Saudi Aramco in steam-powered plant plans

Saudi-based oil giant Saudi Aramco has announced plans to build a new steam-powered power plant in the city of Jizan, on the country’s southwest coast.

As the kingdom’s electricity demands increase, Aramco has reported its ambitions to commission almost 132 GW of power by the end of 2021.

As part of this capacity growth, the project at Jizan will include the construction of an air separation unit (asu) at the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant.

The ASU will provide large volumes of oxygen for the gasification process at both the Jizan Refinery and the IGCC power plant, making it the world’s largest industrial gas complex.

Meanwhile, Siemens recently completed the manufacture of the world’s largest integral geared main air compressor rotor, and 19 compressors are now said to be en route to the site at Jizan. The compressors are expected to be erected and in position by mid-2018.

The construction project will be undertaken by local firm Acwa Holding and Air Products, on a 20-year build-own-operate-transfer basis. The completed facility will be jointly owned by the two companies, with Acwa holding 75%, and Air Products 25%.

When fully operational, the complex at Jizan will supply 20,000 tonnes per day (tpd) of oxygen, as well as 55,000 tpd of nitrogen.