Taqa, Jera reach financial closing of new Saudi plant

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Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa), one of the largest listed integrated utility companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, together with Jera Co, Japan’s largest power generation company, on Thursday announced the successful financial closing of Najim Cogeneration Company Limited, a new industrial steam and electricity cogeneration plant that will produce electricity and steam for a petrochemical complex located in Jubail in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

The new cogeneration plant will supply up to 475 megawatts (MW) of power and approximately 452 tonnes per hour (TPH) of steam from advanced combined cycle gas fired technology and will be developed by a special purpose entity owned by Taqa (51%) and Jera (49%) on a 25-year build, own, and operate basis extendable by five years on mutual agreement.

Taqa and Jera will also undertake the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the plant through an O&M special purpose entity.

The plant’s financial closing comes after Taqa and Jera entered into a Power and Steam Purchase Agreement with Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company (Satorp), a joint venture company owned by Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) and TotalEnergies in March 2024.

Farid Al Awlaqi, Chief Executive Officer, Taqa’s Generation business, said: “We are proud to have reached financial close, an important milestone reinforcing our position as a partner of choice for utility projects of this scale. Representing a cornerstone of our commitment to growth and efficiency, Taqa is proud to take on a developer role as well as the operations and maintenance at the plant, two focus areas for capability expansion for Taqa, as well as adding 475 MW of power generation and 452 TPH of steam generation to our overall capacity. This is our third generation project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and we will be developing an advanced cogeneration steam and power plant using the latest highly efficient J-Class gas turbine technology in partnership with Jera. We are building our track record of excellence as a responsible and reliable operator and lead developer of generation projects.”

Steven Winn, Chief Global Strategist, Jera, said: “Achieving financial close for the Satorp Strategic Expansion Cogeneration plant marks a significant success for Taqa, Jera and Satorp. This key milestone was successfully achieved due to the excellent teamwork of all stakeholders. This project aligns perfectly with our strategy to provide efficient, sustainable, and technologically advanced energy systems, contributing to the Kingdom’s and to our customer’s vision for a sustainable and optimised energy supply. This new cogeneration plant, based on advanced J-class gas turbine technology, is designed to optimise energy efficiency, and reduce environmental impact, and it will play a crucial role in supporting Satorp’s Strategic Expansion operations. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, the plant will ensure reliable and efficient power and steam generation, setting new standards in operational performance and sustainability.”

Featuring state-of-the-art power and steam generation systems, gas and water receiving systems, and gas insulated switchgear interconnections, the plant is designed to meet the stringent efficiency standards imposed by the Saudi Energy Efficiency Center. Moreover, the project has provision for the future installation of a carbon capture plant and is capable of hydrogen cofiring. The Satorp Strategic Expansion petrochemical complex is expected to house one of the largest mixed-load steam crackers in the GCC region.