A smooth outage

has signed a $400 million, 17-year contractual service agreement (CSA) covering 27 gas turbines and 47 centrifugal compressors at Atlantic LNG Company's production facility in Port Fortin,

.

GE says the contract includes a new maintenance approach based on an evolution of the modular exchange normally applied on GE aeroderivative engines and now extended to GE heavy-duty 32-megawatt gas turbines.

Using this approach during scheduled outages, Atlantic LNG's existing gas turbines will be removed and replaced in modules, reducing the turnaround times.

GE will build and operate a dedicated service shop in Point Fortin, where the removed modules will be overhauled.

"Our patented modular replacement method is designed to reduce outage duration and significantly increase plant availability," said Claudi Santiago, president and CEO of GE Energy's oil and gas business. "Over the life of the CSA the new approach, coupled with the CSA structure, is expected to add a year of production for the Atlantic LNG plant.”

The gas turbines covered under the CSA are GE Frame 5002D machines, while the compressors are horizontally split and barrel type centrifugal units used in the LNG refrigeration process.

In addition to the modular replacement program for the gas turbines and compressors, GE also will supply spare parts, and scheduled and unscheduled services for the duration of the CSA.

Separately, GE Energy's nuclear business has signed a strategic alliance agreement with FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC) of Akron, Ohio.

The six-year alliance, agreed to this year, will cover operational support at FirstEnergy's Perry Nuclear Power Plant and Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station.

The goal of the alliance is to maximize equipment and refuel outage performance at the two facilities, which are located in

, along the northern shores of

.