Marafiq powers up Yanbu

Power & Water Utility Company for Jubail & Yanbu (Marafiq) is planning to build a new independent water and power project (IWPP) in Yanbu, on the Red Sea coast. 'Its size has not yet been determined, but it will use light crude,' president and chief executive officer Thamir al-Sharhan told MEED on 12 November. 'We expect the tender process to be launched next year.'

The new IWPP will supply water and electricity to Yanbu industrial city. The scheme will be implemented through a 20-year build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model, as is being used on Marafiq's first IWPP at Jubail on the Gulf coast. Any excess power or water produced by the Yanbu plant will be sold to Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) and Saline Water Conversion Corporation.

'It will have a desalination capacity of about 950,000 cubic metres a day,' said Al-Sharhan. 'Its power capacity will depend on whether an existing oil-fired facility at Yanbu will be decommissioned. If it is, then we are looking at 1,500-2,000 MW. If not, then it will be a little smaller.' The scheme's feasibility study is being carried out by the UK's Mott MacDonald.

Negotiations are ongoing between Marafiq and the developer group led by France's Suez Tractebel for the Jubail IWPP. 'The group is not our preferred bidder, but we are in exclusive talks with them,' said Al-Sharhan. 'We are under a little time pressure, as the signing of the PWPA [power and water purchase agreement] must take place before 20 December.'

Marafiq may also develop further IWPPs in the future. 'There's a possibility we may go back and take a look at building a second IWPP in Jubail,' said

Al-Sharhan, who joined Marafiq in October. He was previously president of Saudi Petrochemical Company (Sadaf MEED 20:10:06).