At GE’s World Water Tour in Edmonton today, GE Water & Process Technologies, a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), awarded Petro-Canada, one of Canada’s largest oil and gas companies, and the City of Edmonton with Canada’s first 2007 Global ecomagination Leadership Award for its ground-breaking partnership, which implemented an environmentally-sustainable water management solution for the region. The private-public partnership, a first-of-its-kind in Canada, saved over 2,650,000 cubic meters (700,000,000 US gallons) of fresh water while significantly reducing the amount of wastewater discharged into Alberta’s North Saskatchewan River.

Joining the award ceremony were water industry experts that came together at the World Water Tour to learn from best practices on ways to create sustainable supplies of water, decrease energy consumption and meet environmental requirements.

“Petro-Canada and the City of Edmonton partnership is a great example of how private and public entities can mutually balance environmental goals with economic and industry objectives,” said Jeff Garwood, president and CEO, GE Water & Process Technologies. “This pioneering partnership is making a positive difference for business and for Edmonton’s environment. We applaud Petro-Canada and the City of Edmonton for their leadership and environmentally sensible approach to growth.”

One of the largest refineries in Canada, the Edmonton facility refines approximately 135,000 barrels of crude oil per day. In 2002, the facility began to make modifications to meet recently enacted initiatives by the Alberta government to balance the growing demand for water and increases in growth. Rather than increase its freshwater withdrawals from the North Saskatchewan River, Petro-Canada partnered with the City of Edmonton to implement a solution that was environmentally sustainable, economically viable and capable of meeting current and future regulations.

“There is more demand than ever for clean water in the Edmonton region and this is the first time in Alberta that high quality recycled water is being provided to industry as an alternative to river water,” said Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel. “Edmonton has long recognized the benefits that partners bring to the table in meeting environmental challenges. This project is a critical part of EcoVision Edmonton®, the City’s commitment to ensure the environment is protected for generations to come.”

Petro-Canada financed the construction of a tertiary membrane filtration facility at Edmonton’s Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWPT), located on the North Saskatchewan River and also constructed a 5.5 km (3.4 mile) pipeline to carry treated wastewater from the treatment plant to the refinery site. The City of Edmonton handled the design, construction and operation of the tertiary membrane filtration facility.

“This project is an example of the three principles that guide Petro-Canada’s approach to water use: conservation, protection and recycling,” said Giorgio Grappolini, Petro-Canada’s Senior Advisor Infrastructure Development for the oil sands. “Our partnership with the City of Edmonton reflects the commitment to responsible resource management that both the City of Edmonton and Petro-Canada strive for.”

The partnership’s solution increased Petro-Canada’s water supplies, as well as reduced the industrial site’s overall environmental footprint. The project was Canada’s first major industrial development to use the combination of hollow fiber ultrafiltration (UF) and spiral wound Reverse Osmosis (RO) membranes for municipal wastewater recycling. The new system utilizes GE’s ZeeWeed UF membranes to treat the wastewater effluent from Gold Bar WWTP to bring high-quality industrial water to Petro-Canada’s facility. Petro-Canada’s hydrogen and steam supplier is also installing two GE PRO series RO systems to further meet Petro-Canada’s production needs. The new systems are scheduled to begin service in early 2008.

For more information on the GE ecomagination Leadership Award and GE ecomagination technology, please visit www.gewater.com.