Facility to Support Long-Term Service Agreement with Atlantic LNG
POINT FORTIN, TRINIDAD - May 9, 2007 :- Increasing its commitment to regional development and expanding its service and repair capabilities for local customers, GE Oil & Gas has established a new Field Service and Maintenance Center for Trinidad and Tobago, one of the top five producers of LNG in the world.
High-ranking government officials joined GE executives today in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the official opening of the center, a 30,000-square-foot facility located in Point Fortin, Trinidad, adjacent to the Atlantic LNG Company's production facility.
"This new facility is a key part of our commitment to support the region by bringing our service capabilities close to local customers," said Jeff Nagel, vice president, Global Services, GE Oil & Gas. "It also will play a key role in our training program for local citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, supporting our efforts to maximize local skills and facilitate sustainable development for the island."
Among those attending the opening ceremony were the Minister of Trade and Industry, the Honorable Kenneth Valley; Senator Conrad Enill, Minister in the Ministry of Finance; John G. Rice, vice chairman, president and CEO of GE Infrastructure; Michele Stangarone, general manager of GE Oil & Gas Sales and Global Services; and senior staff members representing GE's oil and gas customers.
In addition to providing services for customers throughout the region, a key role for the new maintenance center will be to support a 17-year contractual service agreement (CSA) GE signed in 2005, covering 27 gas turbines and 47 centrifugal compressors at the Atlantic LNG facility.
The CSA includes a new maintenance approach based on an evolution of the modular exchange normally applied on GE aeroderivative engines and now extended to GE heavy duty 32-megawatt machines, such as the units used by Atlantic LNG.
Using this approach during scheduled outages, Atlantic LNG's existing gas turbines will be removed and replaced in modules, substantially reducing the turnaround times. The modules then will be refurbished in the new maintenance center.
"Our patented modular replacement method is designed to reduce outage durations and significantly increase plant availability," noted Nagel.
The new Trinidad and Tobago center, which currently employs 30 people, offers field service capabilities including installation, commissioning, troubleshooting and related services for GE equipment. It also contains a repair workshop that offers inspection and repair services including the balancing of centrifugal compressors and gas turbine rotors. In addition to GE equipment, the workshop covers a range of equipment from other manufacturers, including centrifugal compressors and gas turbines.
The repair center is equipped with overhead cranes, a balancing machine, a horizontal lathe, an NDT (Non Destructive Testing) station and various light machine tools.
About GE's Oil & Gas business
GE's Oil & Gas business is a world leader in advanced technology equipment and services for all segments of the global oil and gas industry. Based in Florence, Italy, the company offers complete solutions for production, LNG, transportation, storage, refineries, and petrochemicals, as well as pipeline integrity solutions including pipeline inspection and pipeline asset management. Through its recent acquisition of VetcoGray, GE Oil & Gas has added products, systems and services for onshore and offshore drilling, completion and production to its portfolio.
For more information, contact:
Gabriele Peri
GE
Oil & Gas
+39-055-423-8280
[email protected]
Ken Darling or Howard Masto
Masto Public Relations
+1-518-786-6488
[email protected]
[email protected]
Sara Hassett
GE Oil & Gas
[email protected]
+39-055-423-3361