IHS CERA Report Shows Continued Increase in Refinery Construction Costs

http://press.ihs.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=4265

HIS CERA does a very good report on capital project costs for process industries, and refining is chief among these. According to their latest report, "The costs for designing and constructing downstream refining and petrochemical projects rose 1.5 percent from Q3 2009 to Q1 2010, according to the latest edition of the IHS
CERA Downstream Capital Costs Index (DCCI). It was the second straight increase for the index since prices bottomed out at 9 percent below peak 2008 levels– costs are now just 6.5 percent below peak 2008 levels." Check out the link for the full press release.

A Guide to the Automation Body of Knowledge

I just got my hands on a copy of the Automation Body of Knowledge, edited by Vernon Trevathan. It's a great compendium of all the most important aspects of automation in today's plants and facilities. The second edition is updated to include information on continuous emissions monitoring systems and other topics. I highly recommend it. It's published by ISA and you can purchase it at the link:

http://www.isa.org/Template.cfm?Section=Books3&template=/Ecommerce/ProductDisplay.cfm&ProductID=8800

Dept. of Interior Issues Directive on Stronger Offshore Safety

http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Interior-Issues-Directive-to-Guide-Implementation-of-Stronger-Safety-Requirements-for-Offshore-Drilling.cfm

From US Department of the Interior. The moratorium on drilling in waters over 500 feet deep continues, but shallow water drilling is still go. Department of Interior has released a new set of safety guidelines that drillers must comply with if they want to continue drilling. You can read it all at the above link.