The Jizan integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) power project located adjacent to Saudi Aramco’s Jizan refinery in Saudi Arabia will have an installed capacity of 3.8GW.

The £7.14bn ($12bn) integrated gasification and power generation facility is being developed through a joint venture partnership between Saudi Aramco (20%), Air Products (55%), and ACWA Power (25%).

The project is being developed under a 25-year  own, operate, and transfer (OOT) agreement signed in October 2018.

While the construction works were started in August 2014, the steam purging of unit two of the facility took place in February 2021.

Expected to achieve full capacity by the end of 2021, the Jizan IGCC facility is estimated to export a net power output of 2.4GW to the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) Grid, apart from meeting the electricity needs of the refinery, as well as the IGCC complex.

Location and site details

The Jizan integrated gasification combined-cycle power project is located adjacent to the Jizan refinery, approximately 80km away from the Jizan economic city in the Jizan province of Saudi Arabia.

The project site lies on the east coast of the Red Sea, approximately 900km away from the capital city Riyadh.

Jizan IGCC project components

The Jizan IGCC complex comprises a gasification facility, a power generating facility comprising five combined-cycle units of 770MW capacity each, an air separation unit (ASU), along with associated facilities.

The vacuum residue feedstock will be supplied from the Jizan refinery for gasification at the IGCC complex. The gasification unit will be supplied with oxygen generated by the air separation unit to produce hydrogen and syngas.

The air separation unit is estimated to supply approximately 75,000t of oxygen and nitrogen per day to the Jizan IGCC power station and the refinery.

The gasification unit is designed to deliver up to 2,110,000 normal cubic metres (Nm3) of syngas per hour which will be used for power generation by the combined-cycle facility. The gasification system includes 15 oxygen silencers, 15 process steam silencers, 15 start-up steam silencers, and four high-pressure steam silencers.

The entire facility is estimated to produce about 585,000 tonnes (t) per hour of steam, and 184,000Nm3 per hour of hydrogen, along with a gross power output of 3, 850MW.

Jizan combined-cycle power plant make-up

Each of the five combined-cycle power blocks will be equipped with two 5000F heavy-duty gas turbines, two dual pressure afterburner reheated horizontal waste heat boilers, one steam turbine, and three generators from Siemens.

Each gas turbine will use syngas as the primary fuel and secondary high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) as the alternate fuel.

Off-site facilities

The other off-site facilities at the Jizan IGCC power complex include tanks, water treatment systems, cooling water systems, reverse osmosis (RO) units, and common pipe racks.

The project also includes an acid gas removal unit, sulphur recovery units, essential/black start power systems, seawater systems, tank farms, administration buildings, and substations.

Contractors involved

Shandong Electric Power Infrastructure Corporation (SEPCO) was awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the project in June 2014.

Saipem was awarded contracts for the gasification unit, the soot/ash removal unit, and the hydrogen recovery units, as well as for the delivery of six sulphur recovery units (SRU) and associated storage facilities in May 2014.

Técnicas Reunidas was awarded a contract worth approximately £1bn ($1.7bn) for the development of the utilities and off-site facilities for the project in May 2014.

Siemens was awarded a contract worth £631.16m ($966.8m) for the supply and installation of turbines, generators and heat recovery steam generators in August 2013.

Baker Hughes and Dresser Al-Rushaid Valve & Instrument Company (DARVICO) was contracted for the supply of control valves in April 2019, while Shanahan Engineering was subcontracted by SEPCO for the commissioning services of Jizan IGCC power project in September 2018.

Stopson Italiana was subcontracted by Saipem for the supply of 49 vent silencers at the Jizan IGCC project in June 2016.

KBR was engaged for the front-end engineering and design (FEED) of the project in November 2012, while 5 Capitols prepared the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) of the project.

Dar Engineering was also engaged by Saudi Aramco for the design and engineering services, while Boldrocchi designed and supplied eight ceramic candle filters with cyclones.