in the combustion chamber in order to control the burning of the fuel, and therefore to assure the
power output of the turbine.
4 . 8 A P I d a t a s h e e t b u i l d e r
Commonly, API 616 and 617 data sheets are included in the tender. These data sheets summarize all
the characteristics the gas turbine (API 616) and the gas compressor (API617) shall possess. In the API
616, following information can be found:
Site conditions
Fuel composition
Materials
Bearing type
Control system
Type of instrumentation (e.g. for the vibration analysis)
…
Regarding the gas compressor, following information are provided:
Site conditions
Description of the operating points
Process gas composition
Material
Type of sealing
…
The turbine and gas compressor selection is based on those data sheets. Solar provides filled API data
sheets to the customer with the characteristic of the offered equipment. Those sheets are not filled
by hand. The API Datasheet builder is a tool to build the API documents. It’s linked to the ACS selec-
tion in PDSWin and builds by its own the data sheets with the characteristic of the chosen equip-
ment.
4 . 9 U t i l i t y l i s t g e n e r a t i o n
The utility list summarizes the utilities the customer has to provide for allowing the turbine to run.
Those utilities are:
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 38
Electrical power,
Lube oil (type, requirements),
Oil cooler flow and outlet temperature,
Water (for the engine cleaning system),
Instrument air (for the valve actuators),
The tool is also linked to the PDSWin selection. Depending on the turbine, the chosen features and
the ambient conditions, the utility list is built based on the ACS selection.
4 . 1 0 P r i c i n g b u i l d u p s h e e t
The pricing build up sheet is the base document for the commercial part of the proposal. The PDSWin
configuration pricing is imported in the Excel work sheet. Other prices need a manual input, such as
the freight, training, spare parts, tooling, and construction service costs. The finished price build up
sheet is communicated to the sales engineer. It’s his base document for preparing the final price of
the proposal, with all the discounts approved by the sales manager and the executive management.
4 . 1 1 T h e P A E w e b s i t e
The PAE website includes references to numerous documents and technical information the PAE has
to look at not only for the preparation of a technical proposal, but also to answer customer ques-
tions. Product Information Letters are available with information regarding Solar products, and can
be shared with the customer. Product Information Bulletins provide technical information and Solar
practice for internal use.
The PAE website also links to all the PAE tools, and is therefore a main tool.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 39
Illustration 17: PAE website
4 . 1 2 T h e p h o n e a n d t h e e m a i l - s e r v i c e
Both communication means are necessary for the PAE. The communication with people all over the
world is an important aspect of the daily business.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 40
5. MY ACTUAL WORK
5 . 1 D e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e p r o j e c t s :
5.1.1 GASUNIE Deutschland 1 (DE1)
This project was the first one I’ve been assigned to. The tender was the first specifications I’ve read.
Some background is needed to understand the project.
GASUNIE is the biggest Dutch gas transport network operator (15,000 km). The state own company
was founded in 1963. The company bought in 2005 the transport network from the German BEB
Erdgas und Erdoel GmbH (3,200 km). The illustration hereinafter shows the pipeline network of
GASUNIE Deutschland. The pipelines are located in the North-West part of Germany.
Illustration 18: Gasunie Deutschland network (source: www.gasunie.de)
GASUNIE Deutschland and the Dansk energy companies have agreed the supply of gas to Denmark
starting from 2013. To comply with this contract, GASUNIE has to improve its transport capacity. To
achieve this goal, GASUNIE has chosen the German engineering company ILF to design a new com-
pressor station in Schleswig Holstein.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 41
GASUNIE and ILF issued mid March a tender for the providing of the turbo-compressor units. The
supply includes three units with a total installed power of 18 MW. The expanded scope project in-
cludes an important balance of plant supply.
5.1.2 GASUNIE Deutschland 2 (DE2)
The second GASUNIE Deutschland project was related to the refurbishment of an existing station
located close to the Dutch border. The station is equipped with two turbo-compressor units installed
in an unique compressor building. During normal operation, only one unit is running, but in case of
maintenance operations on one unit, the whole station must be shut down. GASUNIE has contracted
the German engineering company IBB for the project.
