South Korean contracting company Samsung C&T will undertake the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the Amiral cogeneration independent steam and power plant (ISPP) project in Saudi Arabia.

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 plant is expected to be operational by 2027.

It will cater to the Amiral petrochemicals complex in Jubail in the kingdom's Eastern Province.

Saudi Aramco Total Refining & Petrochemical Company (Satorp) entered into a power and steam purchase agreement with a developer team, which comprises the UAE's Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) and Japan's Jera, it announced on 28 March.

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

Regional project tracking services firm MEED Projects estimates that the project 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.

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

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.