General
Electric seeks bigger stake in T&T
By Sascha Wilson
Trinidad Guardian
Port
Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
05 13 07
ONE
of the world’s biggest corporations,
US energy giant General Electric (GE), has decided
to invest in T&T because of this country’s
economic development and stability.
Furthermore, the company wants to expand its presence
in this country.
Vice chairman of GE John G Rice said he believed
Trinidad and Tobago was extremely important for
his company.
Rice
was speaking at the opening of GE’s
Oil and Gas Maintenance Centre at Atlantic LNG’s
(ALNG) compound in Point Fortin on Wednesday. The
facility is the first of its kind in the country,
part of a US$400 million, 17-year contractual service
agreement with ALNG.
The agreement was signed in July 2005.
GE
Oil and Gas, based in Florence, Italy, is a subsidiary
of General Electric Company. GE is one
of the globe’s leading suppliers of power
generation and energy delivery technology.
Addressing
businessmen at the function, Rice said GE’s
partnership with ALNG will go a long way in helping
the company to meet the growing
demand for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
He
said: “Along with achieving an extra
year of production for Atlantic LNG by reducing
outage durations and extending maintenance intervals,
GE’s contractual services team has been working
to enhance the plant availability while ensuring
the highest safety standards.”
Rice added that GE recognised Trinidad and Tobago
as a significant participant in the global energy
sector. He also noted that the country is one of
the most significant recipients of direct foreign
investment in the western hemisphere.
Vice
president of ALNG’s technical services
Carl Ramlakhan said the centre is another landmark
in Point Fortin, representing a world class maintenance
facility providing specialised service to the Caribbean
and South America.
He
said the company’s relationship with
GE Oil and Gas began with the purchase of gas turbine/refrigeration
compressor equipment for its LNG Train 1. He said
with the completion of Train 4 there had been a
significant increase in the amount of such equipment
in use by ALNG.
Saying
that the installation is equivalent to approximately
70 per cent of the total power generating
capacity of T&T, he added that this puts ALNG,
and by extension the country, among GE’s “valued” customers.
He said ALNG expects that the centre would remain
a best in class institution, contributing significantly
not only to its drive towards maintenance and operational
excellence, but also to the development of the
skills of nationals.
Among other benefits, the centre will allow for
improved response to unscheduled events or failures
at the ALNG facility and improved timeliness of
technology upgrades of the gas turbine/refrigeration
compressor equipment.
Trinidad
Guardian
Friday 11th May, 2007
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©2007 Trinidad Guardian. All Rights Reserved.
