Utilities Middle East - Jan 2010

Middle East

An ITP Business Publication

ESSENTIAL INSIGHTS FOR MIDDLE EAST WATER, GAS AND ELECTRICITY PROFESSIONALS January 2010 • Vol 4. Issue 1

An ITP Business Publication

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PREVIEW: THE WORLD FUTURE ENERGY SUMMIT 2010, ABU DHABI Your guide to one of the biggest events of the year, taking place this month

THE GENERATOR GAMETrends in the generators and compressors market

GAS CITIES IN FOCUSA new concept that could offer economic stability

CALLING MWH Global’s regional head talks candidly about his firm’s future plans

THE SHOTS

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THE GENERATOR GAMETrends in the generators and compressors market

GAS CITIES IN FOCUSA new concept that couldh ldoffer economic stability

yMWH Global’s regional head talkscandidly about his firm’s future plans

Licensed by International Media Production Zone An ITP Business Publication

CONTENTS

www.utilities-me.com January 2010 ● Utilities Middle East 1

2 COMMENTWorldwide cleantech financing has tanked recently.

4 REGIONAL UPDATEA round-up of some of the biggest headlines in the region.

9 WEB UPDATEThe latest news from UtilitiesMiddle East’s dedicated website.

10 NEWS ANALYSISOne global agency is aiming to help the Gulf’s pollution problems.

12 INTERVIEWMWH Global has diversification and expansion on its agenda.

16 GAS CITIESA new concept has the potential to create economic stability, says Crescent Petroleum’s Badr Jafar.

19 EVENT PREVIEWThe World Future Energy Summit takes place in Abu Dhabi later on this month.

23 THE GENERATOR GAME Trends in the regional generators and compressors market.

27 PIPE SECTOR FOCUSVictaulic senior product engineer David Hudson takes a look at circuit balancing.

28 PROJECT TRACKERA select list of current regional utilities projects.

30 TENDERSOpportunities available in the Middle East.

32 PEOPLE METERBrush Transformers Gulf’s Manu Domen outlines how his firm will beat the recession.

January 2010Issue 1

19

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Former IDA president Lisa Henthorne Delegates at WFES 2009Delegates at WFES 2009

Aggreko Middle East MD Phil BurnsBrush Transformers Gulf’s Manu Domen

23

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The Jebel Ali STP

COMMENT

2 Utilities Middle East ● January 2010 www.utilities-me.com

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T he departure of Rio Tinto, one of the world’s biggest mining fi rms, from a joint venture with oil supermajor BP to investi-

gate the use of hydrogen power generation using gas as a feedstock has raised a few eyebrows. Both companies signed a deal with Masdar to create a generating plant that would have 400MW of capacity, and which would capture around 1.7 million tonnes a year of carbon emissions using CCS technology.

On the surface of it, it hasn’t been considered a seismic move; Rio Tinto said it was still going ahead with a similar project, also with BP, in Cal-ifornia, the only difference being that coal – a commodity with which the Australian giant is of course inextricably linked – is the feedstock, and not natural gas. A senior Rio Tinto executive told media that while the Abu Dhabi project was ‘ground-breaking and important’, the company preferred to focus on techniques that involve solid feedstocks.

This all seems a bit strange. If Rio Tinto wasn’t interested in focusing on natural-gas feedstock techniques, then why on earth did it sign up for the venture in the fi rst place? It may add a positive spin on matters to indicate that you are focusing on other CCS projects, but the fact remains that

Rio Tinto seems to have wanted the funds from its 50% share in the venture – which was bought out by BP for an undisclosed sum – rather more than any actual involvement with the enterprise.

From the wider perspective, a shift away from investing in clean energy has already been noticed by one leading international business magazine, which pointed out in early Decem-ber how the strategies of leading companies like Shell had changed. The high start-up costs asso-ciated with this kind of technology have been hit particularly badly by the credit crunch, as banks with a strong history in providing fi nance for cleantech projects have suffered the most.

However, with the World Future Energy Summit taking place in Abu Dhabi this month, there is a great opportunity for fi nanciers and investors to get back on the cleantech band-wagon. More liquidity in the fi nancial markets spells good news for some of the major Middle Eastern initiatives, all of which have a laudable goal to diversify their electricity-generating feed-stocks away from a dependance on traditional oil and gas. I look forward to seeing you there.

Ed Attwood, Editor E-mail: [email protected]

Back on the agendaWorldwide cleantech financing has tanked recently

Middle East

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WFES 2010 represents a great opportunity for a sector that has suffered due to the credit crunch.

