Bilfinger : Gastech 2018 – Bilfinger, a Single Source for All Services

September 03, 2018

The Gastech trade fair Barcelona is where Bilfinger showcases its entire palette of technologies and services for infrastructure projects in the gas industry. From 17 to 20 September 2018, visitors to the fair will have the opportunity to get a close look at the multifaceted and integrated solutions that Bilfinger offers along the entire value-added chain. Specialists from Bilfinger's Engineering & Technologies division will be on hand to answer any questions visitors may have regarding the company's broad portfolio of offers - be it in the upstream, midstream or downstream segment.

'We regard ourselves as a one-stop shop and offer our customers the full range of services under one roof - from technical consultancy and planning for gas plants to their production, installation, maintenance or refurbishment,' explains Michael Löffelmann, Executive President of the Engineering & Technologies division. This is all the more relevant given that natural gas has to undergo a great number of processes and interim steps between the extraction point and the end-consumption point. The Bilfinger Group, for its part, stands by its customers in the gas industry as a reliable partner throughout the entire lifecycle of their natural gas facilities and infrastructure. In this context, Bilfinger increasingly plays the role of general contractor: 'We assume overall responsibility for the domains of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) for medium-size gas plants, thereby reducing the level of complexity confronting the customer.'

With more than forty years' experience looking after gas projects all over the world, Bilfinger develops the right solutions for extraction and processing plants, for transport pipelines and compressor stations, for storage tanks and tank depots. A recurring priority in this context is ensuring the supply of liquid natural gas outside of LNG production plants and distribution grids. Because natural gas emits fewer pollutants than diesel fuel or heavy crude oil, it promises to be a preferred fuel of the future for the transport of freight by land and on water. Plants that produce LNG in smaller quantities directly on site will thus play an increasingly key role when it comes to satisfying demand in this area.

With a view to the rising market demand for these so-called 'small-scale LNG plants,' Bilfinger has come up with a new strategic technology alliance that offers an end-to-end supply solution from the natural gas source to the end consumer, which encompasses the pre-treatment of various gas sources, methane liquefaction technology, as well as LNG loading and filling stations. This allows Bilfinger to bundle customized process solutions with short delivery times and a minimal need for on-site construction.

But Bilfinger's expertise does not end with the commissioning and formal acceptance of plant facilities and infrastructure, however. Also when it comes to maintenance, Bilfinger is one of the leading service providers in Europe, thanks to its unique Bilfinger Maintenance Concept, (BMC).

Bilfinger also offers BCAP (Bilfinger Connected Asset Performance), a comprehensive solution for digitalizing the operating processes of industrial plants that can be implemented quickly and easily. The approach: All the information pertinent to the operation of a given plant is centrally compiled. Thus, BCAP links up data from the domains of engineering, operations, and maintenance by way of a cloud-based platform. The result: Entirely new insights can be gained, plant disruptions more effectively pre-empted, and unscheduled downtimes further reduced.

In the field of plant & systems documentation, Bilfinger is currently developing PIDGraph, a solution that will automatically convert 'piping and instrumentation diagrams' (P&IDs) into an intelligent digital version. This application will be significantly more cost-effective than previous conversion methods, since these entailed the creation of new P&IDs. PIDGraph, by contrast, is able to work with the available material as a basis. This will save both time and money.