The tender issued mid of June includes the supply of an additional turbo-compressor unit to be in-
stalled outside. The unit shall be similar to the GASUNIE Deutschland 1 units. That means an impor-
tant balance of plant supply including an off-skid enclosure. As an option, the proposal shall include
the replacement of one existing unit, as first alternative only the turbine, as second alternative the
complete package. The second existing unit will be removed. This project is also an expanded scope
project.
5.1.3 GRT Gaz France
GRT Gaz is the main French gas network operator. The company belongs to the state owned GDF-
Suez.
The project comprises the furniture of two 12 MW turbo-compressor units for a transport applica-
tion. The station shall be located close to an existing station and gas storage close to the French capi-
tal. Like both Gasunie projects mentioned above, the tender describes a expanded scope project.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 42
Illustration 19: GRT Gaz network (source: www.grtgaz.com)
5.1.4 TouatGaz
The Touat Gasfield is the biggest Gasfield in Algeria. A French engineering company is in charge of a
feed study to determine the feasibility of the installation. Solar only proposes generator sets for the
power supply needed to run the production. The tender included a lot of specifications. But at this
stage of the project, the review of those specifications is not a priority. Therefore, I prepared the
proposal based on Solar’s standard supply. Through our proposal, we sent to the customer informa-
tion he needs to build his project (capabilities of Solar’s supply, budget costs…). The customer speci-
fications will only be review in detail when the actual EPC is awarded, and the project is close to
booking.
5.1.5 Dowletabad
Dowletabad is a Turkmen gasfield located close to the Iran border. Solar had to prepare a compres-
sor set firm proposal for a Czech EPC. The final engineer hadn’t been awarded at this stage of the
project. The equipment selection was only based on the operating points and the gas composition.
The customer didn’t issue a tender with specifications. Therefore, the proposal offered only standard
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 43
features. The EPC came back after the analysis of our proposal with some technical questions I had to
answer to.
5.1.6 E.ON Storage
E.ON is one of the four biggest energy providers in Germany (with ENBW, RWE and Vattenfall) and
owns a large part of the German gas network. The company is planning a gas storage and performs
therefore a feed study regarding the installation. Solar’s scope of supply would include compressor
sets to boost the gas back into the pipeline after removing of the storage. Solar had to provide a
budget proposal regarding compressor sets driven by an electric motor.
5.1.7 TIGF
TIGF is belonging to the TOTAL Company. This customer is the only European onshore user of Solar
EMD packages. To increase the amount of transported gas, the company is aiming to add an electric-
al motor driven compressor set to an existing station. A feed study is performed. Therefore, Solar had
to send a budget proposal to the customer.
5.1.8 OMV
OMV is the biggest Austrian gas and oil company. The new project has been issued to replace two
existing compressor sets driven by turbines by two electric motor driven compressor sets. This
project is also an expanded scope project.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 44
5 . 2 M y a c t u a l w o r k
When I came beginning of February to Solar, I was fully unaware of the company and its business. I
had some poor knowledge on gas turbines and compressors. So my first duty in my position of intern
was to meet all my new colleagues and to learn as much as possible about the theory of gas turbines
and compressors. The next step was the gathering of as much information as possible about Solar’s
products. The most difficult point is to recognize what is included in the standard scope of supply,
and what isn’t.
Additional to this, I attended trainings about vibration monitoring, generator controls, compressors,
finance, etc with the project operation team. I also worked a couple of days in the overhaul shop and
the test cell in Gosselies in order to give a practical base to my basic theoretical knowledge.
Illustration 20: Different knowledge improvement
5.2.1 Gasunie Deutschland 1
After less than one month of reading documents, I was assigned to the GASUNIE Deutschland 1
project. At that time, the tender has been issued. The main PAE explained me the history of this
project, and I started to read through the specifications, which included more than 200 pages.
