Morocco hydropower applications due by end-January
4 January 2024
Morocco’s Office National de l’Electricite et de l’Eau Potable – Branche Electricite (Onee) has extended to 30 January the deadline for the submission of prequalification applications for the contract to build a pumped storage scheme in El-Menzel in Sefrou Province.
The planned El-Menzel Pumping Energy Transfer Station (Step) will have an installed power generation capacity of between 300MW and 400MW, as MEED previously reported.
It will be equipped with two reversible single-stage pump turbine units, with each unit’s capacity varying between 150MW and 200MW.
The project is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2028.
The work scope for the winning engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor involves supplying and installing all the main and auxiliary equipment. It will include execution, manufacture, transport, assembly, commissioning tests, acceptance tests and technical assistance during the contract period.
Jeddah-headquartered Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) is providing finance for the project.
The El-Menzel Step plant will be located approximately 35 kilometres southeast of the city of Sefrou and 30km from Fez.
The project will also involve the construction of a 400-kilovolt (kV) substation; the laying of 44km-power transmission lines; and the construction of 10km of access roads.
According to Onee, the project is part of Morocco’s national strategy to increase the share of renewable energy sources in the national energy mix to 52 per cent by 2030.
It is expected to contribute to the country’s energy transition and help meet the demand for electricity during peak periods.
In addition to developing renewable energy capacity, the project is also expected to help improve the stability of the electricity network and mitigate the impact of the intermittency of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
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UAE maintains positive economic heading
30 April 2024
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Sources: IMF (April 2024), MEED Projects, MEED
MEED’s May 2024 special report on the UAE also includes:
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Read the May 2024 MEED Business Review
30 April 2024
Download / Subscribe / Guest programme The rising importance of natural gas as an energy transition fuel has led to strong growth in its demand worldwide.
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Gulf players are keen to cater to this growing demand and dominate the global supply market, fuelling a wave of investment in large-scale production-boosting projects and terminal construction schemes worth billions of dollars each.The best example is the $7.7bn of engineering, procurement and construction contracts awarded by Saudi Aramco in early April to expand the Fadhili gas plant.
In the latest issue of MEED Business Review, MEED's oil and gas editor Indrajit Sen discusses the steps the region is taking to cement its position as the world’s largest LNG supplier.
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We hope our valued subscribers enjoy the May 2024 issue of MEED Business Review.
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> BANKING: UAE banks seize the moment
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Abu Dhabi holds Taweelah C roadshow
30 April 2024
Abu Dhabi state utility and offtaker Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) conducted an investor roadshow last week for its upcoming combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) independent power project (IPP).
Ewec met with at least six utility developers separately, according to sources familiar with the scheme.
MEED previously reported that Ewec is considering issuing a tender in the next few weeks for its first gas-fired IPP since 2020.
It is understood that the planned Taweelah C IPP is expected to have a generation capacity of roughly 2,700MW.
The power-purchase agreement (PPA) for Taweelah C is expected to expire by 2049, which is several years shorter than previous PPAs and in line with the UAE's plan to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
A team of UK-based Alderbrook Finance and US-based Sargent & Lundy are providing financial and technical advisory services to Ewec for the Taweelah C IPP.
The greenfield IPP is planned to reach commercial operation by 2027, according to a recent Ewec capacity procurement statement.
Andy Biffen, executive director of asset development at Ewec, told the recent World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi that the request for proposals (RFPs) for its next CCGT plant will explicitly require the developers or developer consortiums to accommodate the installation of carbon-capture facilities once these solutions are commercially viable.
The state utility is considering new gas-fired capacity in light of expiring capacity from several independent water and power producer (IWPP) facilities.
The plants that will reach the end of their existing contracts during the 2025-29 planning period include:
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Ewec and the developers and operators of these plants are expected to discuss whether a contract extension is possible before the expiry of the contracts. Unsuccessful negotiations will result in the dismantling of the assets at the end of the contract period.
In 2022, MEED reported that Abu Dhabi had wound down the operation of Taweelah A2, the region's first independent water and power project. The power and water purchase agreement supporting the project expired in September 2021 and was not extended.
