GE Vernova Upgrades Advanced Gas Path to Boost Gas Turbine Power Output

GE Vernova launched an upgrade for its advanced gas path (AGP) technology, the AGP XPAND, designed to improve the power output and incremental efficiency of its 9E.03 gas turbine fleet. The first installation will occur at Taurus Energy’s 1,250-MW Bazyan Power Plant in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. GE Vernova also signed a 17-year service agreement to deliver the 9E rotor-life extension package for each Bazyan turbine.

“We are delighted to celebrate the new long-term service agreement and the installation of our new upgrade at the Bazyan power plant,” said Joseph Anis, President & CEO of GE Vernova’s Gas Power business in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. “We trust this upgrade represents a solution for countries like Iraq, which have a large 9E.03 installed base and pressing needs to meet growing energy demand. We are delighted to work with Taurus Energy on this project as reliable operations at strategic facilities, such as the Bazyan power plant, are crucial to sustain economic development efforts across the country.”

Bazyan Installation

Taurus Energy selected the AGP XPAND technology to modernize the Bazyan Power Plant and satisfy growing electricity demand throughout Kurdistan, including Mosul City and the Salahaldin Governorate. Bazyan features four 9E.03 gas turbines, on which the AGP XPAND systems will be installed, and two 9F.04 gas turbines powered by natural gas.

Bazyan Power Plant; image credit: ENKA

“We have a long-standing relationship with GE Vernova,” said Sheikh Saad Tayeb Hasan, Founder & Chairman of ONEX. “For over a decade, we have been utilizing GE Vernova’s technology, and we are proud that Taurus, part of the ONEX Group, is bringing this technology to Iraq. By utilizing the Kurdistan Region’s natural gas resources and power generation capacity, we are laying the foundation to create an energy hub. Through projects like Bazyan, we can contribute to the efforts to meet local energy needs as well as transmit additional power to other parts of the country.”

The 9E.03 and 9F.04 gas turbines, designed for baseload operations, burn light fuel oil to supplant low natural gas supplies and offer a projected operational lifetime of 25 – 30 years. With the AGP XPAND upgrade, Taurus Energy expects to improve its current power capacity while preserving turbine reliability, availability, and maintenance requirements.

AGP XPAND

GE Vernova’s AGP XPAND improves technically upon the 9E.03 AGP, leveraging increased fleet experience, upgraded materials, and enhanced component sealing to significantly raise firing temperature. Specifically, the technology offers power producers and industrial operators:

• An approximately 7% increase in 9E.03 gas turbine power output
• About 1% increase in incremental efficiency
• Exhaust energy increases of up to 2.6%, delivering more steam or power for combined heat-and-power and combined-cycle plants, such as Bazyan

All 9E.03 turbines firing natural gas, distillate oil, or ash-bearing fuels across single- and combined-cycle configurations can be upgraded to AGP XPAND, both during a major inspection or hot gas path inspection.

“The modernization of the current 9E.03 installed base can boost the power output and efficiency of existing 9E.03 gas turbines across the world,” said Amit Kulkarni, Head of ProductManagement & Strategy, Gas Power at GE Vernova. “This would lead to a possible cumulative increase of up to 5 GW of electricity at the global level, and a combined more than $100 million in fuel savings annually for the same baseline output, while opening up the potential for an aggregate incremental profitability of up to $310 million annually due to the new power capacity.”

The new AGP system, including components, was engineered at GE Vernova’s Greenville, SC, facility and Engineering Center in Warsaw, Poland. From here, the AGP XPAND system is manufactured and assembled at the company’s Manufacturing Excellence Centers in Belfort, France, and Veresegyház, Hungary.

“With over 730 units deployed worldwide, half of which are installed in the Middle East and Africa, GE Vernova has the largest operating and most experienced E-class fleet in the world and confirms its commitment to keep its mature fleets competitive in today’s dynamic marketplace,” said Kulkarni. “Improving existing technologies is the fastest way to inject power to the grid.”

GE Vernova in the News

In early February 2025, GE Vernova and Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity completed upgrade, retrofit, and maintenance work at several power plants to enhance the national grid’s stability, capacity, and modernization. The broader upgrade project covers 46 gas turbines across 12 power plants and is expected to add up to 500 MW to Iraq’s grid. It installed its AGP upgrades on 9E gas turbines and MXLII upgrades on 13E2 gas turbines for the Al Mansouriya power plant, increasing output up to 6%.