Under the deal with Cheniere Energy subsidiary Corpus Christi Liquefaction, GE will provide spare parts and planned inspections, maintenance services and round-the-clock technical support for the gas turbines and refrigerant compressors on the first two LNG trains for more than 20 years.
Additionally, GE will provide a resident technical support team to assist with maintenance of GE equipment, including a remote monitoring system, at Cheniere facility.
The company plans to use its monitoring and maintenance expertise in order to optimize the availability and reliability of Corpus Christi plant.
GE Oil & Gas Turbomachinery Solutions CEO & president Rafael Santana said: "We are continuing to see substantial investment in US energy infrastructure.
"We are building on our tradition of maintenance with the power of big data and analytics and connected equipment, combining these elements to enable optimized plant performance and improved availability and reliability."
Featuring six gas turbines, each train is expected to have capacity to produce up to approximately 4.5 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG.
GE plans to commence equipment construction on site in January 2017 while the LNG production is scheduled to start as early as 2018.
The deal comes on heels on a $1bn maintenance agreement signed in December 2014 by GE Oil & Gas with Cheniere for the Sabine Pass facility.
Cheniere Asset Group executive vice-president Keith Teague said: "North America will become a significant LNG supplier to global markets and our facilities will represent a substantial portion of these LNG exports.
"GE’s ability to maintain and service our equipment at the Corpus Christi LNG terminal provides assurance that we will be a reliable, low-cost supplier of LNG for our customers.
"As we continue to expand markets for LNG, GE’s support at both the Corpus Christi and Sabine Pass LNG terminals will be instrumental."
Image: GE and Cheniere Energy officials sign agreement. Photo: courtesy of GE.
