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Rolls-Royce increases Middle East order book with Trents for Oman Air and Avons for Dubai Petroleum


WEBWIRE

Rolls-Royce plc today increased its growing presence in the Middle East, where it is playing an important role in the development of the region across all the Group’s business sectors, with orders from Oman Air for Trent 700s and from Dubai Petroleum for Avon 200 industrial engines.

Oman Air, the national airline of the Sultanate of Oman, has selected Trent 700 engines to power its new fleet of five purchased and two new leased Airbus A330 aircraft. The value of the business, including a TotalCare® long-term services agreement, is $460 million at list prices, with deliveries due to begin in 2009.

Dubai Petroleum is upgrading a further six industrial Avon gas generators, following a previous order for four conversions, which have already been shipped back to Dubai. Half of its current Avon fleet operating on platforms in the Fateh offshore gas field will now be to the new Avon 200 standard.

The new Trent-powered aircraft - the first widebody jets to be purchased by Oman Air - will allow the Muscat-based airline to significantly expand its international operations.

Ziad Karim Al-Haremi, Chief Executive Officer of Oman Air, said, “Selection of the Rolls-Royce engine represents the beginning of a new relationship for Oman Air on this important fleet of aircraft. The Trent 700 has significant presence in the Middle East .We consider its performance, reliability and operational flexibility as important factors in the selection of our first widebody engine, and the market leadership of the Trent 700 in the region gave us the comfort that it is the right choice for us.”

The Trent 700 - the global market leader on the A330 with more than 50 per cent share of orders - also has a strong Middle East footprint. It powers 70 per cent of A330 take-offs in the region.

The engine is also the quietest and cleanest option for the aircraft. A programme of continuous improvement, involving the introduction of the latest Trent family technology to the Trent 700, will also ensure increased benefits to customers, such as the lowest fuel burn of any engine on the aircraft.

Trent aero engine technology has also been used for the Avon 200 upgrade and is helping to provide the engine with a 10 per cent increase in power, 5.3 per cent better thermal efficiency and reduced carbon dioxide emissions compared with current in-service Avon engines.

Other improvements include reduced fuel burn, extended times between overhaul, up from 30,000 hours to 36,000 hours and a better mechanical design to reduce life-cycle costs.

Work on converting the engines will be carried out by the Rolls Wood Group, a 50/50 joint venture between Rolls-Royce plc and John Wood Group plc, at its Aberdeen facility.

Keith Brady, Managing Director of the Rolls Wood Group, said: “We are extremely pleased that the work to undertake the conversions is being performed in Aberdeen by Rolls Wood. We have already converted six Avons for operators in Norway, Dubai and Brazil following the successful trials of a development engine on a major gas pipeline in Canada.”


Note to Editors:

1.

The Trent engine family has been ordered by many Middle East customers, including Qatar Airways, Emirates Airline, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, Etihad, ALAFCO, Yemenia and Gulf Air, powering Boeing 777s, A330s, A350 XWBs and A340s. In addition, Etihad will be the first operator in the region of the Trent-powered A380. The International Aero Engines V2500, in which Rolls-Royce is a senior partner, is also operated widely.
2.

TotalCare, tailored for individual operators, offers a range of services from Rolls-Royce covering all aspects of asset management in support of its civil aerospace products. Building on the company’s knowledge, experience and infrastructure, these services include elements such as predictive maintenance, logistics management, and global repair and overhaul offerings. TotalCare can remove uncertainties from engine management and improve operational reliability for operators through a mutually aligned business relationship.
3.

The industrial Avon is one of the most successful industrial aeroderivative gas turbines ever built. More than 1000 have been sold to operators in 48 countries, 550 for mechanical drive applications and 500 for electrical power generation. More than 100 have been installed on offshore platforms.
4.

Dubai Petroleum has operated four offshore fields since1969. Fateh is the oldest of the four, discovered in 1966, and has been developed continuously since its discovery.
5.

Rolls-Royce, a world-leading provider of power systems and services for use on land, at sea and in the air, operates in four global markets – civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy. The Group has a broad customer base comprising 600 airlines, 4,000 corporate and utility aircraft operators, 160 armed forces, more than 2,000 marine customers and energy customers in 120 countries.
6.

Rolls-Royce is continually improving the environmental impact of its products. Each year the company, in collaboration with its partners, invests around £700 million on research and development, two thirds of which has the objective of reducing the environmental impact of its products and operations. This technology investment is primarily aimed at reducing noise and emissions.

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