GE Oil & Gas Wins US$25 Million OMV Contract to Supply Advanced Compressor Technology for Penta West Gas Pipeline Extension

GE Oil & Gas has been selected by OMV Gas GmbH of Vienna, Austria to supply integrated compressor line (ICL) technology for OMV’s Neustift compression station, which is part of the extension of the Penta West Gas Pipeline, a key supplier of natural gas for Austria and bordering states. With this construction, the capacity of the Penta West Gas Pipeline will be doubled.

Under a contract of approximately US$25 million, GE Oil & Gas will supply three ICL units, which are designed to offer operating and environmental benefits. Each ICL unit consists of a centrifugal compressor, high-speed motor, transformer and variable-speed drive. The scope of the contract also covers spare parts, training and turnkey installation.

"We decided in favor of ICL technology because GE Oil & Gas is breaking new ground in emission technology and noise reduction," said Hermann Lang, project manager of OMV Gas GmbH. "After careful consideration of the sensitive location Neustift, ICL seemed to be the ideal technology to be used for the first time."

Introduced in 2007, ICL is an integrated system with a single casing for the compressor and the motor. Driven by electricity rather than gas, ICL technology saves energy and avoids associated CO2 emissions. Using a typical eight-megawatt ICL rather than a comparably sized gas turbine-driven compressor can reduce CO2 emissions by 60% or more.

ICL units do not require a gearbox, lube oil system, shaft seals or external cooling system, enabling higher reliability and less maintenance at lower cost. Other benefits include a smaller footprint and a smaller compression building, ease of installation, higher availability than a conventional electric motor-driven solution, a continuous speed range that enables a wide operating range and a low noise level, in addition to low emissions.

ICL technology has received GE ecomagination certification. Ecomagination is GE’s corporate-wide commitment to address the need for cleaner, more efficient sources of energy, reduced emissions and abundant sources of clean water.

“The project with OMV Gas GmbH, one of central Europe’s leading gas companies, is another example of the strong interest our customers are showing in technology that is designed to help the environment,” said Joe Mastrangelo, vice president—turbomachinery at GE Oil & Gas. “We have designed the ICL product line to address today’s growing requirements for reliability, pollution and noise control for oil and gas applications with clean dry gas services up to 15 megawatts of power. The use of ICL technology will help OMV meet Austria’s environmental requirements, which we expect to become increasingly stringent in the years ahead.”

The ICL units for the OMV – Neustift compression station will be manufactured and tested at GE Oil & Gas facilities in Le Creusot, France and will be delivered to the project site in August of 2010, with commercial service expected to start in early 2011.

About GE Oil & Gas

GE Oil & Gas (www.ge.com/oilandgas) is a world leader in advanced technology equipment and services for all segments of the oil and gas industry, from drilling and production, LNG, pipelines and storage to industrial power generation, refining and petrochemicals. We also provide pipeline integrity solutions, including inspection and data management. As part of our 'Innovation Now' customer focus and commitment, GE Oil & Gas leverages technological innovation from other GE businesses, such as aviation and healthcare, to continuously improve oil and gas industry performance and productivity. GE Oil & Gas employs more than 12,000 people worldwide and operates in over 70 countries.

About GE

GE is a diversified global infrastructure, finance and media company that is built to meet essential world needs. From energy, water, transportation and heal to access to money and information, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.ge.com. GE is Imagination at Work.