El Paso Natural Gas Co.'s Pecos River, N.M., facility boasts what manufacturer GE Industrial & Power Systems, Latham, N.Y., believes to be the world's oldest and longest running operating GE gas turbine units in commercial service.
El Paso's Unit 3, a GE MS3002A mechanical-drive gas turbine, has logged more than 300,000 fired hr since installation in September 1953. Alongside the Frame 3 unit are two other GE Frame 3s, Units 1 and 2, which have accumulated more than 266,500 and 293,600 fired hr, respectively.
El Paso has 63 GE gas turbines in operation, primarily Frame 3s and Frame 5s, including 28 1950s vintage GE gas turbines in various pipeline facilities throughout the U.S. Southwest. According to GE, more than 600 units of the more than 5,800 GE gas turbines installed or on order have accumulated 100,000 hr or more of commercial service.
More than 85 units have exceeded 200,000 hr in commerical operation.
Copyright 1994 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
