In a contract valued at approximately US$100M, GE Oil & Gas will supply Petrofac with turbo compression equipment for Groupement Berkine’s El Merk central processing facility (CPF) in the Berkine Basin of Algeria.
Claudi Santiago, president and CEO, GE Oil & Gas said: “Through this contract, we are strengthening our relationship with Petrofac, one of the leading international oil and gas facilities service providers. The contract provides the framework for the two companies to work together with a high degree of efficiency, streamlining our work processes and creating a platform for continuous communication. In addition, we are delighted that ALGESCO’s new Service Center in Boufarik will provide advanced services support.”
Groupement Berkine’s El Merk project will feature GE’s BCL centrifugal compressors, which have unparalleled industry experience for handling high-pressure sour gas reinjection. This technology set an industry milestone by achieving 820 bar pressure during the testing of turbo compression trains for the Kashagan oil field in the North Caspian Sea.
GE’s scope of supply for the El Merk project will include three turbo-compressors for gas injection and two turbo-compressors for residue gas service, along with three motor-compressors for gas booster service and three for associated gas services. The turbo compressors will be manufactured at GE Oil & Gas facilities in Florence, Italy, and will start to be shipped to the project site in September 2010, while the motor-compressors will be built in Le Creusot, France, and shipped to Algeria in September 2010. When the new CPF plant enters service, in phases starting late 2011, it will have a capacity of 98,000 barrels per day of crude oil, 28,800 barrels per day of condensate and 31,000 barrels per day of liquefied petroleum gas.
ALGESCO, a joint venture between Sonatrach, Sonelgaz and GE, will provide local support and maintenance for the El Merk CPF plant, as well as all other GE Oil & Gas key facilities and power stations within Algeria, from its new $36M investment Boufarik service center. Building on more than 45 years of GE experience in Algeria, ALGESCO provides a broad range of turbine, compressor and related auxiliary equipment services for customers across Algeria.
Further expanding its presence in the region, in the coming months ALGESCO will open a new service center in Boufarik. Encompassing approximately 18,300 square meters, it is the largest GE Oil & Gas service center in the world.
As a center of excellence for turbomachinery services, the center provides a wide range of advanced technologies to help Algeria increase its oil and gas capacity. The new Boufarik service center is at the completion phase and a formal inauguration/ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place in 3Q 2010.
