OREANDA-NEWS. GE Oil & Gas (NYSE: GE), a leading supplier of equipment and services for liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects worldwide, has received a USD 620 million, 22-year contractual service agreement (CSA) to provide a broad range of advanced technology services for QGC’s Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) plant off the east coast of Australia.

QGC, parent company BG Group, and GE executives, including GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt, were present at the signing of the CSA today in Australia.

One of Australia’s largest infrastructure projects, the QCLNG plant will be the world’s first facility to turn coal seam gas into LNG. Coal seam gas is plentiful in Australia and will form the basis for the growing Australian LNG industry. The QGC plant is the first of four LNG projects scheduled for Curtis Island and is expected to begin production in 2014, with the LNG produced primarily targeted for export including to China, Japan and Singapore.

In welcoming the contract, Immelt said, “The QGC project on Curtis Island is a glimpse of the future. As the world’s first facility to turn coal seam gas into LNG, it validates Australia’s commitment to innovative solutions and its position as a leader in LNG.”

“It is also a great example of how industrial internet-based services—where we connect advanced machines, data and experts—can deliver better outcomes for our customers and society. GE is proud to be QGC’s partner in providing advanced technologies and services that enable reliable production of LNG and help meet the growing global demand for energy,” Mr Immelt said.

The GE scope of work will include planned and unplanned maintenance of the GE equipment being installed at the QCLNG plant, including 15 PGT25+G4 aeroderivative gas turbines, 28 centrifugal compressors, gearboxes, generators and all auxiliaries. The agreement also includes monitoring and diagnostic services, as well as reliability guarantees on the equipment.

In announcing the contract, BG Group Chief Executive Chris Finlayson said, “As construction of the QCLNG Project passes the half-way mark we are increasing our focus on how we are going to operate the facilities safely and efficiently in the decades ahead. BG Group is committed to reducing emissions through advanced, proven technologies and design.”

“Using GE’s technology will contribute to the QCLNG plant being one of the most emissions-efficient facilities of its kind in the world. Liquefied natural gas has an important role to play in the management of global greenhouse gas emissions. When used as a substitute for coal, particularly in developing economies, liquefied natural gas from the QCLNG Project could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 35 percent,” Mr Finlayson said.

The QCLNG project will be supported by GE resources in the Asia Pacific region and worldwide. Maintenance activities on the power turbines and compressors will take place at GE Oil & Gas facilities in Jandakot, Western Australia and in Florence, Italy. Monitoring and diagnostics will be provided from GE Oil & Gas’ global iCenters, located in Florence, Houston and Kuala Lumpur. These centers house teams that constantly track and advise on the performance of installed equipment, enabling customers to optimize plant availability and life cycle of parts.

This ability to ‘predict-and-prevent’ service and maintenance issues through the industrial internet—a connected network of technology, data and experts—is a core part of GE’s strategy to deliver the most advanced service solutions to its customers.

QGC is part of the international BG Group that was formed in 1996. The Queensland Curtis LNG project draws upon QGC’s extensive coal seam expertise and BG Group’s international experience in LNG, at a time of rising global demand for cleaner, more efficient energy. LNG also helps to address climate change by allowing natural gas, which has the lowest carbon emissions of all fossil fuels, to be transported economically around the world.

Further demonstrating GE’s broad portfolio of products and services for the LNG industry, GE Power & Water has supplied on-site power generation and water filtration equipment for the new water treatment plant near Chinchilla in Queensland to support the QCLNG project.

QGC is headquartered in Brisbane and is engaged in the exploration, evaluation, development and production of coal seam gas. QGC’s project supports the country’s efforts to leverage its coal seam gas resources to become the world’s leading exporter of LNG. Australia now has under construction 70 percent of the world’s LNG capacity, capable of supporting 40-50 years of production, according to Australia’s Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics. With this high level of activity, the LNG industry is playing a key role in Australia’s long-term energy security, economic growth and job creation.