today announced that it will provide gas turbine technology to Mass Global Investment Company, an independent power producer, to help meet northern Iraq’s growing demand for electricity. Under the agreement, GE will supply three Frame 9E gas turbines and generators for the 375-megawatt expansion of the Erbil Power Plant, located in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

“Our mission is to support Iraq’s overall efforts to continue developing and expanding its energy infrastructure,” said Ahmad Ismail, chairman of Mass Global. “We are confident that working with a global technology leader such as GE, with its proven and reliable advanced energy technology, will contribute significantly to helping us fulfill our mission, which is in line with the Kurdistan regional government’s initiative calling for the private sector to help meet the energy requirements in this region.”

This new contract follows an announcement earlier this year that GE is providing equipment for two other projects in the same region that are part of Mass Global’s ongoing efforts to support Kurdistan and Iraq’s current and future power needs. When all of the current projects are completed, the total electricity capacity of Mass Global-developed power plants in the Kurdistan region will be increased to 2,200 megawatts. “This latest agreement builds upon our growing relationship with Mass Global to provide innovative technology and services to help ensure that the people of northern Iraq have a reliable and secure supply of electricity,” said Joseph Anis, GE Energy’s president for the Middle East.

“This agreement also reflects GE’s ongoing commitment to support Iraq in boosting its power generation and infrastructure growth. The new GE Frame 9E gas turbine-generators for the Erbil site expansion are expected to begin shipping at the end of 2010, with the first unit scheduled to start operating in mid 2011.

Natural gas will be the primary fuel, with distillate as a backup. More than 450 Frame 9E gas turbines have been installed worldwide and have compiled more than 22 million hours of utility and industrial service. With its flexible fuel handling capabilities, the 9E accommodates a wide range of fuels including natural gas, light and heavy distillate oil, naphtha, crude and residual oil. With the introduction of the 9E Heavy Fuel Oil Availability Package, the availability of the gas turbine is significantly increased and average performance is improved.

Innovative GE technology allows gas turbine operators to take advantage of various gas and liquid fuels, which may result in increased plant efficiency, lower greenhouse gas emissions, greater operational flexibility, lowered operating cost and longer maintenance intervals. GE has accumulated millions of hours of experience and has hundreds of gas turbines operating with alternate fuels. In addition, GE is leading the industry with more than 50 years of fuel research, testing and integration; continuously expanding its offering to allow more fuels to be used.

In addition to its work with Mass Global, GE also is supplying the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity with equipment and services for government-owned projects that will add approximately 7,600 megawatts of electricity to help fuel future economic growth. GE has a long history of supporting Iraqi infrastructure needs in power generation, oil and gas, water processing, aviation and healthcare. To date, more than 120 GE power turbines are installed in the country.

 

Source: Iraq business news