Saudi-based Yamama Cement Company has contracted Wärtsilä to supply a 161 MW combined-cycle power plant to in Saudi Arabia. Wärtsilä will deliver a full EPC project for the so-called Flexicycle plant concept; the order volume is around €115 million.
The power plant will include ten 18-cylinder Wärtsilä 50 dual-fuel engines and a steam turbine and is being delivered in four phases: The first part is estimated to be delivered by the end of 2017 and the complete plant is scheduled to be handed over during the second quarter of 2019.
The delivery is aligned with the construction schedule of a new Yamama cement plant. Once operational, the dual-fuel power plant will primarily run on natural gas with light fuel oil and crude oil as back up fuels.
The captive power plant will primarily serve the Yamama facility, which has a daily production capacity of 20,000 tonnes of cement. Most of the cement industry in Saudi Arabia is powered by captive power plants such as this one as cement plants are typically located in fairly remote locations.
The project is the first Flexicycle power plant in Saudi Arabia. The actual contract was sealed earlier and is included in Wärtsilä's Q1-2016 order book. Yet, the contract was not announced before June as project partners waited for some techno-commercial details to be finalised. The Finnish OEM also signed a 5-year operation and maintenance and a 10-year spare parts supply agreement.
Jehad Abdul Aziz Al-Rasheed, general manager at Yamama Cement said Wärtsilä had offered an “efficient and reliable solution for a harsh operating environment.” He expressed hopes that the project will be “rewarding for both parties.”