Saudi Arabia and Greece set up grid link
10 October 2023
Greece and Saudi Arabia have agreed to set up a jointly-owned company that will look at linking their electricity grids.
Greece's Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) and Saudi Arabia's National Grid will set up a company, provisionally called Saudi Green Interconnection, Reuters reported in late September citing the Greek energy ministry.
The new company is tasked "with examining the commercial viability of the power interconnection".
Related read: Region plans vital big grid connections
The deal follows initial discussions conducted last year between Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman and his Greek counterpart, Kostas Skrekas, in Riyadh.
At the time, the discussions involved cooperation in renewable energy and the promotion of an electricity interconnection that will export clean energy to Greece and Europe.
They also discussed the potential of transporting clean hydrogen to Europe through Greece.
Greece is also working on a potential project to connect its electricity grid with Egypt's.
In February this year, US engineering firm McDermott signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Athens-based Eunice Energy Group for the 2GW electricity interconnection project between Egypt and Greece.
Eunice Energy leads the consortium known as Greece-Africa Power (GAP), which is developing the project.
McDermott is expected to provide "engineering and construction guidance for the project".
In October 2021, Egypt signed separate power interconnection agreements with Greece and Cyprus.
The agreements were expected to pave the way for implementing the so-called Eastern Mediterranean energy corridor.
The planned interconnector aims to enable the exchange of between 2,000MW and 3,000MW of electricity between Egypt, Cyprus and Greece and potentially with other European countries, as MEED reported.
The agreement with Greece entails setting up an undersea cable network that will transmit renewable energy produced from North Africa to Europe.
Skrekas and his Egyptian counterpart, Mohamed Shaker, signed an MoU for the project at a ceremony in Athens on 14 October 2021.
The deal follows the signing of a similar agreement between Greece, Cyprus and Israel to build the Euro-Asia Interconnector, understood to be the world's longest and deepest underwater power cable crossing the Mediterranean, estimated to cost $900m.
An electricity grid linking Egypt and the GCC states is also under way. Egypt and Saudi Arabia awarded substation, subsea and overhead transmission contracts for the $1.8bn interconnector linking the GCC states and North Africa in October 2021.
Exclusive from Meed
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TotalEnergies signs $11bn Morocco green hydrogen deal
29 October 2024
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Tadweer and Japanese firms to build recycling plant
29 October 2024
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QatarEnergy to acquire 50% in Iraq 1GW solar project
29 October 2024
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Kuwait tenders main Saad Al-Abdullah substation contract
28 October 2024
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Emsteel and Masdar inaugurate pilot hydrogen plant
28 October 2024
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TotalEnergies signs $11bn Morocco green hydrogen deal
29 October 2024
France's TotalEnergies has signed an agreement to develop an $11bn project to produce hydrogen and green ammonia in Morocco.
It was previously reported that the planned integrated facility will be located in Guelmim-Oued Noun in southern Morocco.
The deal is one of 22 that were signed during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to the North African state on 28 October.
TotalEnergies chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanne signed the agreement for the local production of green hydrogen and ammonia in the presence of Morocco's King Mohammed VI and Macron, according to local media reports
The counterparty includes Morocco's Minister of Energy, Leila Benali, Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fattah, Minister of the Interior, Abdelouafi Laftit, and the Minister Delegate in charge of Investment, Karim Zidane.
It is understood that the project will require the development of 10GW of solar and wind energy and a land area of 187,000 hectares.
It was reported that Morocco's Unified Regional Investment Commission (CRUI) approved the project’s launch in November 2022.
The other agreements signed during Macron's visit to Morocco cover financial cooperation in the rail, forestry, aviation, logistics and energy sectors, with a particular focus on decarbonisaton and energy transition.
TotalEnergies has been exploring green hydrogen-related and other related projects across the Middle East and North Africa region.
In August, the Courbevoie- headquartered firm and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), signed an agreement to assess the viability of developing a commercial green hydrogen to methanol to sustainable aviation fuel (saf) project.
It is also among the early investors in UK-based Xlinks First, which aims to deliver the $18bn Morocco-UK power interconnector project.
TotalEnergies acquired a minority stake in the company following an investment of $25.4m, which was announced in November last year.
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Tadweer and Japanese firms to build recycling plant
29 October 2024
Abu Dhabi-headquartered Tadweer Group is partnering with Japanese chemicals companies to build a plastic chemical recycling facility in Abu Dhabi.
The investment is expected to reach up to ¥40bn ($261.5m), with the facility set to be operational by 2026 or 2027.
The new facility will be capable of recycling a wide variety of plastics, including materials used in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and packaging containers, said Tadweer.
It will also introduce advanced technology that can revert plastic waste to raw materials.
Ali Al-Dhaheri, Tadweer Group managing director and CEO, said: "We are considering two or three Japanese companies with the necessary technological capabilities and hope to select partner or partners for collaboration within the next three to six months."
Al-Dhaheri added that the final investment will depend on the facility's processing capacity, and will likely range between $100m and $300m.He also mentioned the possibility of a joint investment with Japanese companies, stating, “while we are reviewing technologies from other countries, it is Japan that best meets our requirements”.
Japan is recognised for its high PET bottle recycling rate and has made significant strides in the recycling of other plastics.
Tadweer added that it has existing partnerships with Marubeni Corporation and other Japanese companies, mainly in the power generation sector, and now plans to expand its collaboration with Japanese firms that possess advanced technology and expertise.
