29 June 2011
MUSCAT -- The consortium headed by Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corporation is understood to have been awarded the government's licence to build a huge Independent Power Project (IPP) at Sur in the Sharqiya region.
At 2,000 megawatts, the IPP is the biggest green-field power project ever to be undertaken in the Sultanate and underscores efforts to meet galloping energy demand within the Main Interconnected System (MIS) covering much of the northern half of Oman.
Monday's announcement by the Tender Board that it has selected a developer for the IPP marks the culmination of a keenly contested international tender that attracted a number of leading regional and international players. The developer acquires the prestigious license to design, finance, construct, operate and maintain a power-only facility estimated to cost around $1.5 billion.
Marubeni heads a high-profile consortium comprising Chubu Electric, which is Japan's third largest electric utility, Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC), which owns roughly 60 per cent of the power generation capacity in the state of Qatar, and Multitech, the specialist power engineering arm of Bahwan Engineering Company (BEC) of the Sultanate.
The shareholding structure of the consortium is as follow: Marubeni (50 per cent), Chubu Electric (30 per cent), Qatar Electricity and Water (15 per cent), and Multitech (5 per cent).
The state-owned Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), which oversees the development of all power generation and related water desalination capacity under the sector law, is targeting a mid-July timeframe for the signing of the crucial Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The pact commits all of the IPP's output to offtaker OPWP over the next 15 years.
Marubeni is understood to have selected the Korean engineering firm, Daewoo, as the Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) contractor for the IPP project.
A tight implementation schedule prescribed by OPWP means that the selected consortium and its contractors will have to mobilise quickly in order to get work started on the massive project.
The offtaker has stipulated a Q1 2013 deadline for part of the IPP's output, equivalent to roughly 400 MW of generation capacity, to be brought into operation ahead of summer peak demand that year. The IPP's full capacity of 1500-2000MW is slated for full commissioning ahead of peak summer demand in 2014.
OPWP has identified a site located between the Oman-India Fertiliser scheme (OMIFCO) and the Oman LNG complex within Sur Industrial Estate for the establishment of the IPP. Natural gas for the project, which does not include a water desalination component, will be supplied via an existing gas pipeline that currently serves the OMIFCO-LNG complex. However, the developer will be required to design, finance, construct, operate and maintain seawater intake and outfall facilities linked to the project.
The award of the Sur IPP license effectively marks Marubeni maiden foray into the Sultanate's rapidly expanding power generation sector. Since it set up operations in Oman in 1982, the corporation has seen its portfolio of activities - centred primarily on imports and exports - grow over the years. Key exports undertaken by Marubeni include Omani crude oil, limestone, agro products, and copper cathodes, while some amounts of copper slag are imported as well.
In the Gulf region, Marubeni is a major player in the power and water generation sector with a number of large-scale Independent Water and Power Projects (IWPPs) and Independent Power Projects (IPPs) to its credit, notably in Abu Dhabi, Fujarairah, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
MUSCAT -- The consortium headed by Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corporation is understood to have been awarded the government's licence to build a huge Independent Power Project (IPP) at Sur in the Sharqiya region.
At 2,000 megawatts, the IPP is the biggest green-field power project ever to be undertaken in the Sultanate and underscores efforts to meet galloping energy demand within the Main Interconnected System (MIS) covering much of the northern half of Oman.
Monday's announcement by the Tender Board that it has selected a developer for the IPP marks the culmination of a keenly contested international tender that attracted a number of leading regional and international players. The developer acquires the prestigious license to design, finance, construct, operate and maintain a power-only facility estimated to cost around $1.5 billion.
Marubeni heads a high-profile consortium comprising Chubu Electric, which is Japan's third largest electric utility, Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC), which owns roughly 60 per cent of the power generation capacity in the state of Qatar, and Multitech, the specialist power engineering arm of Bahwan Engineering Company (BEC) of the Sultanate.
The shareholding structure of the consortium is as follow: Marubeni (50 per cent), Chubu Electric (30 per cent), Qatar Electricity and Water (15 per cent), and Multitech (5 per cent).
The state-owned Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), which oversees the development of all power generation and related water desalination capacity under the sector law, is targeting a mid-July timeframe for the signing of the crucial Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The pact commits all of the IPP's output to offtaker OPWP over the next 15 years.
Marubeni is understood to have selected the Korean engineering firm, Daewoo, as the Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) contractor for the IPP project.
A tight implementation schedule prescribed by OPWP means that the selected consortium and its contractors will have to mobilise quickly in order to get work started on the massive project.
The offtaker has stipulated a Q1 2013 deadline for part of the IPP's output, equivalent to roughly 400 MW of generation capacity, to be brought into operation ahead of summer peak demand that year. The IPP's full capacity of 1500-2000MW is slated for full commissioning ahead of peak summer demand in 2014.
OPWP has identified a site located between the Oman-India Fertiliser scheme (OMIFCO) and the Oman LNG complex within Sur Industrial Estate for the establishment of the IPP. Natural gas for the project, which does not include a water desalination component, will be supplied via an existing gas pipeline that currently serves the OMIFCO-LNG complex. However, the developer will be required to design, finance, construct, operate and maintain seawater intake and outfall facilities linked to the project.
The award of the Sur IPP license effectively marks Marubeni maiden foray into the Sultanate's rapidly expanding power generation sector. Since it set up operations in Oman in 1982, the corporation has seen its portfolio of activities - centred primarily on imports and exports - grow over the years. Key exports undertaken by Marubeni include Omani crude oil, limestone, agro products, and copper cathodes, while some amounts of copper slag are imported as well.
In the Gulf region, Marubeni is a major player in the power and water generation sector with a number of large-scale Independent Water and Power Projects (IWPPs) and Independent Power Projects (IPPs) to its credit, notably in Abu Dhabi, Fujarairah, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
© Oman Daily Observer 2011
