GE supplies combined-cycle system for Russia’s flare gas project

GE is supplying a 109FA combined-cycle system and long-term services for an expansion of Russia’s Nizhnevartovsk State Regional Power Plant that will help meet its growing electricity demands. This will also demonstrate how flare gas can be effectively used to generate affordable electricity in Russia.

The GE equipment, including a Frame 9FA Gas Turbine, a 109D-12 Steam Turbine and associated generators, has been recently shipped to the project site and installation has started. Commercial operation is planned by December 2012.

The facility will operate on natural gas generated by a gas processing plant using associated petroleum gas that otherwise would be wasted by burning or flaring. By using waste gas, the project supports the Russian government's initiative to utilize 95 percent of the country's flare gas by 2012.

The Nizhnevartovsk plant is one of the largest suppliers of electrical power in Russia's Urals Federal District and serves the steadily growing city of Nizhnevartovsk. The expansion will add 400 megawatts of output for the site. GE will also provide maintenance and support services for 12 years under an agreement designed to maintain the plant's reliability and overall performance.

Cristiano Tortelli, president and CEO, GE Energy, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and CIS said, "The Nizhnevartovsk project addresses a potential energy shortage while also supporting the continuing modernization and expansion of Russia's energy infrastructure."