1.2.1.5 Codes & Standards Comments
For this first step of the proposal, I was in charge of the comments regarding the codes and standards
mentioned in the tender documents. Comment means a Solar statement if the company comply with
the requested text or not. I first created a summary list with all the requested codes and standards. I
could comment some of them by taking reference to previous German projects. But most of the
standards weren’t commented yet. Therefore, I had to get in touch with the certification group based
in San Diego. The employees of this team are specialized in reviewing codes and standards. They
could answer some of my questions, or they gave me contacts within Solar engineering.
The most important issue was the fact that Solar is a US-based manufacturer. But the German cus-
tomer referred to German and European standards. Maybe the differences between the codes and
standards across the Ocean aren’t important, but nobody has the time to review each specific text. I
did it regarding some specific codes and standards. For sure, Solar’s equipment is designed to comply
with European and local law. The large number of operating units in Germany proves it.
Technical Knowledge
•Turbine and compressor basics
•Work in overhaul shop and test cell.
•Attend technical trainings
•Follow Solar on-line training
PAE Knowledge
•Solar's products
•PAE tools
•PAE tasks
•Interfaces
•Templates
•Proposal preparation
•Clarification meetings
Construction Service Knowledge
•Scope of supply of Construction Service
•Preparing RFQ and clarifiying
Commercial/other Knowledge
•Networking
•Communication skills
•Language skills
•Financial and commercial considerations
•Attend legal and financial training
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 45
The result of those efforts was gathered in the above-mentioned list, which could be added to Solar’s
list of deviations and exceptions in the proposal.
2.2.1.5 Preparing Typical Drawings
The customer always requests actual drawings of the quoted equipment, with all the customization
and specific designed items showed. The vendor has not the time and the resources to issue project
specific drawings with the proposal. It would represent a huge cost and workload impact. Further-
more, the equipment selection isn’t frozen until the sending of the technical proposal. A compromise
has been figured out to illustrate as accurate as possible Solar’s offered equipment. Drawings of rea-
lized projects are included in the proposal. These documents can be found in Solar’s drawing data-
base (Windchill). The first duty is to determine a project that could match as much as possible (e.g.
turbine type, compressor, off/on-skid control, starting system, ancillaries, fuel type,…). The furnished
drawings are either mechanical drawings, with 2D and isometric representation of the package, or
so-called P&IDs (process and instrument diagrams).
I’ve gathered drawings regarding the above-mentioned project. The list of existing projects only per-
mits to specify the diver and the driven equipment. The drawings must be found in those projects by
checking each project drawings. The project numbers and customer had to be erased and the note
“as a reference only” had to be added on each drawing. This sentence protects Solar from customer
who doesn’t realize that shown drawings aren’t the project specific ones.
Illustration 21: Typical mechanical drawing
3.2.1.5 Preparing the spare parts and tooling list
Those specific items are quoted from San Diego. A request for quotation form has to be filled by the
PAE. The answer is including a comprehensive priced list off all the spare parts and tools that could
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 46
be ordered. Depending on the strategy to offer or not a Long Term Maintenance and Service agree-
ment, the prices had to be deleted and/or converted one by one from US-Dollars into Euros.
The exchange rate is fixed for the whole duration of the project by the finance department.
4.2.1.5 Filling customer schedule of rates lists
The tender included some documents to fill by the bidder. Especially, GASUNIE requested a schedule
of rates for field service and rates for engineering employees in case of a change in order after the
contract signing. To get the first information, I had to contact the District Service Manager (DSM) for
the Region, based in Gosselies. The Lead of Custom Service Operations also based in the Belgian facil-
ity gave me the second values.
Those documents were also included in the proposal.
5.2.1.5 Operating costs and maintenance schedule
The customer also added to his tender an Excel sheet. Solar had to fill the number of operating units,
the power, the electrical consumption, the fuel consumption and the CO2 emission for each specified
operating point. Based on the compressor and engine selection, I ran FASTE performance prediction
analysis to get both last values. In fact, the compressor selection performed by the System Analysis
group in San Diego only specifies the driver speed and power needed for the compressor to achieve
the requested operating point.
