Siemens Energy announced that it has received a major order from China Petroleum Material and Equipment Corporation for the delivery of 8 Variable Speed Drive Systems for the extension of the Shanjing II natural gas pipeline in China. The Shanjing II pipeline supplies natural gas from the western province Shannxi to China’s capital Beijing. The Siemens VSD systems will be installed in three pipeline compressor stations, and will start operating in fall 2009.

Mr Frank Stieler CEO of the Siemens Oil & Gas Division said Siemens will supply 5 complete VSD systems with a capacity of 20 megawatts and 3 VSD systems with 15 MW each. The scope of the order includes all ancillaries as cooling systems, control systems and filter equipment. This is already the second order for VSD systems of this type Siemens has received from China Petroleum Material and Equipment Corporation. He said “Our excellent performance at the first project and the great support from our regional staff in Beijing has laid the foundation for this follow up order from CPTDC.”

Mr Frank Stieler said due to the rising demand for natural gas the market for new oil & gas pipelines is growing worldwide at a rapid pace. In a recent study, Douglas Westwood projected that USD180 billion will be spent on onshore pipeline projects worldwide through to 2012. The majority of the expenditures are expected to be invested in new natural gas pipelines, especially in Asia. He said that “We anticipate massive investments in large pipeline projects in China. Siemens Oil & Gas has the most diverse portfolio for the midstream oil & gas markets and we can perfectly serve our customer’s needs in China and worldwide. Siemens can offer highly efficient products and solutions from power to compression and pumping out of hand.”