Honeywell today announced that it has been selected by Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity and Water to modernise the water distribution network that supplies more than 1.2 billion litres of fresh water daily to Kuwait’s growing population. [ + ]

Power and automation technology group ABB has been appointed the main electrical contractor (MEC) for a new floating production, storage and off-loading (FPSO) vessel at the Ichthys oil and gas field in the Timor Sea off Western Australia. [ + ]

Researchers of five European universities have developed a cloud-computing platform for robots which allows robots connected to the internet to directly access the powerful computational, storage and communications infrastructure of modern data centres. [ + ]

GE Oil & Gas has received a US$620 million, 22-year contractual service agreement to provide a broad range of advanced technology services for QGC’s Queensland Curtis LNG plant. [ + ]

Five-fingered robot hand can not only grip but gesture. [ + ]

ABB has won an order to provide the electrical equipment, including its new gearless conveyor drives, for Codelco’s largest operation in Chile. [ + ]

Rodolfo Ortiz, General Manager of Turck’s Mexico operations, has recently been awarded top executive honours for 2012 by ARCHOS, the regional human resources organisation for Southeast Coahuila. [ + ]

No-one likes to be reminded of their limitations, but robots need exactly that in order to be more effective, researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) say. [ + ]

Engineers Australia’s national outreach program for schools, EngQuest, has hit an all-new record for student participation, attracting more than 50,000 students in 2013. [ + ]

ABB has won a $15 million oil and gas contract for the Ichthys oil and gas field in the Timor Sea off Western Australia. [ + ]

Chevron Australia is boosting the professional development of its new engineering graduates, signing a Professional Development Program with Engineers Australia. [ + ]

Orica says a relief valve in its ammonia storage plant lifted prematurely as a result of a mechanical malfunction - but this occurred well before the alarm’s trigger point in this section of the plant. [ + ]

Specialist industrial automation and controls distributor Inaco Automation Controls has announced a new distribution alliance with Rittal for Australia. [ + ]

An ammonia gas leak occurred at Orica’s Kooragang Island site in Newcastle on 11 March, with an unconfirmed quantity of ammonia from a 60 m high vent stack. [ + ]

The Queensland Gas Conference and Exhibition committee is calling for abstracts on topics demonstrating innovation, thought leadership and best practice across the supply chain, from production to midstream industry. [ + ]