Siemens turbine to replace Ruston engine in Ecuador

The SGT-300 turbine will replace a Ruston gas turbine at an Ecuador refinery. The Ruston Gas Turbines Company, which became part of Siemens with the acquisition of the industrial turbine business of Alstom in 2003, was a pioneer in the industrial application of small heavy-duty gas turbines from the 1950s onwards and introduced today’s cutting-edge dry low emissions (DLE) combustion technology to the market in the mid-1990s. The industrial gas turbine for the Shushufindi refinery will be manufactured in Siemens’ Lincoln, UK factory (formerly the Ruston Gas Turbines Company), and will be packaged and tested at the company’s facility in Houston, TX, USA.Petroecuador, Ecuador’s national oil company, recently selected Siemens to supply an 8-MW SGT-300 gas turbine for power generation for its Shushufindi refinery. The refinery is located in the province of Sucumbios, in the eastern part of Ecuador. Commissioning of the new unit is scheduled for the end of this year.

According to Matthew Chinn, Executive Vice President of New Equipment Solutions Worldwide for Siemens, “Petroecuador wanted to continue with the same OEM technology at the refinery and has been pleased with our 30+ year relationship since the Ruston turbine was installed in 1984. Replacing the turbine with the SGT-300 unit was a logical choice given its high efficiency levels and innovative DLE combustion system.”