GE (NYSE:GE) today announced the selection of a site in Downtown
Oklahoma City for the company’s first-ever Global Research Center
dedicated to Oil & Gas technology. GE’s new Center will create 130
high-tech jobs and is expected to have a direct and indirect economic
impact of $13 million on the state and local economies. GE has invested
approximately $14 billion in its Oil & Gas business globally since 2007;
this new Center represents yet another example of GE’s commitment to
building broad technical capabilities that can deliver productivity
gains and foster innovation for its Oil & Gas customers and the industry.
The new Center will be located on a site at 10th and Walnut
Avenue, near downtown Oklahoma City. Michael Ming, General Manager of
GE’s new Center, will speak about the new site during a speech before
the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce’s Friday Forum. Ming will
be joined by GE’s Chief Technology Officer, Mark Little, Oklahoma City
Mayor Mick Cornett and a host of other State, local and university
leaders.
Ming said, “New technological breakthroughs in Oil & Gas are
transforming the world’s energy landscape in ways unimagined just a
decade ago. The new Center’s close proximity to many of our customers
and the State’s great university network and engineering talent will
allow us to accelerate the development of new technologies. Governor
Fallin, Mayor Cornett, the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Association,
local business and community leaders have provided immeasurable support
for the Center, a vital ingredient in the selection of today’s site.”
The Center will focus on accelerating mid- to later-stage Oil & Gas
technologies developed in GE’s Global Research labs, including
production systems, well construction, water use optimization, CO2
solutions, and energy systems.
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said, “In April, we celebrated news of
GE’s decision to invest and establish their Oil & Gas R&D center in our
great State. Today, we mark another milestone that shows how this vision
is quickly becoming a reality. GE’s new Oil & Gas Technology Center will
not only make a great addition to the Oklahoma City skyline, it will be
a beacon for attracting international attention from Oil & Gas partners
around the world who value GE’s technology excellence in the energy
sector. By establishing such strong research and development roots, we
are planting new seeds of growth that will lead to more jobs and more
economic activity for Oklahomans.”
Intended to be a collaboration hub for both domestic and global
customers, the Center will attract oil & gas industry influencers from
all around the globe. The Center will also serve as a focal point for
building new working relationships with State’s great university
network, including the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University
and University of Tulsa.
Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said, “We are thrilled that GE has
chosen to build its new Oil & Gas Technology Center here. We have worked
hard to make the City a place where companies want to locate and grow
their operations. Drawing one of the world’s largest industrial
companies with such a strong global customer base and rich heritage of
innovation builds on the tremendous progress we have made in attracting
new investments and jobs to our City. GE’s technology presence will
provide a major boost for our local economy.”
Construction on the 95,000 sq. ft. facility will begin in the spring of
2014, with the building expected to be completed and operational in
2015. Miles Associates, a local architectural and design firm in
Oklahoma City, has been selected to lead the design of GE’s new Oil &
Gas Technology Center. In the interim, GE is leasing temporary office
space in the City Place Tower in downtown Oklahoma City. Final
negotiations are progressing with the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal
Association (OCURA) on the property and are expected to be completed
later this month.
About GE
GE (NYSE:GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best
technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in
energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering,
moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For
more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.
About GE Global Research
GE Global Research is the hub of technology development for all of GE's
businesses. Our scientists and engineers redefine what’s possible, drive
growth for our businesses, and find answers to some of the world’s
toughest problems.
We innovate 24 hours a day, with sites in Niskayuna, New York; San
Ramon, California; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Bangalore, India; Shanghai,
China; Munich, Germany; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Visit GE Global
Research on the web at www.ge.com/research.
Connect with our technologists at http://edisonsdesk.com
and http://twitter.com/edisonsdesk.
About GE Oil & Gas
GE Oil & Gas is a world leader in advanced technologies and services
with 37,000 employees in more than 100 countries supporting customers
across the industry—from extraction to transportation to end use. Making
the environment, health and safety, quality and integrity our highest
priorities is The Way We Work. Our technologies and services include:
surface and subsea drilling and production, monitoring and diagnostics,
measurement and controls, large-scale LNG, pipeline compression and
inspection, well site and industrial power generation, technologies for
the refining and petrochemical industries, and modular CNG and LNG units
for transportation sectors. Through our customized service solutions,
training programs and technologies, GE Oil & Gas partners with customers
to maximize their efficiency, productivity and equipment reliability;
develop their next generation workforce; and fully benefit from the
megatrends of natural gas, the growth of subsea and hard-to-reach
reserves and the revolution in asset health management.
Follow GE Oil & Gas on Twitter @GE_OilandGas.
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