Ewec awarded its last CCGT IPP nearly four years ago. Japan's Marubeni Corporation won the contract to develop the Fujairah F3 IPP in 2020.
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Region puts its priorities first
30 April 2024
Commentary
Colin Foreman
EditorRead the May 2024 issue of MEED Business Review
Contractors enjoyed a record year in 2023. In the GCC, there were $205bn of deals signed. The best total on record was achieved largely due to high levels of activity across all major markets.
At the start of this year, hopes were high that new records would be set again in 2024. Those aspirations look like they may be realised. According to regional projects tracker MEED Projects, by the end of the first quarter of this year there had been $47bn of awards in the GCC, some $10bn more than the $37bn of awards during the same period of 2023.
The strong start to the year comes despite some tempering of project ambitions, most notably in the region’s largest market, Saudi Arabia. In January, the kingdom’s Energy Ministry instructed Saudi Aramco to halt plans to increase its production capacity to 13 million barrels of crude oil a day.
The negative impact of that decision on the projects market, will be offset by gas projects. Gas is considered a vital transition fuel, and strong global demand growth is allowing Gulf producers to develop new projects worth billions of dollars each and consolidate their position as the world’s leading gas exporter. The best example is the $7.7bn of engineering, procurement and construction contracts awarded by Saudi Aramco in early April to expand the Fadhili gas plant.
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Developers are also more proactively seeking external investment to help ease the spending burden of their vast projects.
As we move deeper into 2024, the key question will be whether these priority projects will be sufficient to achieve another record year. Unlike 2023, not everything is moving ahead, but very large projects are still proceeding.
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> AGENDA: Region boosts LNG spending; Gulf players secure future of LNG projects> CURRENT AFFAIRS: Algerian downstream sector faces setback; Progress on Kuwait oil mergers is overdue; Iranian attack on Israel rattles globe
INDUSTRY REPORT:
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> COMMENT: Non-oil activity underpins UAE economy
> GVT & ECONOMY: Non-oil activity underpins UAE economy
> BANKING: UAE banks seize the moment
> UPSTREAM: Adnoc oil and gas project spending sees steep uptick
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> POWER: UAE marks successful power project deliveries
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> ABU DHABI CONSTRUCTION: Abu Dhabi makes major construction investments> MEED COMMENTS:
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> Net zero steps need recalibration
> Flooding spotlights Dubai construction
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Retal signs Roshn Sedra building construction deal
30 April 2024
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Saudi Arabia’s Retal Urban Development Company (Retal) has awarded a SR240m ($64m) contract to its subsidiary Building Construction Company.
The contract covers constructing eight residential buildings in Roshn’s Sedra housing community in Riyadh.
The contract duration is 26 months.
In November last year, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF)-backed gigaproject developer Roshn signed a SR374.76m ($100m) real estate development deal with Retal.
The agreement covers the purchase of land and the development of 363 housing units in Sedra.
The contract duration is three years, according to the official statement issued on Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange Tadawaul.
Retal was established in 2012 by the local Al Fozan Holding Company to develop real estate projects in the kingdom.
Created in 2018, Roshn aims to increase homeownership rates among Saudi citizens to 7%.
The company plans to develop more than 395,000 residential units in cities within Riyadh, Mecca, Asir and the Eastern Region.
Roshn is developing the Sedra community in northeast Riyadh. It is masterplanned to include 30,000 homes across eight phases.
MEED's April 2024 special report on Saudi Arabia includes:> GVT & ECONOMY: Saudi Arabia seeks diversification amid regional tensions
> BANKING: Saudi lenders gear up for corporate growth
> UPSTREAM: Aramco spending drawdown to jolt oil projects
> DOWNSTREAM: Master Gas System spending stimulates Saudi downstream sector
> POWER: Riyadh to sustain power spending
> WATER: Growth inevitable for the Saudi water sector
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> TRANSPORT: Saudi Arabia’s transport sector offers prospectshttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11721631/main.jpg