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Najim cogeneration project reaches financial close

22 August 2024

Najim Cogeneration Company, the special purpose vehicle for a new industrial steam and electricity cogeneration plant in Jubail in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, has reached financial close on the 25-year build, own and operate (BOO) project.

Najim Cogeneration Company is a special purpose entity owned by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) and Japanese power generation company Jera, which won the contract to develop and operate the plant in March.

The project was previously referred to as the Amiral cogeneration independent steam and power plant.

The team announced reaching a 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 BOO 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.

The new cogeneration plant will supply up to 475MW of power and approximately 452 tonnes an hour of steam from advanced combined cycle gas-fired technology.

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

MEED reported in March that South Korean contracting company Samsung C&T will undertake the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the project.

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

According to the project sponsors, 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".

MEED understands that the project has a provision for the future installation of a carbon dioxide capture plant and is capable of hydrogen co-firing.

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.

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

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

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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