Yesterday it announced it would provide technology and capital to expedite construction of the Freeport LNG gas liquefaction and LNG export project in southeast Texas, supplying refrigeration compressors, variable-speed drive electric motors and other electrical equipment for two customised LNG liquefaction trains, each of which will produce a base volume of 4.4 tonnes per annum of LNG.
GE will also provide funds to support the project through pre-construction engineering and design.
This puts GE's technology at the core of the Freeport LNG export project, the company said, at a time when growth in the global unconventional oil and gas space is driving demand for its expertise to address technical and environmental challenges facing the global energy industry.
Unconventional oil and gas production is expected to increase globally by 9% per year by 2018 alone, as the shale boom gives the US the potential to become one of the world's largest LNG exporters.
GE said Freeport LNG would play a vital role in maximising the value of this abundant and affordable shale gas, becoming the first world-scale electric LNG (eLNG) plant in North America.
The company's electric motor driven technology has enabled Freeport LNG to comply with strict local emissions standards and support its ambitious LNG production and export targets.
The unique plant will feature all-electric drive compression directly connected at the utility incoming transmission voltage level.
GE will supply two liquefaction trains with an integrated solution with six centrifugal compressors and six 75 megawatt synchronous electric motors including the largest electric motor ever supplied for an LNG facility.
The complex system will also include six variable speed drives, electrical equipment like gas insulated switchgear, a motor control centre (MCC), harmonic filters, e-houses and auxiliary electrical equipment.
An integrated LNG plant and power grid modelling coordinated protection and control development will also be part of the mix, along with power quality evaluation and power system design verification studies.
GE also announced yesterday the expansion of a pilot project to capture flare gas and use it to power Statoil's drill rigs and to fuel its hydraulic fracturing operations in North Dakota, as part of a joint venture Ferus Natural Gas Fuels.
The expansion is the first step by Statoil to move into full commercial adoption of the GE and Ferus JV's Last Mile Fuelling Solution, which provides environmental, cost-saving and logistics solutions for Statoil's Bakken oilfield operations.
GE and Accenture also introduced their Intelligent Pipeline Solution yesterday, the first "industrial internet" offering to help pipeline operators make better decisions concerning the condition of their critical machines and assets in the oil and gas pipeline industry.
