Doha, Qatar; January 8, 2007: GE Energy has signed a multi-million dollar, 20-year Contractual Service Agreement(CSA) with Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC) covering three GE Frame9FA gas turbine-generators at the Ras Abu Fontas B-2 power plant and desalinationproject in Qatar.
QEWC was established in 1990 to operate and maintain electricity generation and water desalination plants. The company is 43 per cent owned by the government, with the remaining shares held by individual and institutional Qatari investors.
The B-2 project is an expansion of an existing power and desalination facility at the site, and will add 597 megawatts of power and a desalination capacity of 30 million gallons of water per day when it begins service in 2007.
The three GE 9FA gas turbines at the B-2 site mark the first installation of this technology in Qatar. These 50-hertz machines represent the latest evolution of GE's F technology, which has been proven in more than 17.5 million hours of service worldwide.
The CSA covers the supply of parts, repairs and field services for planned and unplanned outages for the gas turbine-generators and accessory equipment, along with performance guarantees.
Mr Fahad Al Mohannadi, QEWC's general manager, said: "QEWC is the major power and water producer in Qatar. We believe that GE, with its vast experience in managing CSAs, will enable QEWC to achieve the high targets of reliability and availability demanded by the off-taker and the State of Qatar for the B-2 project. This CSA adds value to the overall project, and we expect to work closely with GE in the future to enable both organizations to benefit from each other in the long run."
"GE's CSAs are structured to provide the latest technologies to improve the reliability and availability of the gas turbines for the length of the agreement," said Mr Dan Heintzelman, President of GE Energy's services business. "We also offer guarantees that provide incentives for increasing the time between outages, which results in greater productivity for extended periods."
The services agreement for the Ras Abu Fontas B-2 project extends GE's already strong presence in Qatar, where customers have been operating GE-designed gas turbines, compressors and generators since the 1980s.
"Qatar's rapid growth naturally spurs an increasing demand for power and water infrastructure," added Mr Abdullah Taibah, GE Energy's regional executive for the Middle East. "Qatar has invested heavily in power capacity over the last several years, and GE is playing a significantrole in that effort."
GE Energy ( www.ge.com/energy) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technologies, with 2005 revenue of US$16.5 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy works in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; and other alternative fuels. Numerous GE Energy products are certified under ecomagination, GE's corporate-wide initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that will help customers meet pressing environmental challenges.
Anja Pegger
GE
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