Wärtsilä has been selected to supply engines for a gas-fired power plant of a major petroleum company in Argentina.
Image: Wärtsilä has been selected to supply a highly efficient engine power plant. Photo: Courtesy of Wärtsilä.
Under the order, Wärtsilä will be responsible for a complete engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of the project.
The gas fired plant supplied by the company is expected to have an initial output of 57.4MW, which could later be increased to 90MW. The electricity produced is primarily used to power the local oil fields, with any excess being sold to the national grid.
The new Wärtsilä plant is to be constructed at Manantiales Behr basin, which is one of the most important oil fields in Argentina. It is expected to increase the efficiency of the area’s power supply by replacing an existing gas turbine plant.
The plant is designed to operate on five Wärtsilä 31SG engines, which are claimed to the most efficient gas engine in its range.
The company claims that the plant is capable to reach full output from start-up in two minutes, and the Wärtsilä solution would balance the intermittent supply from an adjacent wind farm, thereby effectively providing a hybrid energy system.
Wärtsilä’s customer said: “We needed a greater and more reliable power supply for this important oil producing region, and we are sure that Wärtsilä has the experience and the technology to deliver it.
“The black start capabilities of this plant mean that should there be a grid power failure, the Manantiales Behr plant will be able to deliver emergency electricity to the nearby city of Comodoro Rivadavia.”
The Manantiales Behr basin site conditions include wind speeds of up to 180 km/hour, and temperatures that can range from minus 10 degrees C to plus 40 degrees C. The operations at the plant are expected to be started in October 2020.
Wärtsilä Energy Business Latin America South regional director Alberto Fernandez said: “High efficiency, and a proven track record in EPC project deliveries are the reasons behind the award of this contract. During the past couple of years, we have successfully completed seven projects on-time and on budget in Argentina. This experience speaks for itself.”
The company claims that in addition to the outstanding efficiency of the Wärtsilä 31SG engine, it is capable of operating in challenging climatic conditions.