The OPEX cost calculation sheet also included a maintenance schedule to be filled by the bidder. I
had to get in touch with the DSM to gather this information, including the yearly costs.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 47
Illustration 22: OPEX costs
FASTE Performance/Consumption prediction based on selected driver, customer operating
points and ambient conditions
Data provided by Solar Engineering information
Customer Service Field Service
6.2.1.5 Preparing the technical proposal document
I assisted the assigned PAE in order to format the 311 pages document. The customer requested a
certain way to do the proposal. Therefore, the proposal generation tool couldn’t be used and all the
documents and information had to be put together in one unique document.
My work on the first step of this inquiry ended with the sending of the proposal to the customer for
reviewing.
Four weeks after submitting of the proposal, a clarification meeting in the EPC premises in München
has been scheduled. The week before, a bid clarification form was sent to the competitors with ques-
tions regarding the offer. I answered the questions concerning the codes and standards.
The clarification meeting last 2 days and was split in a technical part with the project engineers from
the final customer and the EPC, and a commercial meeting with the GASUNIE and ILF purchaser and
the lawyer. I attended the technical meeting together with the Project Operation Manager, the PAE
and the Electrical Engineer from Construction Service. The Sales Engineer and our lawyer took part to
the commercial/legal part of the meeting.
Operating Expenses (OPEX)
Operation Costs
Fuel consumptionElectrical
consumptionCO2 emissions
Maintenance cost
maintance schedule
labour costs
material costs
downtime
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 48
After this meeting, some points could be cleared and the equipment selection has to be slightly
changed. A revised offer had to be sent the week after. I reviewed the OPEX cost calculation and
helped the PAE for the preparation of the proposal revision.
5.2.2 Dowletabad
As stated hereinbefore, the Turkmen project didn’t include specifications to be reviewed. Due to this
fact, the project was a good approach for me to create my own, first technical proposal on Phoenix.
Indeed, there were no specifications to comment and custom feature to add. I selected the equip-
ment to fit the API 616 datasheet. Furthermore, I had to request a freight quotation for Turkmenis-
tan, which was not so easy due to the fact that the location name was not clear because there is a
region in Iran that has the same name. Furthermore, Solar hasn’t any subsidiary in this country.
Therefore, the asked delivery terms couldn’t be applied and I’d to clarify with our freight group and
the sales engineer. To complete the proposal, I added through the Phoenix interface documents like
the compressor performance, turbine performance at different ambient conditions, the generated
API 616 and 617 datasheets, typical drawings.
I requested the spare parts and tooling list like for the Gasunie DE1 project, an included it in the pro-
posal. I prepared together with the main PAE the pricing build up sheet to obtain the price of the
selected equipment.
Two weeks after the proposal sending, the EPC sent some questions I had to answer. Therefore, I was
in touch with engineers in San Diego regarding some cold ambient requirements and I also searched
some information in drawings. The clarification questionnaire included the price of some applicable
custom feature and could be sent back to the customer.
5.2.3 GRT Gaz Beynes
Like the German projects, the BOP part of this tender was very important. I covered this proposal as
part of construction service. The expanded scope project includes the supply of an offskid noise at-
tenuation enclosure for outside installation, the ancillaries, gas cooler, oil cooler, fire and gas detec-
tion and suppression s system, seal gas booster and heater, interconnect piping and cabling (that
means the piping and cabling between equipment supplied by Solar), the installation and commis-
sioning. The price for the BOP is needed by the PAE for his technical and commercial offer. Therefore,
he addresses an internal request to construction service. I assisted the project manager who has
been assigned to this proposal.
