GE Energy signs $45m service contract with Dubal

GE Energy has signed a multi-year service contract for more than $45 million (Dh166 million) with Dubai Aluminium Company Limited (Dubal), one of the world's largest producers of aluminium, a company statement said Tuesday.

"The agreement is designed to reduce the cost of aluminium production while maximising the reliability and overall performance of 19 GE gas turbines that power the Dubal production complex," it said.

Abdullah Kalban, president and CEO of Dubal, said: "Performance and reliability of our power supply are very important for the production of aluminium. This service agreement with GE will help us reduce our cost of generating electricity, which will lead to a lower cost of aluminium production, positioning us more competitively in the global market."

The GE gas turbines operating at the Dubal power plant include six Frame 9E units, five Frame 9Bs and eight Frame 5s. As part of the service agreement, the NOx emissions of the Frame 5 units will be reduced by 15 per cent.

"Our service agreement will provide Dubal with GE's technical experience and support to meet their specific power generation requirements," Joseph Anis, President of GE Energy for the Middle East, said.

The agreement covers the supply of parts, performance uprates, repairs and field services for planned outages for the gas turbines, over a period of seven years. It further reiterates the leading role that GE Energy plays in the industrial sector of the UAE and the strong partnerships the company has forged with leading players across various economic sectors.

In addition to addressing Dubal's performance and reliability requirements, the GE service agreement will help reduce Dubal's critical spare parts inventory, a key milestone in the company's cost-cutting initiative, and further complement the company's status as one of the world's most environmentally friendly, and lowest production cost smelters.

All of the repairs covered under the service agreement will be performed at the Gulf Turbine Services (GTS) facility in Abu Dhabi. The GTS facility, a joint venture between GE and Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies, was established in 2001 to meet local as well as regional customer needs in the power generation and oil and gas industries.

Located about 35 kilometres from the city of Dubai, Dubal aluminium-producing complex was established in 1979 and has been expanded several times. Today it has the capacity to produce more than 960,000 tonnes of quality, hot metal aluminium annually, for customers in more than 48 countries.

GE has been present in the Middle East since the 1930s and today has regional management and project management offices throughout the region.