- Major Overhaul of GE 7FA Gas Turbine Completed in Just 18 Days, One Week Faster than Anticipated
- GE Bests Previous 7FA Outage-Cycle Record in Saudi Arabia of 22 Days
- Draws on Competencies of GE Manufacturing & Technology Center (GEMTEC) in Dammam for Fast-Paced Execution of the Project
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-May 17, 2017-GE Power (NYSE: GE) and Jomel (Jubail Operations and Maintenance Company) have achieved a new record in Saudi Arabia for the shortest planned outage cycle time for gas turbine maintenance. GE and Jomel together completed a major overhaul of a 7FA gas turbine at Marafiq, the world’s largest integrated water and power facility, in the short span of 18 days. Planned outages are critical and conducted on a regular basis to ensure the productivity, efficiency and reliable operations of turbines generating power for residential and commercial use.
Jomel is a joint venture between ENGIE and Nomac. It provides operations and maintenance services for Marafiq, which is a power and water company for Jubail and Yanbu. Working together, GE Power and Jomel completed the major outage at Marafiq well ahead of the planned 25 days. In the process, GE improved on its own Saudi Arabia record in 7FA outage cycle time of 22 days.
Stefan Verlee, General Manager of Jomel said, “Our long-term collaboration with GE brings exceptional value to our operations at Marafiq, including gas turbine upgrades, and now, achieving the complete overhaul of a 7FA unit in record time. Cutting the outage time by seven days enhances productivity at Marafiq and enables the team to deliver more electricity to benefit the local community.”
To achieve this significant milestone, GE worked closely with Jomel to plan the process, identify risks beforehand, ensure the highest standards in quality control and maintain adequate resources for a smooth and speedy execution.
“The new outage execution record at Marafiq highlights GE’s commitment to keep pushing the boundaries of what is possible to deliver better results for our customers in the power generation industry,” said Joseph Anis, President & CEO of GE’s Power Services business in the Middle East & Africa. “We are proud to collaborate with Jomel to provide essential maintenance and repair services, while reducing the planned downtime of Marafiq’s critical assets, so reliable power can be on the grid for longer periods.”
The swift completion of the planned repair and maintenance of the GE 7FA gas turbines at Marafiq was also made possible by the professional services and competencies of the GE Manufacturing & Technology Center (GEMTEC) and its engineering and support team in Dammam. GEMTEC today serves more than 70 customers in over 40 countries, furthering the Kingdom’s economic diversification efforts and strengthening its digital industrial ecosystem.
“This project underlines GE’s support for higher levels of productivity in Saudi Arabia,” added Hisham Al Bahkali, President & CEO, GE Saudi Arabia & Bahrain. “GE’s investments in local facilities such as GEMTEC and strengthening the professional capabilities of Saudis help us deliver faster results for our customers and support the realization of the Kingdom’s goals under Saudi Vision 2030.”
With a capacity of 2,745 megawatts (MW) and desalination output of 800,000 cubic metres per day, the Marafiq IWPP (Independent Water & Power Plant) in Jubail is a joint venture between Marafiq, Saudi Electricity Company, the Public Investment Fund of the Ministry of Finance and the international Suez Consortium comprising Suez Energy International of Belgium, Gulf Investment Corporation of Kuwait and ACWA Power Projects of Saudi Arabia. Serving Jubail and Yanbu, the plant has 12 GE Frame 7FA gas turbine-generator sets, four steam turbine-generator sets and 12 heat recovery steam generators.
GE has over eight decades of presence in the Kingdom. With three offices, six facilities, and 2,000 employees, Saudi Arabia accounts for the largest GE workforce in the Middle East. Over 50 percent of its talent is in highly skilled engineering and technology roles, and the company has achieved a Saudization rate of 70 percent.
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GE in Saudi Arabia:
GE has been established in Saudi Arabia for more than 80 years. With three offices and seven facilities in the Kingdom, Saudi Arabia accounts for the largest GE workforce in the Middle East with over 2,000 employees driving the Aviation, Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Power & Water and Transportation businesses. On May 23, 2016, GE Chairman Jeff Immelt announced new partnerships & investments to further support Saudi Arabia as global manufacturing & digital industrial hub for GE. These investments will create more than 4,000 jobs & extend training for 1,000 Saudi women and entrepreneurs. The initiatives build on the US$1 billion investment by the company in the past three years in Saudi Arabia.
About GE:
GE (NYSE: GE) is the world’s Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the "GE Store," through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry. www.ge.com
About ENGIE:
ENGIE is a global energy player and an expert operator in the three businesses of electricity, natural gas and energy services. The Group develops its businesses around a model based on responsible growth to take on the major challenges of energy’s transition to a low-carbon economy: access to sustainable energy, climate-change mitigation and adaptation, security of supply and the rational use of resources. The Group is developing high-performance, innovative solutions for personal customers, urban authorities and companies by applying its expertise in four key sectors: renewables, energy efficiency, liquefied natural gas and digital technologies.
About NOMAC:
The First National Operation and Maintenance Company “NOMAC” was founded in 2005 and firmly established in the GCC, North Africa and South, Middle Europe and East Europe regions, providing high quality O&M (Operation & Maintenance) services for power production and water desalination projects, regionally and worldwide.
For more information, please contact:
Stephen McCallion
GE Communications Leader, Saudi Arabia & Bahrain
+966 54 919 6404
Caroline Wehbeh
Communications Director, GE Power, MENAT
+9714 4296318
Amr Gamal
GE Communications Director, MENAT
+971 52 104 5998
Kelly Home | Nivine William
ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller
+9714 4507 600
[email protected] | [email protected]