The first task is to read the tender document and to clarify with the PAE and the Sales Engineer Con-
struction Service scope of supply. Afterwards, I prepared the request for quotation regarding the oil
and the gas cooler. Those requests were not only based on the specifications and information pro-
vided by the customer, especially regarding the gas cooler (applicable standards, material, type of
cooler, allowed gas temperature and ambient temperature) but also on requests done for previous
projects. Furthermore, some information about Solar equipment were also necessary for the redac-
tion of the requests, for example, the lube oil temperature and flow, the gas output temperature…
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 49
Illustration 23: Example of a gas cooler
I calculated the chimney height based on a French code. The height is function of the outlet tempera-
ture and the exhaust gas flow. I verified the fact that the heat loses through the chimney is negligible
due to the insulation, and could confirm the exhaust stack height.
Based on the customer specification, and on previous projects, I wrote the requests for quotation for
the oil cooler and for the gas cooler. It includes a general description of the supply, the technical
characteristics (material, performance…), requirements regarding codes and standards and delivery
terms.
Between the request for quotation date and the supplier offer date, I had to answer some questions
coming from suppliers regarding the equipment.
After receiving the quotations, the offers had to be checked if they comply with the request, and
compared regarding the performance and the price.
Additional to both oil cooler and gas cooler, I compared offers regarding the enclosure for the
GASUNIE Deutschland project.
I’ve also been in touch with a supplier regarding a quotation for strainers. It took a lot of time, and
phone calls, to finally get the price.
As temporary member of construction service, I could attend some meetings. For example, the GRT
Gaz project had, as stated before, stringent noise requirements. To assure our compliance, construc-
tion service requested help from a noise consultant, who worked out the detailed noise require-
ments for BOP equipment.
I met also a supplier who did offers regarding the enclosure and ancillary for both GASUNIE and GRT
Gaz projects. Together with the project manager, we went through the specifications. I’ve learned a
lot during this meet because the supplier has performed several projects with Solar.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 50
Like I stated hereinbefore, each customer is different. GRT Gaz scheduled a pre-clarification meeting
some weeks before the bid submission date. The purpose of this half-day meeting was to present
Solar the project and to answer raised questions.
My final task was to prepare the technical description of the Construction Service scope of Supply.
This document is included by the PAE in his technical proposal.
5.2.4 Touat Gaz
As described before, this proposal had to be submitted to an engineering company in charge of a
feed study. The project is in an early phase of its definition. But the engineering company already
included in its tender a lot of specifications. Solar’s strategy was to focus the proposal on the main
specification and to quote the most standard generator set equipment selection. I reviewed briefly
the other specification and read the main one in order to pick up the requests. After this review, I
prepared the ACS selection in Phoenix and included all the specific documents in the proposal (Con-
struction Service scope of supply, API datasheet, drawings, performance). I also requested quotation
for spare parts.
A supplier provides the generators. I had to send a filed request for quotation to the sales engineer
of the supplier. I picked the information in the specification. I also added to my RFQ the documents
of the tender regarding the generator. The supplier had some comments on those specifications, and
I added them to my proposal with the supplier datasheet.
The really new task for me in this proposal was to comment all the customer documents. Indeed, the
bidder complies with the specifications written in all the tender transmittal, unless he specifies it
clearly in his deviations. Due to the strategy of “standard offer versus customer specifications”, all
the documents had to be commented. Especially the main specification had to be comment item by
item. With the help of the PAE, I could create this list of deviations that states what our offered in-
cludes, and what exceptions/deviations Solar is taking.
5.2.5 Gasunie Deutschland 2
This project is based on the Gasunie DE1 tender. All the deviations and clarifications raised in the first
project were still valid. Only few deviations and new operating points were added in the new issued
tender. The great difference between both projects is that the second station already exists. Due to
new emission regulations, the existing units provided nearly 40 years ago from a competitor, shall be
removed. The two existing units are running in a 1+1 mode. That means that one unit is running
when the other one is a backup. Both units are installed in a same building. Therefore, the entire
station must be shut down if maintenance on one unit is necessary. To improve de availability of the
station, one new unit will be installed in a new building, whereas another package installed inside the
existing building will replace both old machines. The first one is a copy paste of the Gasunie DE1
project. The second one is more interesting. Indeed, two options are possible: only the turbine is
replaced and one compressor is kept or a complete package is installed. A site survey allowed making
us an opinion of the possibility to keep the compressor in place.
