The RB211 turbines, with their combined output of some 400,000 horsepower, will undertake a range of crucial range to ensure the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oilfield can operate profitably.

Collectively producing the equivalent of two-and-a-half times the power of a Boeing 747 aircraft, the RB211s will provide not only power generation for the platform but also the mechanical drives for the gas- and water-injection packages required to extract maximum reserves of oil.

Delivery of the compression and water injection platform (CWP) to its in-service position is a major milestone for Rolls-Royce in the supply of gas turbines for this project.

The company has orders for 27 RB211 units to be installed in the Azeri field, both offshore and at its Sangachal land terminal in Azerbaijan. The total value of Rolls-Royce energy equipment ordered for this project exceeds US$230 million.

The Rolls-Royce units were installed on the CWP in a fabrication yard near Baku, Azerbaijan, in readiness for the platform to be floated into its place on schedule.

The CWP can inject one million barrels of water per day into the oilfield’s reservoir while collecting up to one billion cubic feet of gas per day for compression and re-injection.

The US$4.7 billion Azeri project, led by BP, is one of several major new or expanding Rolls-Royce energy applications globally.

Many of these are based on the RB211, the world’s most successful industrial gas turbine in its class with nearly 500 sales worldwide.

Over 170 RB211s are providing power generation and mechanical drive services for offshore oil and gas installations in 19 countries.