GE awarded $300m natural gas pipeline contract

General Electric (GE) has been awarded a US$300 million contract to work on China’s second east-west natural gas pipeline, AP reported. GE’s oil and gas division will provide compression equipment and turbines for the PetroChina pipeline that will run 8,700 kilometers through 13 of China’s provinces ending in Shanghai. The pipeline, which will serve 400 million people, is expected to boost the natural gas share of China’s primary energy consumption to 5% from the current 3.5%. With the contract, the value of GE’s total orders for work on three Chinese pipelines rises to more than US$600 million. Those include the original east-west project and a pipeline that carries natural gas from Sichuan to Shanghai. GE’s portions of the new pipeline are expected to go into operation in late 2010 and early 2011.