A 70-MW-class aeroderivative driver with a four-stage free power turbine delivers tested full-string performance for single-skid FLNG trains
Floating liquefaction depends on a single piece of rotating equipment doing a specific job reliably, day after day: converting fuel energy into shaft power to turn a large mixed-refrigerant compressor without a gearbox, on a compact skid that tolerates pitch and roll.At Gastech 2025,Baker Hughes LNG growth manager Tommaso Rubinopresenteda 70-plus-MW aeroderivative gas turbine engineerednot only but“specifically… for LNG mechanical drive,” delivering high simple-cycle efficiency and a free power turbine speed range that matches the compressor’s operating window while enabling direct coupling.
In LNG usage, a “driver” is the prime mover that supplies mechanical power to a compressor or pump; here, the driver’s role is to spin a seven-impeller, back-to-back single mixed-refrigerant machine from a common baseplate without speed change.
Mr Rubino sets out a technical case grounded in machine architecture, packagedesignand test evidenceof acompact, light, efficient mechanical driver built for “long maintenance intervals,” “pressurised start-up,” and a direct shaft-end coupling to the refrigerant compressor.
Mr Rubino frames the floating brief with five words – compact, light, efficient, simple, low-maintenance – and the rest of the engineering follows from those constraints.In simple-cycle configuration, the turbine delivers at least 70 MW of power with a thermal efficiency of at least44%. The entitlement figures are 73.1 MW and 44.2% respectively, with contract guarantees set below these values.Those numbers define an efficiency and power‑density target that is relevant on a motion‑affected deck with weight,spaceand auxiliary limits.
