Japan's Mitsubishi Power has received an order from South Korea's Samsung C&T Corporation to provide its M501JAC hydrogen-ready combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) for the Najim industrial steam and electricity cogeneration plant in Jubail in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

Assembled in Dammam, the M501JAC gas turbine will enable the new cogeneration plant to generate up to 475MW of power and approximately 452 tonnes an hour of steam.

According to Mitsubishi Power, its J-class gas turbines have an efficiency rate of more than 64%. This will provide the new plant with "flexibility, faster startup times, and load-following capabilities to help balance electricity supply and demand, ensuring a stable low-carbon power supply and supporting Saudi Arabia's industrial growth and decarbonisation targets".

Samsung C&T is the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the project, which is being developed by a team comprising Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) and Japanese power generation company Jera.

Taqa owns a 51% stake in Najim Cogeneration Company, the special-purpose vehicle for the project, while Jera owns the remaining 49%. 

The project was previously called the Amiral cogeneration independent steam and power plant.

The team announced reaching financial close on the project on 22 August.

Saudi Aramco Total Refining & Petrochemical Company (Satorp) entered into a power and steam purchase agreement with the developer team in March this year.

The 25-year build, own, operate contract is extendable by five years on mutual agreement.

Regional project tracker MEED Projects estimates that the scheme will require an investment of at least $400m.

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

The Naim cogeneration plant is expected to be operational by 2027. It will cater to the Amiral petrochemicals complex in Jubail.

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, capable of producing up to 1,650 kilotonnes a year 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, lubricants, drilling fluids, detergents, food additives, automotive parts and tires. It is also expected to create about 7,000 local direct and indirect jobs.

Saudi Aramco owns a 62.5% stake in Satorp, while France's TotalEnergies holds 37.5%.

Photo credit: MHI