UAE--What oil is to the US, water is to the gulf region: Siemens has turnkeyed over 30,000 megawatts for IPP’s and utilities and installed desalination units with partners FISIA, DOOSAN and other desalination manufacturers. “Siemens entered the region in the late 70’s as consortium leader for the Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia plant, designed as a steam plant with associated seawater desalination,” Hans-Dieter Martin, Siemens Director for the Middle East Region, told World-Generation. “We have since secured turnkey contracts for combined cycle power and desalination plants at Jebel Ali G for five, V94.2 turbines, for the first IPP plant, Taweelah A2 and have supplied the major machinery for the Jebel Ali K, both with three, V94.3 turbines. Backpressure steam turbines are also supplied by Siemens as well as electrical, I and C equipment and long-term maintenance contracts.”

The V94.2 has 130 units in operation accounting for approximately 70,000 starts and more than 6.3 million operating hours. The V94.3A has been in service since 1997; over 120 units have been sold.

Another IPP plant is under turnkey construction by Siemens in the United Arab Emirates for CMS Generation and International Power, owning 20 percent each. “Shuweihat in Abu Dhabi will be a 1,500 megawatt, gas fired, combined cycle power and desalination plant capable of producing 100 MIGD (Million Imperial Gallons per Day). It will be the largest plant in The Middle East,” Martin said. “ Shuweihat will sell its power and water supply to Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity under a 20 year agreement with commercial operation scheduled for 2005.”

The desalination units are supplied by FISIA Italimpinti. Gianfranco Bellotti, FISIA director for desalination told World-Generation the units are based either on MSF(multi stage flash) thermal process or on a separation process, (reverse osmosis).

“The UAE projects used the MSF process exclusively on the six Jebel Ali units, six units at AL Taweelah and will use MSF at Shuweihat for six units,” Bellotti explained. The six units will need 70 megawatts to operate.” FISIA is a division of the Impregilo Group in Genoa.

Siemens continues its domination of the gulf with pending contracts for SADAF in Jubail, Saudi Arabia and AZ Zour in Kuwait. SADAF is a 242 megawatt cogen plant with 510 tons per hour steam under a 20 year agreement for CMS Generation and Al-Zamil, a Saudi Arabian industrial firm. AZ Zour calls for a turnkey contract for eight turbines to generate 1,000 megawatts for a peaking plant.

“And it doesn’t stop there,” Martin went on to say. “We provide comprehensive service packages to optimize life-cycle costs for the 655 gws of installed capacity. We arrange parts-life credit programs, power uprates and plant expansion to reduce generation costs and perform field service from qualified personnel stocking OEMcertified parts.”

In response to a question from World-Generation, Martin said that Siemens turnkeys the entire plant in Shuweihat and uses Nooter/Eriksen, CCT for HRSG.