GE to Help Increase Output and Reliability of Shell Petroleum Development Company’s Afam VI plant in Nigeria

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At optimal performance, the Afam VI plant can provide up to 15% of the total national grid-connected electricity…

  • GE’s Services Agreement to Provide Total Plant Solutions for the 650MW Afam VI Combined-Cycle Plant
  • GE’s MXL2 Upgrade Will Add 30MW Capacity, Equal to Power approximately 200,000 Nigerian homes
  • Deal Will help Improve Availability, Reliability and Reduce Operational Costs of the Facility

Aligning with Nigeria’s energy strategy for the future, GE’s Power Services business (NYSE: GE) (www.GEpower.com) today announced it has signed a Multi-year Service Agreement (MYA) with Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) (https://goo.gl/AHKToS) for its 650MW Afam VI combined cycle power plant located in the South-eastern part of the country. Thanks to this agreement, the plant which provides enough electricity equal to power over 3 million Nigerian homes at peak performance, will expect to improve its availability, reliability and output for up to 200,000 Nigerian homes while decreasing its operational costs. SPDC and its partners in the joint venture it operates built the plant with a significant contribution to help meet Nigeria’s electricity needs.

“At optimal performance, the Afam VI plant can provide up to 15% of the total national grid-connected electricity, this agreement will ensure we reach this performance objective and deliver much-needed power to the national grid, said Dr Philip Mshelbila, General Manager, Gas of SPDC. “Since its commissioning in 2008, Afam VI Power Plant has delivered more than 25.97 million Megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity into the Nigerian market and won an award by the United Nations for reducing carbon emissions through environment-friendly operations” he added.

The agreement will cover planned maintenance for the three existing GE GT13E2 gas turbines as well as one GE steam turbine. In addition, the order includes GE’s MXL2 upgrades (https://goo.gl/MgJKkh) to help increase the plant capacity by up to 30MW while increasing its efficiency.

“We have a long history of collaboration with Shell Petroleum, which has the largest footprint of all the international oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria, having supported the plant operations on power generation since its inception in 2008,” said Elisee Sezan, General manager, GE’s Power Services business for Sub-Saharan Africa. “With this latest agreement, we are working to bring improved performance and enhanced efficiency to their operations.”

In addition to increasing power output by up to 30MW, upgrades on the turbines are expected to deliver a combined-cycle efficiency increase, resulting in significant fuel savings and reduced CO2 emissions. GE’s solutions will also extend inspection intervals for the gas turbines reducing maintenance and repair expenses—which, in turn, will reduce overall plant costs and result in improving profitability.

GE’s GT13E2 gas turbine offers industry-leading efficiency with up to 55% efficiency levels in combined cycle operation, superior fuel versatility that enables a wide range of fuel compositions without hardware changes while substantially extending standard inspection intervals. Its unique operating profile capability offers the potential for financial savings by allowing customers to react quickly to fluctuating power demands while keeping costs in line.

“With less than 50% of the population having access to electricity, Nigeria needs power,” said Lazarus Angbazo, CEO GE Nigeria. “This agreement demonstrates GE’s unwavering commitment to continuously collaborate with public and private institutions to drive investment and innovative technologies in the power generation industry” he added.

GE has been operating in Nigeria for over 40 years, with more than 900 employees, 90% of whom are Nigerians. The company has businesses spanning across key sectors including oil and gas, power, healthcare and rail transportation.

About SPDC Nigeria

SPDC (www.Shell.com.ng) is the operator of a Joint Venture Agreement involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which holds 55%, Shell 30%, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (TEPNG)10% and Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC) 5%. The mission of SPDC is to be the operator of the first choice in Nigeria through its commitment to strong economic performance and to every aspect of sustainable development. The Afam VI power plant won SPDC the Best Company in Climate Action Award in the 2016 edition of Sustainability, Enterprise, Responsibility Awards for Corporate Social Responsibility (SERAs–CSR), an annual event to celebrate organizations that invest resources to improve the socio-economic living conditions of people in Nigeria and Africa.

About GE

GE is the world’s Digital Industrial Company, transforming the industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the “GE Store,” through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry.

About GE Power

GE Power is a world energy leader that provides technology, solutions and services across the entire energy value chain from the point of generation to consumption. We are transforming the electricity industry by uniting all the resources and scale of the world’s first Digital Industrial company. Our customers operate in more than 150 countries, and together we power more than a third of the world to illuminate cities, build economies and connect the world.
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visit the company’s website at www.GEpower.com.

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