Related read: Dhafra waste-to-energy work to start
Photo credit: Pixabay
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QatarEnergy to acquire 50% in Iraq 1GW solar project
29 October 2024
QatarEnergy has signed an agreement with France's Total Energies to acquire a 50% interest in the 1,000MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project as part of the $27bn gas growth integrated project (GGIP) in Iraq.
Total Energies will retain the remaining 50% of the project. The shared ownership is subject to regulatory approvals.
Located in Artawi – also known as Ratawi – in southern Iraq, the solar PV project is expected to start construction soon, MEED reported on 25 October.
In a statement, QatarEnergy said: "The project will consist of 2 million high-efficiency bifacial solar panels mounted on single-axis trackers and will, upon its completion, be capable of supplying up to 1.25 gigawatts (peak) of solar-generated power to the electricity grid in the Basra region of Iraq.
"The project will be developed in phases that will come online between 2025 and 2027 and will have the capacity to provide electricity to about 350,000 homes in the Basra region."
TotalEnergies Renewables awarded China Energy Engineering International Group the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the project in August.
China Energy Engineering Tianjin Electric Power Construction, International Group and Southwest Institute will deliver the project.
It was reported at the time that construction work is expected to start later this year, and completion is expected in early 2027.
The project includes the design, procurement, construction and commissioning of the PV power station site and 132-kilovolt booster station, with a capacity of 1,000MW.
In addition to the solar PV independent power project (IPP), the three main projects that make up the $27bn GGIP project include:
- A treatment facility for associated natural gas from five southern oil fields – West Qurna 2, Majnoon, Artawi, Tuba and Luhais
- The $4bn common seawater supply project
- Development of the Artawi gas field
QatarEnergy announced in June 2023 that it had entered into a consortium to implement the GGIP project in Iraq, with a 25% participating interest, together with TotalEnergies (45%) and Iraq’s Basra Oil Company (30%).
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Kuwait tenders main Saad Al-Abdullah substation contract
28 October 2024
Kuwait's Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) has tendered a contract to construct a main substation project at South Saad Al-Abdullah Residential City.
The selected bidder will supply, install, implement and maintain the planned 11/132/400-kilovolt (kV) substation
The PAHW expects to receive bids for the contract, for which it set a bid bond of KD500,000 ($1.6m), on 28 October.
Located in Kuwait's Al-Jahra Governorate, the South Saad Al-Abdullah housing project covers an area of 64 square kilometres and consists of five residential areas with 24,508 housing units.
The PAHW recently awarded two substation contracts for another city, which is being developed in Al-Jahra.
The Kuwait branch of Saudi Arabia's National Contracting Company (NCC) won a contract to build 10 132/11-kV substations in Sabah Al-Ahmad City, MEED reported earlier this month.
The substations will cater to neighbourhoods N5, N6, N8 and N10 in South Sabah Al-Ahmed City. The 24-month contract is valued at SR534m ($142m).
Al-Ahleia Switchboard Company won the other tender for the supply, installation, implementation and maintenance of 10 11/132kV main transformer stations in Sabah Al-Ahmed's N5, N7 and N9 neighbourhoods.
Located 80 kilometres south of Kuwait City, the South Sabah Al-Ahmad residential development will be home to an estimated 280,000 people when complete.
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Emsteel and Masdar inaugurate pilot hydrogen plant
28 October 2024
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Emsteel and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) have inaugurated a pilot green hydrogen plant at Emsteel's manufacturing complex in Mussafah, Abu Dhabi.
The pilot project's electrolyser capacity and equipment supplier have not yet been disclosed.
MEED understands the plant utilises solar power from the grid to produce hydrogen on site.
The project sets the stage for Emsteel to use green or renewable hydrogen, instead of natural gas, to extract iron from iron ore.
Emsteel Group CEO, Saeed Ghumran Al-Remeithi, said the partnership with Masdar is part of a commitment to "accelerate decarbonising green steel production in the UAE and the wider Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region".
During the launch event for the plant, Al-Remeithi said the project marks a significant step towards making the UAE "a world green hydrogen leader" and Emsteel "a hub for green steel".
In a press briefing on 28 October, Saeed Al-Ghafri, CEO of Emirates Steel, said the plan is to scale up the pilot green hydrogen facility to enable it to meet demand for green steel both locally and from abroad.
"We are decarbonising across verticals through carbon capture and green hydrogen … to serve the UAE market and eventually to go global," he said.
Al-Ghafri declined to confirm whether the plan entails developing a major integrated facility with Masdar in one of two planned green hydrogen oases in Abu Dhabi, or offtaking the hydrogen produced at one of the future facilities planned in the emirate.
Previously known as Emirates Steel Arkan, the steel and cement producer rebranded as Emsteel in September as part of a broader strategy to accelerate operational transformation and expand its global footprint.
Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, Emsteel operates 16 plants with an annual production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes a year (t/y) of steel and 4.6 million t/y of cement. The company exports its products to over 70 markets, which account for 30% of its sales.
The rebranding followed the merger of Emirates Steel and Arkan Building Materials in late 2021, establishing the UAE’s largest steel and construction materials company, valued at $3.53bn.
Emsteel, which contributes 11% of Abu Dhabi’s manufacturing output, operates through two main divisions: Emirates Steel and Emirates Cement.
The cement division includes Al-Ain Cement Factory, Emirates Blocks Factories, Anabeeb and Arkan Bags.
Emsteel has a focus on low-carbon products, with the group committing to reduce carbon emissions as part of the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative, with 80% of its operations powered by clean energy.
The company is also a key player in the UAE’s industrial strategy, Operation 300bn, holding a 60% share of the UAE’s steel market.
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