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Amiral cogen eyes financial close

26 April 2024

The developer team for the cogeneration independent steam and power plant (ISPP) serving the Amiral petrochemicals complex in Jubail, Saudi Arabia is expected to reach financial close for the project before the end of the second quarter this year.

Saudi Aramco Total Refining & Petrochemical Company (Satorp) signed a power and steam purchase agreement with a team that comprises the UAE's Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) and Japan's Jera in March. 

A special purpose entity owned by Taqa (51%) and Jera (49%) will develop the Amiral cogeneration plant on a 25-year build-own-operate basis, extendable by five years on mutual agreement.

Taqa and Jera will also undertake the plant's operation and maintenance (O&M) through an O&M special purpose entity.

"The target is to reach financial close by the end of May or June," a source familiar with the project tells MEED. 

The planned facility is anticipated to have a design capacity of about 475MW of power generation and roughly 452 tonnes an hour of steam from advanced combined-cycle gas-fired technology.

The firms said the plant is expected to be operational by 2027.

"The Amiral cogeneration plant will include state-of-the-art power and steam generation systems, gas and water receiving systems, and gas insulated switchgear interconnections while at the same time meeting stringent efficiency standards imposed by the Saudi Energy Efficiency Centre," the firms said on 28 March.

"The project also has provision for the future installation of a carbon dioxide capture plant and is capable of hydrogen cofiring."

South Korean contracting company Samsung C&T will undertake the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the Amiral cogeneration ISPP project.

Steam cracker complex

Integrated with the existing Satorp refinery in Jubail, the new complex aims to house one of the largest mixed-load steam crackers in the Gulf that can produce up to 1,650 kt/y of ethylene and other industrial gases.

This expansion is expected to attract more than $4bn in additional investment in various industrial sectors, including carbon fibres, lubes, drilling fluids, detergents, food additives, automotive parts and tires. It is also expected to create about 7,000 local direct and indirect jobs.

Satorp reached the final investment decision on Amiral in December 2022.

Aramco owns 62.5% of shares in Satorp, while France's TotalEnergies has a 37.5% stake.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11716656/main.jpg
Jennifer Aguinaldo

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