The region also demonstrates the capability of Rolls-Royce to ‘invent once – use many times’. The Trent 800 engine that powers Boeing 777 aircraft is also providing the core technology for industrial Trent packages for the Dolphin Gas Project.

The 480 plus kilometre Dolphin pipeline will supply natural gas from Qatar’s North Field to the UAE, which will then fuel power generation and water desalinization plants for at least the next 25 years. Six Rolls-Royce aero-derivative gas turbines, which are the ideal match for these circumstances, will move natural gas through Dolphin’s undersea pipeline system.

Under an initial six-year, US$40 million agreement, Rolls-Royce assumes responsibility for maintenance of the six compression packages, ensuring Dolphin Energy has uninterrupted service.

The Trent also operates in power generation markets and Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) is expanding the Wasit power station with two Trent 60 dual-fuel generating sets with a combined output of almost 80MW operating at 40 degrees C.

SEWA will benefit greatly from the Trent’s high fuel efficiency and overall economics. It will be able to manage the fluctuations in power demand in a cost effective manner and the units, which are intended to operate for 5000 hours a year are scheduled to be operational by the end of January 2007.

To date, Rolls-Royce has installed more than 4,000 gas turbines in 120 countries, ten per cent of them in the Middle East.

The SEWA and Dolphin projects are the latest Rolls-Royce undertakings in the Middle East, where the company has long satisfied the pipeline, liquefied natural gas and other needs of major oil and gas companies. Increasingly, the company is focusing its attention on the rising demand for power generation in the region. That demand has grown exponentially in recent years and is expected to continue to grow for decades to come.