I attended the site survey together with the sales engineer, the main PAE, and the project manager
from Construction Service. The project team of GASUNIE and IBB were also present. Some clarifica-
tions rose during this survey, including changes to add to our proposal.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 51
I gathered information about the existing units in the tender to send them to our system analysis
group. I also requested spare parts and tools quotation, training quotation, expanded/extended war-
ranty, a lump-sum commissioning and a freight quotation. I sent also the anti surge valve sizing re-
quest. Furthermore, I was in touch with the strainer supplier and the anti-surge valve supplier to get
their quotations. I also cleared with construction service the BOP scope of supply.
5.2.6 E.ON Storage
The scope of supply included electric motor driven compressors like stated in the presentation of the
project. E.ON sent this request in order to prepare the tender for the firm proposal. The sales engi-
neer already prepared a budget proposal for a turbine driven compressor set. As the EMD is a very
specific product, with supplied electrical motors, the preparation of the budget proposal for such a
product needs more work. In fact, the selection has to be done in PDSWin in an EMD specific ACS.
Furthermore, the price for the electric motor has to be requested. The EMD-project coordinator in
the PAE group helped me to prepare the budget proposal for this non-standard product.
A specific document has to be filled to prepare the request for quotation. The motor type and power
has to be filled in. Furthermore, all the operating points have to be checked regarding the torque
reserve. In fact, the compressor selection provided by San Diego describes the power and the rotat-
ing speed of the compressor for every point. In some cases, when the speed is too high, the motor
has not enough torque to drive the compressor. A more powerful motor is needed in this case.
Once the document filled, I could send the request to our French electric motor supplier. The electric
motor supply includes also the transformer, the VFD (frequency converter), the water to air cooler
for the motor and the VFD. After receiving the motor quote, I could determine the total price in the
price build up sheet, including the ACS selection and the supplier price.
5.2.7 TIGF
Solar has already sold turbine driven and electric motor driven compressor sets to this company.
TIGF wants to increase the number of installed units and asked therefore a budget proposal for an
additional electric motor driven compressor set. For my second EMD budget proposal, I searched the
ACS selection of the sold project and I based the new one on it. Furthermore, I had to request a quo-
tation for the electrical motor. I couldn’t use the one done before for E.ON. In fact, the power was
lower, and the motor was air and not water-cooled.
5.2.8 OMV
A firm proposal for EMDs is always a more complex task. If this project is like the German one an
expanded scope project, the preparation of the firm proposal is much more difficult. I’ve been as-
signed to this project to take care of the EMD part of the supply.
A request for quotation had to be sent to our EMD supplier. The OMV is a complex firm proposal
with customer specifications. I had to clarify the scope of supply of the supplier. Three commercial
and technical offers were necessary to clarify the supply. The limit of the scope had to be settled in
internally and communicated to the supplier.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 52
I helped the junior PAE on this proposal. We prepared together the full firm proposal under the su-
pervision of EMD coordinator in Gosselies.
Illustration 24: Request quotations from supplier
5 . 3 R e s u m e o f m y w o r k
When I started in February, I only knew that Solar is an American turbine manufacturer. During the
first three weeks, I’ve met the employees based in Gosselies, especially the PAEs. I spent all this time
to read documentation, not only fundamental about turbines and compressors, but also Solar specif-
ic documents about the products. I learned to use the software tools I needed later, I also spent time
in the test cell in order to learn how a turbine is run and in the shop to learn what a turbine and a
compressor is made of.
After the three first weeks, I read my first specifications for the German project. So I could recognize
what specifications are, and what information they include. Working on the codes and standards
permitted me to react with other groups in San Diego and also improved my knowledge of what So-
lar is offering.
