Rolls-Royce awarded $41 million

Rolls-Royce has won a $41 million contract from China for three industrial RB211 gas turbine compression packages to be installed on Phase 1 of the West-East Gas Pipeline.

The contract, awarded by PetroChina West-East Pipeline Company, includes the upgrade seven Rolls-Royce compressors already operating on the 3,900 km/2,400 mile line.

The new gas turbines and compressor upgrades, scheduled to be in commercial operation by the end of 2006, will enable the first phase of the China West-East Pipeline Project (WEPP) to increase its natural gas flow from 12 to 17 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year.

Rolls-Royce announced the original order for 12 RB211 gas turbines and five variable speed motor-driven compressor sets for Phase I of the project in February 2004. Delivery of the 12 RB211 packages to the WEPP pipeline sites has now been completed, while the motor-driven packages will be delivered in conjunction with the upgrade equipment.

The WEPP pipeline extends from the Tarim basin in the West Gobi desert, to the city of Shanghai on China's eastern coast. The route crosses nine Chinese provinces. Current estimates suggest there is a 20-year supply of gas in the Tarim Basin.

The three new RB211 compression packages, for stations 2,6 and 7, and the five variable speed motor-driven units will be packaged at the Rolls-Royce facility in Mount Vernon, Ohio, USA.