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REGIONAL UPDATE


Saudi Arabia’s ACWA buys 58% stake in Barka 1

Revised bids for UAE nuclear dealFinal submissions from French and US/Japanese teams as race for $40bn contract concludes

French President Nicolas Sarkozy met UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan in May this year.

The fi nal bids for the US$40 billion UAE nuclear power plants contract were submitted last week, with revisions from the French and US teams thought to bring the cost of their bids down towards that of the South Korean consortium.

A government offi cial, speaking on condition of anonymity to the National daily, confi rmed that the French consortium, consisting of EDF, GDF Suez and Total, had sub-mitted a new bid.

Another team, which is made up of GE and Hitachi has also submit-ted a revised bid.

The lowest bid was initially sub-mitted by Korea Electric Power, Hyundai and Samsung, which has leveraged diplomatic intervention to support its bid.

The South Korean foreign min-sister, Yu Myung-hwan, met with UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Moham-mad bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a regional visit earlier this month, where he promoted the compe-tence of Korean plants, according to the Korea Times newspaper.

The French team also has strong

diplomatic support, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy making a trip to the UAE to speak with the Crown Prince earlier this year.

Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power Inter-national has staved off bids from 10 developers to take a 58% stake in the Barka 1 power and water plant in Oman.

Barka 1 has a capacity of 456MW and 91,000 cubic metres of desali-nated water.

The company has not given an indication to the size of the deal,

but other bidders for the plant included Kahramaa and TAQA.

“This now gives us the first asset outside Saudi Arabia, we want to become global,” said ACWA CEO Paddy Padmana-than, according to the Reuters news agency.

ACWA has also submitted bids for the larger Barka 3 and Sohar 2 IWPPs, both of which are based in Oman. Padmana-than estimated the total cost of both facilities at US$2 bil-lion, with separate capacities of 750MW.

4.3 millionAmount of extra capacity, in cubic metres, added to the global desalination market during 2009See story on page 10

Corodex fi nishes 3 Abu Dhabi STPsCorodex Industries has completed three sewage treatment plants (STPs) for Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company (ADSSC).

Two plants have been built in Mafraq (50,000 cubic metres and 30,000 cubic metres a day), with the third in Al Ain (15,000 cubic metres a day).

Two of the plants will use mem-brane bioreactor (MBR) technol-ogy, while the remaining facility will employ sequential batch reac-tor (SBR) technology.

The Korean consortium is con-sidered to be a “surprise contender” according to the paper, due to its price offer and construction capacity.

It is thought that the massive contract will be awarded either at the end of this month or early next year.

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REGIONAL UPDATE


Khaldoun Tabari, chief executive offi cer of Drake & Scull International.

DSI in overseas moveFirm buys 82% stake in Germany’s Passavant RoedigerDubai fi rm Drake & Scull Inter-national (DSI) has bought an 82% stake in German water, wastewater and sludge treatment outfi t Passa-vant Roediger.

The European company’s main activities include engineer-ing and technical services for worldwide wastewater treatment plants (WTPs) and sludge diges-tion plants, turnkey plants for municipal and industrial wastewa-ter treatment, and the provision of advanced equipment for aera-tion, mechanical sludge thickening and dewatering.

DSI has paid US$39.5 million for the stake; the remaining 18% is owned by Bilfi nger Berger.

“This is a strategic acquisition that realises the company’s plans for both vertical and horizontal expansions,” said DSI CEO Khal-doun Tabari.

“It gives DSI vertical expansion by adding to the services that the company offers, and horizontal expansion through opening new

markets and providing the com-pany with a larger geographical reach. The engineering projects taken by Passavant-Roediger will also generate revenues for DSI’s other business streams includ-ing MEP and Civil Contracting, as wastewater and water treatment

plants require engineering, pro-curement and construction disci-plines,” Tabari added.

Passavant-Roediger currently operates in, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Croatia, Germany, Algeria, UAE, Turkey and China with projects around the world.

DUCAB PLANS FACTORYUAE cable manufacturer Ducab has started work on a new $136.1 million fac-tory to help expand public sector electricity networks.Located in the Jebel Ali area, the new facility is a joint venture with Dubai’s Water and Electricity Au-thority (DEWA) and Abu Dhabi’s Water and Electrici-ty Authority (ADWEA), each holding a 25 percent stake, the company said.

UAE DEMAND TO DROPThe UAE government ex-pects that the recent reces-sion will have an impact on long-term electricity demand and has cut its 10-year forecast by around 30%, according to a report in The National newspaper. In the forecast period, the UAE will increase capacity by 81% to 33,500MW, said Oil Minister Mohammed Al Hamli, according to the state news agency WAM.

