On Nov. 21, GE announced that GE Power has been chosen to provide the e-house solution and be part of the construction of a natural gas processing unit in Itaboraí, Rio de Janeiro.
GE Power was selected by Kerui Metodo Construção e Montagem S.A, which is led by China’s Shandong Kerui Petroleum and Brazil’s Metodo Potencial.
GE’s e-house solution will connect all electrical equipment to supply power, provide protection, control and distribution to all the equipment involved in the gas process. It is a modular outdoor enclosure that contains variable speed drive systems, switchboards, transformers, medium-voltage panels, and bus ducts and stretches over an area of 800 square meters, according to a press release. It will be the largest of its kind in Latin America.
Azeez Mohammed, president and of CEO GE’s Power Conversion business, mentioned in a press release that “The increase in the price of oil has made oil and gas activities once again become feasible and profitable. Applying technology to extract more value from natural resources more efficiently will further fuel the revival of the sector.
“With our decades of expertise in electrical solutions, we are dedicated to bringing the customized e-house solutions geared to electrifying worldwide projects with high performance,” Mohammed said in the release.
“The reliable e-house solution is proven to reduce risks of outages. Its availability and reliability support and drive the efficiency of the plant and thus its productivity and revenues,” Ed Torres, CEO of Marine and O&G, GE’s Power Conversion business, remarked in the same release. “We are excited to be chosen to implement our in-depth electric engineering know-how to provide such a complex key solution to this landmark oil and gas project.”
Ivo Vieitas, vice president at Metodo Potencial, stated that: “The project, once completed, will almost double the pre-salt gas offloading and processing capacity. Given its scale and complexity, it is essential that all technologies adopted in the unit are reliable and robust. We are delighted to work with GE, whose electrical solution will be an indispensable piece in the oil and gas extraction and processing.”
The natural gas processing unit, also known as UPGN, will have a capacity to process up to 21 million cubic meters per day and will be the largest of its kind in Brazil. It is part of the Rota 3 natural gas project designed to transport and process natural gas feedstock from Petrobras’ Bacia de Santos pre-salt cluster to Itaboraí.
GE Power, owned by GE, operates in more than 180 countries providing equipment, solutions, and services across the energy value chain from generation to consumption.
