Advanced Technology to Produce Beneficial Water from Booming Coal SeamGas Industry in Australia

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA—December 15, 2010—QGC, a leading Australian coal seam gas explorer andproducer, has signed a contract with a consortium of GE (NYSE: GE) and Laing O’Rourke for theconstruction of a water treatment plant in southwest Queensland that will support the region’s rapidlygrowing coal seam gas industry. Coal seam gas is a form of natural gas trapped in coal beds by waterand ground pressure. High salinity water is produced as part of coal seam gas extraction, which mustbe treated in an environmentally responsible manner.

The new Kenya Water Treatment Plant will use GE’s advanced membrane and thermal watertreatment technologies to desalinate water produced during the extraction of gas from the coalseams. This process will produce water that is suitable for beneficial reuse in a variety of applications,such as irrigation for farmers and process water for industrial customers. The facility, to be built nearthe town of Chinchilla about 290 kilometres west of Brisbane, will have the capacity to treat up to 72million litres per day.

QGC, a BG Group business, is developing one of Australia’s largest capital infrastructure projects toturn Queensland’s abundant coal seam gas reserves into liquefied natural gas (LNG). Rising globaldemand for energy and the increasing pressure for cleaner fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissionsare spurring the development of Queensland’s LNG industry, using coal seam gas as the feedstock.

“GE will provide the technical expertise and the process equipment for the project, while we will bringour design experience and construction skills to the job,” said Stephen Wilson, infrastructure generalmanager for Laing O’Rourke. “Our engineering expertise, complementing GE’s expertise, was critical insecuring the contract.”

“Advanced treatment processes will enable the Kenya Water Treatment Plant to convert coal seamgas water to a quality suitable for beneficial reuse. This supports both QGC’s objectives and theAustralian government’s water management policy for this growth industry,” said Heiner Markhoff,president and CEO—water and process technologies for GE Power & Water.

The new water treatment facility will feature its own power generation plant, which will be powered bycoal seam methane. The project builds on an existing relationship between GE and Laing O’Rourke; thetwo companies worked together on the recently completed Darling Downs Power Station, the largestcombined-cycle power station in Australia.

The Kenya Water Treatment Plant is expected to begin commercial operation in the final quarter of2011.

About GE

GE (NYSE: GE) is a diversified infrastructure, finance and media company taking on the world’stoughest challenges. From aircraft engines and power generation to financial services, health caresolutions and television programming, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs about300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's website atwww.ge.com.

GE serves the energy sector by developing and deploying technology that helps make efficient use ofnatural resources. With nearly 85,000 global employees and 2009 revenues of $40 billion, GE Energywww.ge.com/energyis one of the world’s leading suppliers of power generation and energy deliverytechnologies. The businesses that comprise GE Energy—GE Power & Water, GE Energy Services and GEOil & Gas—work together to provide integrated product and service solutions in all areas of the energyindustry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind,solar and biogas; and other alternative fuels.

For more information, contact:

Kristin Schwarz
GE Power & Water
+1 215 942 3598

kristin.schwarz@ge.com

Beth Coffman or Howard Masto
Masto Public Relations
+1 518 786 6488

beth.coffman@mastopr.com

howard.masto@ge.com