Rolls-Royce wins $64 million contracts to supply offshore gas turbines

Thursday, 11 October 2007

Rolls-Royce, a world-leading provider of power systems and services, has signed contracts worth more than $64 million to supply RB211-powered gas compression packages to Shell, ExxonMobil and Woodside Energy for use on offshore production platforms.

The units will be operating offshore Australia, Malaysia and Nigeria and will join existing Rolls-Royce industrial gas turbines already in service with these companies.

The largest contract, for three RB211-GT61 packages, from Woodside Energy of Australia, is for the continuing development of their North West Shelf venture, the country’s largest resource project.

Each of the three packages will provide 44,000 horsepower of compression power on the North Rankin platform to help increase the flow of gas to Australia’s largest onshore gas plant at Karratha, which already supplies about 65 per cent of Western Australia’s gas demand.

The three units will join another RB211 that has been in operational service on Woodside Energy’s Goodwyn platform, since 1991.

Shell, a pioneer in Malaysia’s offshore exploration and production sector, has placed an order for two RB211-G62 compression units for service on their B11 and F23 platforms offshore Sarawak. The 39,600 horsepower sets will help Shell increase the recovery of gas from their offshore developments, which will extend the life of the fields.

Rolls-Royce has already installed 28 RB211 packages offshore Malaysia including a single unit to Shell for their massive E11 gas project.

The third contract, for ExxonMobil via Siemens, is for a single RB211-G62 gas turbine for the East Areas offshore development in Nigeria. It will join 18 RB211 packages in offshore service in the region supplying power for gas compression and electrical generation.

Tom Curley, President of the Rolls-Royce energy business said: “Repeat business from three of the world’s major oil and gas producers is the seal of approval for the industrial RB211 gas turbine package in the offshore sector. Its low weight, extremely small footprint and high reliability are vital to offshore operations.”

All six units will be packaged at the Rolls-Royce facility in Mount Vernon, Ohio, with scheduled deliveries between the first quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009.