GE to build five additional LNG trains in Qatar

GE has announced that its oil and gas business unit, following a strategic agreement signed in December 2004 with Qatar Petroleum Group for the supply of equipment and services, recently received orders to build five additional GE-designed liquefied natural gas (LNG) super-trains.

This agreement follows the announcement made in February 2004 for GE to 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 Ras Laffan Industrial City.

Under these major new orders, GE’s oil and gas business unit will provide three Frame 9E gas turbines and six centrifugal compressors for each super-train.

Claudi Santiago, president and CEO of GE’s oil and gas business, said: “We look forward to working together and we are proud to be contributing to the development of the State of Qatar as one of the world’s leading LNG producers.

“We are very pleased that our super-train technology with GE-designed turbines and compressors has been chosen for this challenging LNG application. This technology enhances the economies of scale of the process by enabling production of up to eight million tonnes per year of LNG per train. This is almost twice the current industry production level per train.”

The gas turbines will be manufactured at GE’s facility in Belfort, France, and production of the centrifugal compressors as well as the complete train packaging will be handled at GE’s plant in Florence, Italy.

The scope of the orders also includes final full-load string testing that will be performed at GE’s plant in Massa, Italy.