The Dowletabad and the Touat Gaz proposal where my first technical proposals I’ve done by myself. I
could apply the tools I’ve learned to use on “easy projects”.
The GRT Gaz projects was interesting because both the fact that it was another expanded scope
project and because I could prepare some parts of the technical BOP proposal. So I could widen my
knowledge and learn more about a crucial part of this type of projects: the BOP. My understanding of
the tenders was therefore higher after this task.
The EMD budget proposals introduced me to this technology and the special requirements for this
type of supply.
Send request to supplier
Follow the request
Review offer and compare
to specifications
Clarify open points with
supplier
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 53
The OMV project was a great opportunity to work on a firm proposal for EMDs. I was in charge of the
electric motor supply. I was involved in this other expanded scope project.
The more my knowledge about Solar’s supply and customer specifications grew, the more important
was my implication in the different proposals.
After two and a half month working on the Gasunie DE1 and the GRT Gaz project, I was able to pre-
pare “standard” technical proposal including the technical clarifications, the request of all the quotes
(customer service, construction service, external supplier…), comments, equipment selection, prepa-
ration of the price and after submission of the proposal, clarifications.
The GASUNIE projects very important project for my end of study internship. I followed the projects
from the beginning of my internship till the end. In fact, the Gasunie DE1 project was my first contact
with Solar’s business. Furthermore, the complex nature of the project was a perfect example of what
a PAE can face during his work. I assisted the PAE on the preparation of this “huge” proposal and
took care of some parts of it. After submitting the proposal, I answered some questions and I could
attend a first clarification meeting. I also worked on the Gasunie DE2 project from the beginning of
the proposal process till the issuing of the proposal. The added value of this project was a site visit to
the existing station.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 54
Illustration 25: Different projects I’ve worked on
GASUNIE
DE 1
•Reading specifications of complex project
•Comment Codes and Standards
•Prepare some sections of the proposal (drawings, OPEX costs...)
•Attend clarification meeting
Dowletabad
•Prepare full firm proposal
•Answer Customer Clarifications
GRT
•Review customer specification
•RFQ for Construction Service scope of supply: lube oil cooler and gas cooler
•Review offers, answer supplier questions
•Prepare technical description to add to the proposal
Touat Gaz
•Prepare full firm proposal
•Comment Customer specifications and Solar offer
EON
•RFQ for EMD including clarifications
•Prepare budget proposal
TIGF
•RFQ for EMD including clarifications
•Prepare budget proposal
GASUNIE
DE 2
•Start proposal process for firm proposal (complex project): request equipment selection, internql qnd external RFQ
•Attend site survey
•Equipment selection with PDSWin
•Preparation of some sections
OMV
•RFQ and clarifications EMD
•Prepare sections of the complete firm proposal
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 55
6. SUMMARY
As “junior PAE”, I followed an internal learning process to be able to perform the PAE job. The de-
scription of the projects in general and the proposal process in particular, does not match with the
reality. In fact, they seem to be straight forward projects, where one step follows the other. Projects
are never settled, neither on the customer side, nor on Solar’s side. The best examples are the Gasu-
nie DE projects. The tender was a clear and comprehensive document with accurate specifications.
After the clarification meeting, with discussions about the advantage of a more standard equipment
selection, a revised proposal with important changes had to be submitted. On Solar’s side, the
equipment selection has also changed in order to decrease the costs for the customer with respect of
the performance needs. Two month after the submission of the first proposal, the project has been
canceled. Another tender has been issued for the revamp of an existing station. By chance, the ten-
der has only been modified to comply with the new requests, but the engineering company and the
project team were different. During the site visit, scheduled one week before the bid date, the cus-
tomer notified us that the operating points have changed. A new equipment selection was necessary;
a part of the work already done for the proposal had to be done again. The PAE has no other choice
than to follow the changes. The bid due date can never be delayed!
