GE Energy Opens New GE Saudi Water & Process Technology Center

Published: 23-Jun-2009

By: Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer

GE Energy has announced the opening of around $10 million GE Saudi Water & Process Technology Center in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The new technology center incorporates a blending plant for water treatment chemicals and offers advanced water, water reuse, wastewater and process solutions to local and regional customers. It is the second GE Water facility in the Gulf, following a recently opened manufacturing facility and office complex in Dubai, UAE.

The new center is a joint venture between GE and Al Tamimi Group, a leading Saudi Arabian engineering and construction firm with which GE has had a relationship since 1957.

“This technology center exemplifies our commitment to partner in the infrastructure development of Saudi Arabia. GE has been a successful growth partner for the public and private sector companies in the country since 1942. Today, GE is more than 600 people strong and we continue to invest in the Kingdom as part of our company’s localization initiative,” said Glen Messina, chief executive officer of the Chemicals& Monitoring Solutions business for GE Water, a business unit of GE Energy.

“The center provides two important benefits to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to the Gulf Region,” Messina added. “It helps to ensure that the growing industrial sector will have continuing access to the clean water supplies necessary for operation and it also will support a reliable, efficient and flexible supply chain, better serving our local customers’ growing demand for water treatment solutions and technologies.”

This facility highlights GE’s focus on building local partnerships with Saudi companies, which complements the Kingdom’s socio-economic growth initiatives and supports national initiatives that encourage the employment of Saudi nationals in the private sector.

The 7,500 m2 facility will add more than 10,000 tons of new chemical production capability and an additional 1,150 m2 of chemical and equipment storage. The facility will initially blend a number of chemical products used in many industries, including power, refinery, petrochemical, mining and manufacturing. The facility also will serve the municipal water and wastewater sector.

GE has played a critical role in the development of Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure for almost 70 years, investing in the region and supplying technology and services to address such needs as water management and power generation.

The new center will provide jobs and training for Saudi nationals, who comprise about 50% of the contractors, plant operators and commercial leaders associated with it. The company’s focus on leadership development will bring training opportunities for GE employees at all levels.

GE has supplied more than 400 turbines for projects across Saudi Arabia. Notable recent projects include Marafiq, the water and power project with the capacity to produce more than 2.7 GW of power and 800,000 m3/day of desalinated water; Saudi Electricity Company’s (SEC) PP10 and PP9, the largest combined-cycle facility in the Middle East with an output of more than two GW; and SEC’s PP8 project in Riyadh, which featured the shipment of GE’s 1,000th advanced Ftechnology

gas turbine.

GE Energy is further strengthening its local customer service with the recently announced 10,000 m2 Power Technology Center in Dammam, which will expand GE Energy’s service and repair capabilities in the region.

GE’s water-management portfolio in Saudi Arabia and the region encompasses desalination; municipal, utility and industrial wastewater treatment; process chemicals and separation; product water; and products for residential water applications. Key projects include:

-- GE and Al Tamimi GET Water Partnership—GE is providing a fleet of mobile water treatment systems to Al Tamimi Group for the rapid deployment of onsite treatment systems for both sea water and brackish water treatment, water reuse and water filtration with emergency response time of as little as 72 hours. More than 60 mobile units are currently in operation, with each unit capable of treating up to 1,500 m3 of water per day.

-- GE Water is a partner in ConocoPhillips Water Sustainability Center (WSC) in Qatar—ConocoPhillips and GE will work to develop more efficient and cost-effective treatment technologies at the WSC. The WSC will research and develop water solutions primarily for the petroleum and petrochemical sectors and also will focus on municipal and agricultural solutions.

-- Water Reuse at International Medical Center in Jeddah—GE supplied the 300-bed facility with an advanced membrane bioreactor wastewater treatment system to treat and recycle 250 m3/day of wastewater, reducing freshwater usage. The water exceeds cleanliness standards and is used for flush water in lavatory fixtures and for landscaping.

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