Siemens to supply power train for Sabiya power plant in Kuwait

Siemens has won an order to supply the key power generation equipment for the Sabiya Extension 3 combined cycle power plant in Kuwait. The contract was awarded by the plant owner, the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW), to Alghanim International for execution of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC). The power train will provide an electrical capacity of about 900 megawatts (MW). A long-term service agreement with Alghanim International is also included to help ensure the reliability, availability, and performance of the main components. The customer, Kuwaiti EPC and O&M contractor Alghanim International, is responsible for constructing the entire plant, establishing the grid connection, and operating and maintaining it. The country will be able to cover its steadily growing energy demand with the Sabiya Extension 3 plant. The plant will start simple cycle operation in winter of 2019. Commissioning of the combined cycle operation is scheduled for the end of 2020.

The natural gas-fired Sabiya Extension 3 is being built on the existing site of the Sabiya power plant on the Bay of Kuwait in the country’s northeast. It can also be operated with fuel oil as a back-up fuel. The multi-shaft combined cycle power plant will provide an electrical capacity of over 900 MW. The power train from Siemens consists of two SGT5-4000F gas turbines, two hydrogen-cooled SGen5-2000H generators, one SST5-5000 steam turbine, and a SGen5-2000H steam turbine generator. Siemens will also deliver the SPPA-T3000 control system and 26 bays of 400-kV/80-kA gas-insulated switchgear with the associated control and protection systems for the power plant’s substation. The substation will provide power to the newly developing areas in northern Kuwait. The long-term service agreement covers the power train components including Power Diagnostics and Remote Monitoring, which are part of Siemens’ Digital Services portfolio. Support from Siemens’ remote monitoring center is available 24/7 and allows specialists to resolve potential issues remotely before they become serious, just as though they were working on-site.

At present there are six F-class gas turbines running in the Sabiya and Az Zour South power plant projects. “This is the fourth power plant order that Siemens has secured in Kuwait in only four years, following the orders for Sabiya Extensions 1 and 2 and Az Zour South,” said Jean Claude Nasr, head of Sales for the Middle East & North Africa Region at Siemens Power and Gas. “The solid partnership with our customers and the high reliability of the existing Siemens gas turbines in Kuwait along with our strong maintenance support surely motivated the customer to choose Siemens’ offer from among a number of challenging international tenders.”

“Alghanim International has had a very strong partnership with Siemens for more than 15 years that has successfully delivered several projects. We value each other’s contributions and understanding of the Kuwaiti power sector, and this robust relationship has allowed us to win most of the competitive bids in the country, giving us the honor of constructing more than 40 percent of the installed capacity in Kuwait. We’ve also provided O&M services to ensure the highest availability of these plants on par with international utility practices and in compliance with the stringent guarantee conditions imposed by the owner, the Ministry of Electricity and Water,” said Tarek Eissa, Group President of Alghanim International.

At the beginning of this year Siemens received an additional order in Kuwait to deliver an industrial steam turbine package to transform the Az Zour South 3 open cycle gas turbine power plant into a combined cycle power plant. This plant is also operated by MEW. The expansion will increase the total installed capacity of the plant by 263 MW without using any additional gas.

Image: Siemens will deliver two SGT5-4000F gas turbines and additional key power generation equipment for the Sabiya Extension 3 combined cycle power plant in Kuwait. (Source: Siemens)