CLARIFICATIONIn the December issue of Utilities Middle East, we quoted Aquatech business development manager Vikrant Sarin as saying that the company had 40 instal-lations globally. In fact, Aquatech has more than 40 installations in the Middle East and more than 1700 installations globally. We are happy to put the record straight. In other news, Aquatech has just won a US$10 million contract with JGC for a demineralis-ing water treatment plant as part of Saudi Aramco’s Manifa Oil Field Develop-ment Project in KSA.

HIGHLIGHTS

Ras Al Zour megaproject reopens for tenderingThe Saline Water Conversion Cor-poration (SWCC) has declared that the Ras Al Zour Desalination and Power Plant project is now open for tendering.

The documents and specifi ca-tions for the tender can be bought

from the SWCC headquarters in Riyadh. Offers from bidders should be submitted to the com-pany by March 20, 2010, and offers will be opened the next day.

In total, Ras Al Zour will pro-vide 1,025,000 cubic metres of

desalination water and 2,400MW of power, and the time for comple-tion on the project is expected to be three years.

“The 2,400MW power will be distributed between Maaden (1,350MW), 1,000MW for Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) and 50MW for the secondary manu-facturing factories in Ras Azzour industrial area,” said Fehied Fahad Alshareef, the governor of SWCC.

Alshareef added that on the water side, a million cubic metres was designated for the Riyadh area, with the fi nal 25, 000 cubic metres for Maaden.

Number of visitors, from 84 countries worldwide, to the World Future Energy Summit 2009See story on page 19

18,400

REGIONAL UPDATE


Rio Tinto exits giant Abu Dhabi CCS JV with BPRio Tinto has said that it will be focussing the majority of its invest-ment in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology on the Hydro-gen Energy California (HECA) project, a proposed new hydrogen-powered electricity facility that will capture and store most of its car-bon-related emissions to produce clean electricity.

Rio Tinto’s decision to focus on HECA has necessitated a restruc-ture of the broader Hydrogen Energy joint venture with BP. Rio Tinto said that it had sold its 50 per cent interest in Hydrogen Energy International Ltd (HEIL), which

owns an interest in the Hydrogen Power Abu Dhabi (HPAD) project, to BP for an undisclosed sum.

Preston Chiaro, group executive, Technology & Innovation, said that the California project is an excellent strategic fi t for Rio Tinto as it will use coal or petcoke as a feedstock.

“We look forward to continuing to work with our partner BP, the US Department of Energy and other key stakeholders to deliver the Cal-ifornia project, which we regard as a critical project in the development of CCS technology,” he said.

“The Abu Dhabi project is a ground-breaking and important

Duqm RFP in SeptemberNext step towards completion of coal-fired plant takes place

The tendering process for the GCC’s fi rst coal-fi red power station at Duqm will launch in April this year.

Law firm Simmons & Simmons has won a contract to provide advisory services to the Omani government in the development of the coal-fired Duqm IWPP.

The company joins KPMG (lead/financial advisor) and Aus-tralia’s WorleyParsons (technical adviser) on the project.

The move is significant as Sim-mons & Simmons will now work

project based on gas feedstock, but Rio Tinto prefers to focus on projects with solid fuel feedstocks, which are better aligned with our other busi-nesses,” Mr Chiaro said. “We wish BP and Masdar (the joint venture partner in the project) well and con-tinued success with the project.”

Mr Chiaro added: “Rio Tinto is committed to the development of CCS and the need for action on cli-mate change, and it supports a strong binding international agree-ment on climate change that will address both the environmental challenge, as well as provide greater certainty for investment decisions.”

to draft the project documents for Duqm, which is earmarked to have a power generation capacity of 1,000MW, as well as a desalina-tion element.

Duqm is on course to be the first coal-fired power plant in the GCC, offering power to not only the local area, but also to the north of Oman as well, via the country’s Main Interconnection

System (MIS), according to the Oman Daily Observer newspaper.

The daily also reported that Oman plans to launch the tender-ing process in April 2010, with the request for proposals set for Sep-tember 2010.

It is likely to be awarded in August 2011, with full commercial operation earmarked for around January 2016.

JAPAN FIRM JOINS TECHNOPARKJapan-based Torishima Pumps has signed a contract with Dubai’s TechnoPark to set up a service facility for its wholly-owned subsidiary, Torishima Service Solutions.The 9,652 m² facility will comprise a state of the art workshop with a team of experienced engineering and design professionals to help the company deliver support services to its wider Middle East clientele.