If we were in a perfect world, requests for quotations and questions or clarifications would be sent
and the responses would came by time. But the business is not that perfect. Therefore, I had to con-
tact supplier located in Sweden, France, Germany... to get the quotes or information. The same was
necessary for internal processes. It’s a real challenge to follow by the same time the changes in the
project from the customer side and the different external and internal requests. It often happens
that the answer of a request is outdated due to changes.
A rough description of the PAE job, and also what I’ve learned to be, would be the following: the
project application engineer has one goal: take care of the technical part of a project during a pro-
posal process. Therefore, he has to understand the requests of the customer, to include them in So-
lar’s supply. Exchanges and requests of information are fundamental. He is also the main contact
person for the customer regarding technical questions, and also for Solar’s engineering teams to
understand the requests.
I’ve dealt during my end of study project with several internal and external interfaces. From the EMD
sales engineer, Solar’s sales engineer, external project application engineer from different compa-
nies, to discipline engineers in San Diego, project engineers/managers in Gosselies, customer service
people…
The PAE work on a project only ends after the award. If Solar wins, he is in charge of the booking and
the handover of the project to the assigned project manager. Due to my relatively short presence,
compared to the project duration, I couldn’t see the end of the proposals I’ve worked on.
However, project after project, I covered more and more parts of the preparation of a technical pro-
posal, and of the daily PAE business.
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 56
7. TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Illustration 1: Stainless Steel Manifold and Jet Engine Afterburner ....................................................... 7
Illustration 2: Solar turbines .................................................................................................................... 8
Illustration 3: Worldwide support center localization ............................................................................. 9
Illustration 4: Gas compressors ............................................................................................................. 10
Illustration 5: Turbine driven generator set ........................................................................................... 10
Illustration 6: European gas transportation network (source: www.dw-world.de) ............................... 11
Illustration 7: EMD ............................................................................................................................... 12
Illustration 8: Typical gas compression station layout (source: www.wintershall.com) ....................... 15
Illustration 9: Project Schedule ............................................................................................................. 16
Illustration 10: Equipment selection for compressor sets ...................................................................... 18
Illustration 11: PAE tasks for the preparation of a technical proposal .................................................. 23
Illustration 12: The PAE tasks ............................................................................................................... 24
Illustration 13: PAE interfaces .............................................................................................................. 25
Illustration 14: Phoenix ......................................................................................................................... 33
Illustration 15: PDSWin ........................................................................................................................ 34
Illustration 16: Windchill ...................................................................................................................... 36
Illustration 17: PAE website .................................................................................................................. 39
Illustration 18: Gasunie Deutschland network (source: www.gasunie.de) ............................................ 40
Illustration 19: GRT Gaz network (source: www.grtgaz.com) ............................................................. 42
Illustration 20: Different knowledge improvement ............................................................................... 44
Illustration 21: Typical mechanical drawing ......................................................................................... 45
Illustration 22: OPEX costs ................................................................................................................... 47
Illustration 23: Example of a gas cooler ................................................................................................ 49
Illustration 24: Request quotations from supplier ................................................................................. 52
Illustration 25: Different projects I’ve worked on ................................................................................. 54
Table 1: Gas turbines for generator set applications ............................................................................... 8
Table 2: Gas turbines for compressor sets ............................................................................................... 9
Christophe Huth
End of Study Project Report September 2011 57
8. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brun, Klaus and Rainer Kurz, Introduction to Gas Turbine Theory: An Overview of Fundamental
Concepts, second edition, Solar Turbines Inc.
Solar Turbines Internal Documents
www.solarturbines.com : website of the Solar Turbines Inc.
www.eon.com : website of the German energy service provider E.ON AG.
www.grtgaz.com : website of the French gas transmission network GRT Gaz, belonging to the GDF
Suez SA.
www.omv.com : website of the Austrian oil and gas group OMV AG.
www.gasunie.de : website of the German gas infrastructure and transportation company Gasunie
Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, belonging to the N.V. Netherlandse Gasunie
www.wintershall.de : website of the biggest German Oil and Gas producer Wintershall Holding
GmbH, belonging to the German company BASF.