Agip KCO, an Eni affiliate acting as operator of the North Caspian Sea Production Sharing Agreement, has awarded GE Energy a contract to supply an ultra high-pressure, sour gas injection system for the Kashagan oil field in the North Caspian Sea. Located off the coast of Kazakhstan, Kashagan is one of the largest fields discovered over the last 30 years.

The North Caspian Sea joint venture participants include the following contracting companies: Agip Caspian Sea B.V. (Eni), BG International Ltd., ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc., Shell Kazakhstan Development B.V., Total E&P Kazakhstan, ConocoPhillips and Inpex North Caspian Sea Ltd.

The project will utilize GE Energy's latest technology for gas injection applications. Associated sour gas will be injected back into the oil reservoir at pressures up to 760 bar, the highest discharge pressure ever developed for gas injection.

The scope of GE Energy's contract covers the initial gas injection system including the supply and full-load testing of two turbo compressor lines, engineering, procurement and technical field supervision.

The two turbo compressor lines, each designed to inject 5.4 million scm/day of sour gas, will be manufactured at GE Energy's facilities in Florence, Italy. The three-stage/three-case gas compressors are being specifically developed by GE for this project.

Driving the compressor lines will be GE Frame 5D, heavy duty gas turbines. These are 30-megawatt class machines that provide the high reliability and availability required for high-pressure applications. Maintenance will to be done directly at the site. The Frame 5D gas turbines will be equipped with Dry Low NOx systems for emissions control.

The contract marks the start of the execution phase of GE Energy's work on the Kashagan project, which began in 2001 with GE's development of the basic engineering of the associated gas injection system. Delivery of the gas injection system to the project site is expected during the second half of 2006.

"Since the early 1970s, Nuovo Pignone (now part of GE Energy's oil and gas operations) has been dedicated to the development of leading technology for gas injection," said Giovanni Bucaneve, general manager of industrial plants for GE Energy. "Sour gas with ultra high-pressure is the new frontier of gas injection, an area where we have already had successful experiences."

GE Energy's oil and gas operations are based in Florence, Italy, the home of Nuovo Pignone, a long-time global leader in gas compression and turbo generation products. GE acquired Nuovo Pignone in 1994 and since then has continued to expand its oil and gas platform by acquiring or developing partnerships with other technology and experience leaders in the industry.