Re Contract
24 August 2009
ROLLS-ROYCE POWERS
MAJOR GAS PIPELINES IN CHINA
Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, has won two additional major
contracts from PetroChina for power systems to be installed on the
West to East Gas Pipeline Project (WEPP).
The contracts include extension of Rolls-Royce involvement in the initial WEPP
Line 1 and the Western section of Line 2, a second West to East pipeline
currently under construction. Total value of the orders exceeds $120 million.
Three RB211-powered gas compressor packages and a single motor-driven
compressor have been ordered for Line 1 of the WEPP pipeline to increase
installed horsepower at various stations along the pipeline. Crossing ten
Chinese provinces from the West Gobi desert to Shanghai in the East, this
4,000km line has a capacity of 17 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas
per year.
In addition, six RB211 compressor packages have been ordered for the 2,450 km
Western section of Line 2, which is being constructed to transport gas from the
Chinese border with Kazakhstan in the West to Zhongwei, the intersection point
between the regions of Ningxia, Gansu and Inner Mongolia. When completed and
fully operational, this line is designed to have a capacity of 30 bcm of
natural gas per year, which is broadly equivalent to the current annual
domestic consumption of natural gas in the UK.
Tony Ruegger, Vice-President - Oil & Gas for the Rolls-Royce energy business,
said: "We are very pleased to once again be selected by PetroChina to provide
Rolls-Royce power and compression equipment for their growing pipeline network.
"These latest orders emphasize the increasing success of Rolls-Royce equipment
and expertise in China, one of the world's most important energy markets."
The new contracts increase the number of RB211 gas turbine packages ordered for
the original WEPP line to19 and the number of motor-driven units to six.
Fifteen RB211 sets and five motor-driven compressors are already in operation,
and an additional RB211 set is currently undergoing installation. Total
operating experience now exceeds a quarter of a million hours, with one engine
installed at station one, Lunnan, Xinjiang Province, having recorded over
23,000 hours.
The gas compressors for all nine newly-ordered gas turbine packages plus the
single motor drive unit will be model RFBB-36, also designed and manufactured
by Rolls-Royce.
The RB211 gas generators will be manufactured at the company's Montreal
facility in Canada while packaging of the units and the manufacture of the
compressors will take place in Mount Vernon, Ohio. All the equipment for WEPP
Line 1 is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2010 with the six
packages for Line 2 due in the second quarter of 2010.
Notes to editors:
Rolls-Royce Group:
1. Rolls-Royce, a world-leading provider of power systems and services for use
on land, at sea and in the air, has established a strong position in global
markets - civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy.
2. As a result of this strategy, Rolls-Royce today has a broad customer base
comprising more than 600 airlines, 4,000 corporate and utility aircraft and
helicopter operators, 160 armed forces, more than 2,000 marine customers,
including 70 navies, and energy customers in nearly 120 countries, with an
installed base of 54,000 gas turbines.
3. Rolls-Royce employs around 38,500 skilled people in offices, manufacturing
and service facilities in 50 countries. The Group has a strong commitment
to apprentice and graduate recruitment, and to further developing employee
skills.
4. Businesses are headquartered in the UK, US, Canada, Germany, Scandinavia,
Singapore and China. This global presence allows the Group to deliver
benefits to its partners, in addition to being able to access long-term
international growth opportunities with its technology, presence,
partnerships and people.
5. In 2008, Rolls-Royce and its partners invested £885 million on research and
development, two thirds of which had the objective of further improving the
environmental aspects of its products, in particular the reduction of
emissions.
6. Annual underlying revenues were £9.1 billion in 2008, of which 52 per cent
came from services revenues. The firm and announced order book reported at
the end of June 2009 stood at £57.5 billion, providing visibility of future
levels of activity.
Rolls-Royce in China:
7. Rolls-Royce has been building a strong presence in Civil Aerospace, Marine
and Energy in China for more than 45 years. Together with its associate
company International Aero Engines (IAE), Rolls-Royce powers more than
400 aircraft of twelve Chinese airlines, including Hong Kong, and Macao.
8. The North East Asia headquarters of the Rolls-Royce global Marine business
is based in Shanghai where the company also runs a manufacturing facility.
Rolls-Royce also has a successful turbine component joint venture in Xian,
and is growing its component and materials purchasing in China.
9. Rolls-Royce also leads the field in developing high quality technical and
managerial training programs with a range of Chinese organizations
including Chinese government organizations, the Civil Aviation
Administration of China (CAAC) and Aviation Industries of China
(AVIC I and II).
Rolls-Royce Energy:
10. Rolls-Royce announced the original order for 12 RB211 gas turbine
compressor packages and five variable speed motor-driven compressor sets
for Phase 1 of WEPP Line 1 in February 2004. Since then, and prior to the
most recent order, pipeline expansion orders for three additional RB211
packages and seven compressor upgrades were placed in 2005, and a single
RB211 compression set and two compressor upgrades were ordered in 2008.
11. Nearly 700 Rolls-Royce gas compression sets have now been ordered for
45 pipelines in 24 countries.
For more information, please contact:
Investor relations:
Mark Alflatt
Director of Financial Communication
Rolls-Royce plc
Tel: +44 (0)20 7227 9246
mark.alflatt@rolls-royce.com
Media relations:
Nicky Louth-Davies
Director of Corporate Communications
Rolls-Royce plc
Tel: +44 (0)20 7227 9232
nicky.louth-davies@rolls-royce.com