Paul was off to the J Ray McDermott yard in Batam to review the remediation of the Esso Kipper subsea cooler coatings.  The Kipper Tuna pipeline was also completed in Singapore as part of Paul’s visit.

Howard completed the Roc Oil Cliffhead Hydraulic Work-over Frame assignment at Haywards in Tasmania.

Michael presented a paper at the CIM conference in Vancouver.  The Refractories stream of the conference (Refractories V) was held in honour of Professor Michel Rigaud of the Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, a personal friend of Michael’s.  The attached photo shows Michael with the principal guest.
Michael then attended a Super High Strength Steels seminar at Peschiera da Garda, Italy.

Paul was off to Singapore for Esso to discuss the progress of the Kipper Tuna projects pipeline welding Engineering Criticality Assessment with DNV.

RefMet’s involvement in third party verification of drilling tool refurbishment at Cameron’s Melbourne workshop, for BHP Billiton Petroleum’s Macedon Project came to an end with the last tool being successfully delivered to the client.

Michael conducted his one day Refractories Engineering training seminar ‘in-house’ for Pyrotek Inc at their Sydney facility.

Paul was off to Singapore for Esso to discuss the progress of the Kipper Tuna projects pipeline welding Engineering Criticality Assessment with DNV.

RefMet began an ad-hoc third party role with BP Angola drilling tools at Cameron’s Melbourne workshop.

RefMet was retained by Redbank Power to assist in strategic planning for future Boiler lining repairs, beginning with the shut planned for April 2011.

Paul attended the 1^St International Symposium on CO₂ Storage and Transportation, in Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.

Paul attended the kick-off meeting for the new fabricator of the Roc Oil Cliffhead HWU frame, Haywards in Launceston Tasmania.

RefMet said goodbye to Tim Kemsley, whose contract with J. P. Kenny, through RefMet, came to an end. Tim has decided to pursue other interests, and we wish him well, and thank him for his endeavours on RefMet’s behalf.

At the same time, we welcomed Howard McKinney, who joins us part-time, to act as third party inspector for BHP Billiton Petroleum at Cameron, Deer Park.

Michael attended a pyrometallurgical conference at the Swinburne University of Technology, presenting a paper on Refractories Engineering. Over 100 scientists and engineers attended over the two days of the conference. He was also invited to join an expert panel to discuss the effects of the minerals/resource sectors of a proposed Carbon Tax. The photo below shows him (far right) during Prof. Geoff Brooks opening remarks for the panel forum.

Our apologies for the lack of new material here for so long, but our chief beer correspondent has been very busy tripping to Asia and Europe, conscientiously testing liquids for inclusion here, but has not had time to go to print. Therefore, I have decided to fill the breach with a review of a relative newcomer on the import scene-Baltica 4, from St Petersburg. The brewery is a post cold-war establishment, now part owned by Carlsberg and Scottish and Newcastle breweries.

This is nominally a ‘dark lager’ according to a translation of the label, which is written, of course in the Cyrillic alphabet. I find that description most misleading. It is more like a light sweet brown ale, or close to some of the Bavarian darker ‘Boch’ beers. It is a very satisfying drink, well balanced and malty, although on the sweet side, as there is obviously considerable caramel in the mix. It brews out to 5.6% alcohol, so it should not be taken lightly. It is possibly a trifle over carbonated, and could be smoother on the finish. The beer is a dark amber colour with reddish/orange tones-possibly from the caramel. I would normally suggest serving this at 15-17ºC, but its balance needs a little chill, say 12-15ºC for best results, and to keep the carbonation under control.

In summary, a welcome addition to Dan Murphy’s selection, at a very reasonable price ( about A$3.80 per 500ml bottle). Anyway, give it a try, something a little unusual and certainly value for money.

RefMet has been retained (for a third time) to provide Refractory services to Nyrstar’s Hobart smelter in the planning stages for their October 2010 shutdown/repair.

BHP Billiton Petroleum has requested assistance with field corrosion issues. RefMet has allocated some of Paul’s time for this ongoing investigation into commissioning corrosion damage.

RefMet are coming to the end of the CFA Southern Training Ground upgrade works, with final punchlist items completed and commissioning commenced.