Engineering and technology group SENER expects opportunities in the Mexican gas power sector to grow steadily in the medium term as it embarks on a number of major turnkey construction projects, Alejandro De la Rúa, Power, oil & gas director at the firm in Mexico told Gas to Power Journal.
“The Energy Reform extends the market share for private enterprises and increases the value of the [state operator] Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE). This creates a lot of opportunities for our company,” De la Rúa said, adding that energy demand in Northern Mexico is set to grow by 3.6% per year.
Empalme I showcases engineering expertise
One of the most significant projects for SENER at present is the €445 million turnkey construction of the Empalme I combined-cycle power plant. Located in the municipality of Empalme in the Mexican state of Sonora, the project is made in consortium, and has CFE as the client.
“SENER employs more than 400 professionals in Mexico and this internal engineering capacity places the company in a privileged position,” he explained.
The Empalme I plant is scheduled to start operations in November 2017 and SENER will provide all procurement of equipment, materials, spare parts and special tools as well as construction, engineering, testing and commissioning of the power plant. Once operational, it will produce 770 MW of power and will feature two Siemens H-type turbines alongside a Doosan steam turbine with Cerrey heat recuperators, fabricated in Mexico.
Close collaboration with Bilbao center of excellence
SENER is one of a number of European energy firms taking advantage of demand for gas power plant expertise of in Mexico. Following wide ranging reforms to the power sector in 2014, CFE has welcomed billions of dollars of investment into the sector.
“Our long experience in electrical generation projects represents a very attractive option,” De la Rúa said adding that the firm “possesses the aptitude to accompany every client from the basic definition of a project up to its final design” thanks to its strong internal engineering team based at its center of excellence in Bilbao (Spain). This team provides an initial design based on best performance for each plant before detail engineering is made by the Mexican team.
“The procurement, construction and commissioning departments are in constant communication with our engineering teams to ensure the final design tackles and defines the best solution,” he said.
This approach has proven successful in Mexico so far with SENER having delivered the Agua Prieta II combined cycle plant, the Norte combined cycle plant, the Los Ramones and Frontera compression stations for Gasoductos del Noreste (GDN), the Alpek 95 MW co-generation plant in Cosoleacaque and the fluid catalytic cracking unit in the La Cangrejera petrochemical plant for Pemex.