Dominion contracts GE for two compressor trains at Cove Point LNG project

GE Oil & Gas has shipped two liquefied natural gas (LNG) compressor trains for the development of Dominion’s Cove Point LNG export facility, currently under construction by IHI E&C International Corp. and Kiewit Energy Co., officials announced on Friday.

The LNG liquefaction plant located on the Chesapeake Bay in Lusby, Maryland, will produce about 5.25 MMtpy of LNG when completed in late 2017 and will be the first LNG terminal capable of exporting LNG on the US East Coast.

“We’re extremely pleased to be working with GE and utilizing this important LNG technology at Dominion Cove Point,” said Glyn Rodgers, president of IHI E&C. “This technology and our teamwork are helping to make Cove Point one of the world’s premier LNG export facilities.”

Each of the two identical trains includes a FR7 Gas Turbine plus three centrifugal compressors (3MCL1405, MCL1405, 2BCL806) and a 20-megawatt (MW) 2 pole induction electric helper motor provided by GE’s power conversion business. GE's MS7001 EA industrial gas turbines feature DLN technology and provide 86-megawatt ISO shaft power while reducing emissions, according to company officials.

The joint venture team of IHI E&C and Kiewit Energy will provide Dominion with the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services to convert the existing LNG import terminal to an LNG liquefaction plant for export of LNG to India and Japan.

“The shipment of the two LNG trains marks a significant milestone in this project,” said Tom Shelby, executive vice president at Kiewit Energy. “We look forward to working with GE at Cove Point, which is the first LNG export facility on the East Coast.” 

The dynamic simulation in collaboration with APCI, and full-load string test on the mixed refrigerant and propane LNG compressor trains were carried out recently at GE's facility in Massa, Italy, where GE Oil & Gas says it has the largest and most complete testing capability in the industry to perform tests under actual load and pressure conditions for trains driven by gas turbines or electric motors.

"All tests went well and were carried out before the contractual delivery date," said Juan Cuesta, general manager of the North America region of turbomachinery solutions at GE Oil & Gas. "We are pleased about the close collaboration with the project partners and enthusiastic about providing our advanced LNG technology to develop a more cost efficient solution that helps reduce risk.”

GE will also provide two auxiliary trains for Dominion's Cove Point LNG, one for the lean gas compression service composed of one centrifugal compressor (BCL604) plus gear box plus 27 MW synchronous motor and one for the propane recovery service composed of one reciprocating compressor (2HB/2).