GE’s technology approach for oil and gas

By Mohammad Ehteshami
General Manager, Technology

Oil and gas has gone through some significant and admirable developments – part of the ever-increasing importance that technology is playing in our globally competitive  landscape. In offshore development, for example, the industry went from jacket structures 40 years ago to tension-leg platforms and then to spars for subsea development. Blow-out preventers went from being conventionally topside to conventionally subsea. LNG plants made capacity leaps from 5 MTPY to 8 MTPY in the past year alone with GE’s new compression supertrains, and we are still pushing the envelope with our partners and customers.

My background is in aviation where I spent most of my career in designing aircraft engines. So I share the oil and gas industry’s passion for risk reduction. Beyond my personal commitment, a key differentiator for GE is our organizational commitment to, and successful record of, enhancing  output , reducing cost and reducing risk through technology and rigorous processes.

In our experience, because so much financial, environmental and human safety is at stake at any given moment in the oil and gas industry, an operator’s acceptance of new technologies is highly dependent on each innovation’s ability to add significant operating value and utilize proven technology.

In more direct terms, successful differentiation and penetration of a new technology is only possible if it will make a big difference for the customer’s business and be of relatively little risk to implement. In response, our research and product development initiatives are based on the following technology triad:

• Evolutionary
• Revolutionary
• Synergistic

Evolutionary technology is the type of innovation that is most suitable for the risk profile of the oil and gas industry. It is not a concept of ‘reinventing the wheel’ but adding features to it. Our competitive strength is the ability to adapt and build on proven technologies – an approach that simultaneously creates advantages and minimizes risk. We discover which incremental steps in machine design will result in the largest leaps forward for operating productivity. With a continuous and focused program of evolutionary enhancements, we provide customers with significant added value without subjecting their operations to unacceptable risk.

Intrinsically related to that is our philosophy about revolutionary technology – which is grounded firmly in the relationship between risk and reward. We understand that the return for our customers must be large and long-lasting enough to justify the investment of significant time and resources. We don’t work blindly in laboratories on simple mechanical adjustments. We rely heavily on industry feedback to prioritize our R&D investment on solutions that are highly demanded, and we work closely with customers in regular Sensing Sessions to identify and anticipate future needs. Every innovation must make a significant impact.

All our technologies are designed to be evolutionary in risk, but revolutionary in results.

Finally, we are in a unique position to develop synergistic technologies by drawing on advances by other businesses in the global GE organization. We have immediate and unparalleled access to innovations from the world’s most technologically progressive industries. For example, our gas turbines offer exceptional power and efficiency by leveraging technology from GE Aviation’s innovations in aircraft engine design. Our defect detection and manufacturing quality assurance systems and pipeline inspection tools draw on some of the world’s most advanced diagnostics technologies developed by GE Healthcare. And so on. Truly global ideas merging to overcome the greatest challenges for our customers in oil and gas.

Following are just a few examples of solutions borne from our  approach to technology.

Propane compressor for LNG plants

We have delivered a seven-point improvement in efficiency over the past few years through consistent evolutionary enhancement – the net result of which has been a revolutionary impact on operations while adhering to the industry’s risk appetite.

 

 

GE 10 Variable Geometry Combustor

Our newest gas turbines are equipped with a variable geometry combustor which adjust fuel flow and air-flow distribution in different sections of the combustor to minimize emissions and maximize power at part load. Truly a new innovation that is available now after a stringent development process. The result is the best part-load emissions and efficiency for a machine of its class.

LMS100 – most efficient simple-cycle gas turbine

Based on proven aeroderivative technology, this unit delivers more than 100 MW of power. Its unique intercooler between the low and high pressure compressor delivers consistent power, efficiency and emissions in extreme temperatures. With its aeroderivative power and unmatched robustness, LMS100 will enable major strides in power generation and mechanical drive particularly in arctic conditions.

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)

We cannot talk of technology differentiation in GE without talking about predictability and CFD. Proven technology is not only about using the exact same technology but is also about using the same tools to make accurate predictions about the performance of new designs. The set of tools we leverage from GE aviation and Energy, and our own suite of tools, enable us to make accurate predictions of compressor, turbine and system performance even as we develop new designs. For example, our scientists and engineers are currently testing new designs which have a range of evolutionary and revolutionary features promising to cut the diffuser size of centrifugal compressors by 15-25%. This level of differentiation would not have been possible without a strong set of prediction tools.

Efficiency and reliability – new abradable seals

We are now testing a new class of abradable sealing technology that has shown 1-2 points of gains and promises of an additional 3-5 points as we apply it across the whole compressor. This is an example of leveraging the proven seal design from our gas and steam turbine applications and changing the material to meet the wet sour gas duties. This is in addition to our recent advancement using single-piece impeller manufacturing which cuts cycle time, increases productivity and improves efficiency by cutting wall friction.

Electrification for subsea applications

We are currently fast-tracking the development of multi-generation electrification solutions such as:

A high speed motor compressor monted on magnetic bearings (currently being tested in Le Creusot, France)

And GE is also developing drives with unmatched reliability for a wide range of power demands in the oil and gas industry. Scientists at our Global Research Center are working on enhanced cooling schemes for power drives that show three times the cooling capability and double the power density. Evolutionary work – building on GE’s work for the aerospace and defense industries – with revolutionary impact for oil and gas.

Gas-to-liquids and syngas generation applications

To meet the needs of GTL and other syngas applications, GE is developing a hybrid compressor that combines the proven 6FA axial compressor with a downstream centrifugal compressor to deliver the necessary capacity of 3600 ton/day of oxygen needed for today’s large-scale air separation units in GTL plants. With proven frame technology, GE has the compressor building blocks that are capable of meeting all the future needs of the industry up to 7200 ton/day and beyond.

We are also developing syngas generation technology that builds on our proven DLN premixing technology to reduce the size of syngas generation reactors by a factor of 10-30. New syngas turbo-expander technology ideas and innovative plant layouts can significantly increase the carbon efficiency of GTL plants. These are examples of technologies that we develop in collaboration with customers since plant layout is critical to unit design and performance.

Subsea boosting

Reliability and availability are top priorities in subsea applications and we are developing a whole range of boosting technologies in response to this need:

• A vertical subsea compression layout to reduce installation cost
• Integrated motor-compressors to enable higher reliability and availability
• Compact multi-phase pumping to enable the highest pressure density ever in multi-phase pumping. The technology will have new sealing features that enhance reliability and availability even in sand-plagued environments. New materials leveraged from GE’s Hydro business are also being utilized to achieve the best reliability in its class.

In summary

The oil and gas industry is risk-averse, but clearly welcomes innovation when it brings significant advantage to productivity and safety. Rigorous quality control and qualification processes, and building on proven technologies are keys to success. At GE, our commitment to technology differentiation is the strongest in the industry. We continually draw on vast experience and reach across industry boundaries for synergistic technologies that successfully balance evolutionary risks with revolutionary rewards.