GE’s Oil & Gas business will supply six PG6581B (Frame 6B) gas turbines, equipped with dual fuel IGCC (integrated gasification combined-cycle) type combustion systems, to Qatar Shell GTL Ltd. for the Pearl GTL (gas-to-liquids) project in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar.
In addition to the 42-megawatt gas turbine-generators, the scope of GE’s contract includes IGCC combustion engineering, combustion system lab testing, spare parts and training. The project marks the first time GE’s Oil & Gas business will supply Frame 6 units with IGCC technology.
“Qatar’s abundant natural gas supply makes it an ideal base for the rapidly growing GTL industry,” said Mohammad Ayoub, Region General Manager, GE Oil & Gas – Middle East. “The technology also supports the environment by supplying a cleaner transport fuel, which has immense applications in practical life. Through our partnership with Qatar Shell GTL Ltd, GE is becoming part of a remarkable innovation which will have far-reaching positive impact on the environment and day-to-day lifestyle in future.”
“GE has shown a strong commitment to GTL and to the State of Qatar, and we look forward to working closely with them on this and other projects,” said Andy Brown, Managing Director for the Pearl GTL Project and Shell’s Country Chairman in Qatar.
The gas turbines will be installed in the Pearl GTL plant in a cogeneration configuration that will produce 180 megawatts of power for use in the facility, which has a design capacity of 140,000 barrels per day of GTL products, including naphtha, GTL fuel, normal paraffins, kerosene and lubricant base oils.
The Pearl GTL project includes the development of offshore natural gas resources in Qatar’s North Field, transporting and processing the gas to extract natural gas liquids and ethane, and the conversion of the remaining gas into clean liquid hydrocarbon products through the construction of the world’s largest integrated GTL complex.
Through the implementation of the GE IGCC combustor technology, the gas turbines will be able to burn a range of low BTU fuel gasses, including a process off-gas derived from the core GTL reactors. Natural gas is the backup fuel, and will be used for plant startup. Steam injection will be used to reduce NOx emissions.
The Frame 6B gas turbine core engines will be manufactured at GE’s plant in Belfort, France and packaged at GE Oil & Gas facilities in Florence, Italy. During the manufacturing cycle, the combustor hardware will be tested at GE’s facilities in Greenville, South Carolina to verify the effective behavior of the combustion system and to implement any necessary unit modifications prior to delivery to the site.
The six units are scheduled for shipment in late 2007 or in 2008. The first gas turbine units will be required to meet power requirements during the comissioning of the GTL facility, which is scheduled to begin commercial operation by the end of the decade.
A joint venture between JGC Corporation and Kellogg Brown & Root Inc. (KBR) is the engineering, procurement and construction management contractor for the utilities package of the project.
With its vast natural gas resources, Qatar is recognized as one of the world’s best locations for the development of the GTL industry. Alternative fuels such as GTL offer the world new fuel energy sources, strong environmental benefits, a reduction in petroleum dependence, and diversity of supply sources. GTL products include low-emissions diesel fuel, jet fuel, petrochemical naphtha, base oils and waxes.
GTL technology was first developed in the 1920s, and first commercialized on a large scale in South Africa in the mid-1950s. The process involves the conversion of natural gas into synthetic crude oil and other hydrocarbon products.
GTL offers one major advantage over liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an option for countries seeking to develop and distribute their natural gas resources worldwide. GTL can be shipped in traditional tankers, while LNG requires special tankers to contain the super-cooled product and maintain it in stable form until it can be delivered and re-converted into gas.
GE is a already a key partner in Doha’s highly-charged growth environment and recently signed a strategic agreement with the organizers of the 2006 Doha Asian Games to power the largest sporting event in Asia as its Official Partner. GE Energy will facilitate the cabling, generation and transmission of the projected demand for 100 megawatts of power to meet the entire energy needs of the Asian Games pavilions.
