Nigeria’s Dangote Cement leverages GE technology to boost power supply, efficiency

Dangote Cement Plc has joined a growing league of plants in Nigeria, deploying General Electric’s power technologies to ensure efficient and reliable power supply from own gas turbines, to fire industrial complexes as electricity distribution companies (Discos) fail to meet demand.

Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited recently executed GE’s 6B Performance Improvement Package (PIP) upgrade on the first two out of six 6B gas turbines at the petrochemical facility in Eleme, Rivers State.

Dangote’s deal with the American company will modernise seven GE LM6000PC Aeroderivative Gas Turbines and install its Asset Performance Management (APM) digital solution at Dangote Cement plants in Obajana and Ibese, Nigeria.

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The contract includes service agreement extension for additional 50,000 operating hours for each of the seven GE LM6000PC Aeroderivative Gas Turbines; GE’s APM digital solution will help reduce unplanned downtime and enhance operational performance. The total plant solutions will improve power supply efficiency and help extend the life of the cement plants. This is essential to continuous operations and the plants’ business strategy.

APM leverages cutting-edge technology to monitor the performance of power generation assets to reduce downtime, avoid turbines damage and remotely predict and resolve issues. APM sensors will be installed not only on the seven aero-derivative turbines, but also on their associated generators and gearboxes to predict and accurately diagnose issues with greater accuracy before they occur.

“Energy infrastructure is getting smarter, and digital solutions allow not only the shift from traditional calendar-based repairs to predictive maintenance, but they also increase power asset availability and reliability,” said Elisee Sezan, CEO for GE’s Gas Power businesses in sub–Saharan Africa.

Earlier this year, GE announced the first digital solutions order in sub-Saharan Africa for Azito in Ivory Coast improving power plant output, reliability, availability and operational performance.