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GE Vernova completes Saudi cogeneration plants study

4 November 2024

US-headquartered GE Vernova and Saudi Arabia’s Ash Sharqiyah Operations & Maintenance Company (Ashomco) have completed the front-end engineering design (FEED) studies that explored lowering the net carbon emissions of three cogeneration plants located in Saudi Arabia.

In a statement, GE Vernova said it has completed the assessment of pre-combustion and post-combustion technologies at the three plants powered by GE Vernova’s 7E and 7F gas turbines.

Together the three plants deliver up to 920MW of combined power and 1,400 tonnes an hour of steam, a capacity equivalent to the average power needed by 920.000 Saudi homes.

“Our participation in the GE Vernova-led studies underscores our dedication to accelerating advanced solutions for potentially retrofitting the existing power plants to meet stringent carbon emission standards, a vital step towards producing more sustainable energy,” said Rob Hayes, executive manager, Ashomco.

MEED understands that Ashomco manages Saudi Aramco's cogeneration plants in Abqaiq, Hawiyah and Ras Tanura.

GE Vernova accomplished a hydrogen-readiness assessment for the three power plants as well as conducting assessments to improve performance and costs in the installation of possible carbon capture, utilisation and sequestration (CCUS) systems at the three power plants.

The firm reiterated that its 7E and 7F gas turbines can already operate today with hydrogen blend at up to 100% with modifications to the Standard Combustors.

GE Vernova’s feed studies explored solutions to enable operations using blends of natural gas and hydrogen, with hydrogen accounting for up to 32% by volume at those three plants, and defined the necessary modifications to the existing combustor systems to achieve this level of hydrogen blending.

The studies also focused on retrofitting the three power plants with technology capable of capturing up to 95% of the plant’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

The studies concluded that the integration of GE Vernova’s exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system could lead to a reduction of more than 7% of the total cost of the carbon capture facility, compared to installing CCS without the EGR system, and a  6% reduction of carbon capture operational costs per year, at the site conditions considered in the study.

Joseph Anis, President & CEO of GE Vernova's Gas Power business in Europe, Middle East & Africa, said the first-of-this-kind carbon capture assessment “proposes significant enhancements aiming to improve the proposed carbon capture process and reduce its impact on the power plants’ output, performance and equipment costs”.

Photo credit: GE Vernova

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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