GE Signs Licensing Agreement for Oil and Gas Compressors with BHEL of India

21 July 2010

Further expanding its technology presence in India and the region, GE (NYSE: GE) has signed a 10-year licensing agreement with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) of India.

According to the agreement, signed through GE Oil & Gas’ Italian entity Nuovo Pignone, GE’s advanced range of high performance, high efficiency centrifugal compressors will be manufactured under license at BHEL’s production site in Hyderabad, India, for sale in India and in other South Asian territories.

John Flannery, president and CEO, GE India said: “This agreement builds on our strategy of bringing world-class technology to the Indian marketplace. It strengthens GE’s ‘company to country’ approach by creating growth opportunities and developing local skills and expertise. BHEL is an excellent partner for us, consistent with GE’s high standards in performance engineering and customer service. “

Mr. B.P. Rao, chairman & managing director, BHEL said: “This licensing agreement is an endorsement of our existing partnership with GE and of BHEL’s own world-class engineering capabilities. I’m confident that together we can support customers in India, with the outstanding compression technology that is synonymous with GE Oil & Gas and which these markets require for continued industrial growth.”

GE’s compressor units are vital to infrastructure development projects, including oil and gas production and transportation, refinery and petrochemical industry applications and fuel gas boosting. The technical scope of the licensing agreement provides for the licensing of GE’s advanced range of centrifugal compressors, specifically several models of horizontally-and vertically split, pipeline and integrally gear compressors.

Based on a previous licensing agreement in place with GE Energy since 1986, BHEL already is successfully partnering on the manufacturing and sale of GE gas turbines for Power and Water applications. Today’s agreement also builds on a successful licensing arrangement for similar units held between Nuovo Pignone and BHEL from 1971 to 1992.