GE's Oil & Gas Business to Build Five Additional LNG Super-Trains in Qatar
Florence, Italy - GE announces that its Oil & Gas business unit, following a strategic agreement signed in December 2004 with Qatar Petroleum Group for the supply of equipment and services, has received during the last few months orders to build five additional GE-designed liquefied natural gas (LNG ) "super-trains. The projects further strengthen GE's presence in the State of Qatar.
This agreement follows the announcement in February of 2004 that GE is supplying the first "super-train" (the first compressor train to be driven by GE Frame 9E gas turbines) for the Qatargas II LNG project located in Qatar, Ras Laffan Industrial City.
Under these new multi-million dollar orders, GE's Oil & Gas business unit will provide, for each super-train, three Frame 9E gas turbines and six centrifugal compressors. The gas turbines will be manufactured at GE's facility in Belfort, France, while the production of the centrifugal compressors as well as the full train packaging will occur at GE's plant in Florence (Italy). The scope of the orders also includes the final full-load string test that will be performed at GE's plant in Massa, Italy.
GE Frame 9E-driven compressor technology is considered the breakthrough technology for next-generation LNG plants, allowing approximately eight million tons per year of LNG production for each super-train.
In addition to the supply of new LNG super-trains, a long-term contractual service agreement (CSA) was renewed for the three LNG trains of the Qatargas I plant, already in operation, and a new long-term CSA was signed for the Qatargas II LNG super-train.
Both contracts cover a period of 18 years and include: 24 gas turbines (6 MS5002C, 9 MS5002D, 6 MS6001 and 3 MS9001) and 21 centrifugal compressors.
The CSAs include scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, a level of performance and availability guarantee, a remote monitoring and diagnostic system and a localized team of three GE specialists.
In total, the orders represent the largest commitment awarded to GE's Oil & Gas business for LNG in the last ten years and confirm that GE is committed to enhance the LNG industry and take it to the next technology frontier. These five new super-trains will increase Qatar's LNG production capacity by approximately 40 million tons per year over the next few years, while the long-term maintenance contracts will provide price predictability, operational flexibility and best-in-class turbine reliability over the life of the equipment.
"We are very pleased that our super-train technology with GE-designed turbines and compressors has been chosen for these challenging LNG applications," said Claudi Santiago, President and CEO of GE's Oil & Gas business. "This technology enhances customers' economies of scale by enabling LNG production up to eight million ton/year per train, which is almost twice the production level per train currently achieved in the industry," he added.
"More importantly, we are excited about establishing such a solid partnership with Qatar Petroleum and its partners, which will bring more opportunities in the near future. We look forward to working together in the future and we are proud to contribute to the growth of the State of Qatar as a key LNG global producer over the next several years."
SOURCE: GE's Oil & Gas