FIRST OSMOTIC POWER PLANT OPENSEurope’s largest renewable energy fi rm, Statkraft, has opened the world’s fi rst osmotic power plant in Norway. Although the pro-totype plant only produces around 2-4kW of power at the moment, the com-pany is using the facility to improve the effi ciency of the membrane from around 1 watt per square metre to around 5 watts per square metre, which Stat-kraft believes will make osmotic power costs com-parable to other renewable energy sources.

BRIT FIRM SCOOPS COOLING DEALA team of Teesside consult-ing engineers has clinched a major contract in the Mid-dle East. Simpson Coulson & Lees, based in Billingham, has secured a key contract to provide technical exper-tise on an 80,000 tonne district cooling plant on Al Sowwah Island in Abu Dha-bi. The project is earmarked to supply cooling to more than 95,000 mixed-use units being built on the island.

HIGHLIGHTS

REGIONAL UPDATE


DEWA confident despite crisisPlans for Q1 2010 US$2bn bond unclear; leading businessman expresses faith

Sheikh Hasher recently invested in DEWA.

Despite the ongoing fall-out over the Dubai World debt restructur-ing, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) has denied reports that it will be forced to make a US$2 billion bond payment, due to downgrades in the utility’s investment rating.

DEWA, unlike the Dubai World portfolio, has a sovereign guaran-tee, although this has not prevented a downgrade from Moody’s earlier in December.

“DEWA is very strong fi nancially,” a spokesman told the National news-paper. “There has been no request [for the bond repayment] from banks.”

“I myself have invested in DEWA, as it’s obvious that people are going to need electricity and water,” Sheikh Hasher told the audience at the Ara-bian Business Conference, held last month in Dubai.

Ratings agency Moody’s has again hit the headlines by putting all government-related issuers (GRIs) in the UAE on review for pos-sible downgrade.

The scope of this decision includes fi rms such as Abu Dha-bi’s Mubadala, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), Dolphin Energy and International Petroleum Investment Company (IDIC).

The payment concerns relates to a report that the company’s securiti-sation instrument, Thor Asset Pur-chase, might have to be redeemed in full next week.

The news came as DEWA has been reported to be preparing a US$2 billion bond issue in the fi rst quarter of this year, although the utility has not confi rmed this.

In December, Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum, a prominent UAE businessman and CEO of Al Fajer Properties, said that he had recently invested in DEWA and chided ratings agencies for their past mistakes.

WEB HIGHLIGHTS


50.5%

ONLINE ANALYSIS

Dow strikes nanofi ltration deal in Saudi ArabiaThe Dow Chemical Com-pany has signed a signifi cant deal with Saudi Arabia’s Min-istry of Water and Electricity to supply nanofi ltration tech-nology for the fi rst plant of its type in the country, in the province of Ha’il.

ONLINE ANALYSIS

Most popular headlines1. US engineering fi rm teams up with Masdar2. AECOM inks another Abu Dhabi contract3. Diplomats enter fray as nuclear bid race draws to a close4. Teams submit revised bids for UAE nuclear deal5. UAE electricity demand to drop by 30%6. Palm Jumeirah contractor cools off on Dubai7. DEWA plans US$2bn bond issue in Q1 20108. Ras Al Zour opens for tendering9. Sheikh Hasher backs investment in DEWA10. Acciona Agua targets ME water sector

BREAKING NEWS AND VIEWS FIRST

World Bank invests US$5.5bn in MENA solar power

SPOT POLL

Will you be attending the World Future Energy Summit 2010?

NOYES

NOT SURE

First osmotic power plant opens in Norway

Serbian water fi rm looks for Middle East business

Clean Technology Fund approves fi nancing for 11 plants in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia.

LAD Group, which has extensive experience in the Balkans, is hopeful of gaining entry into the lucrative regional water market.

Europe’s largest renewable energy fi rm, Statkraft, has opened a prototype facility that is set to examine membrane effi ciencies.

EDITOR’S PICK

FEWA signs ERP contract with SiemensThe Federal Electricity and Water Authority (FEWA), which provides utilities in the UAE’s northern emirates, has asked Siemens to implement enterprise resource planning (ERP), including customer relationship man-agement (CRM) and billing.

30.7%

18.8%

NEWS ANALYSIS


Rethinking the GCC water conundrumThe dire pollution situation in the Gulf is in need of drastic action. One global association - IDA - is trying hard to achieve local change

As one of the world’s fastest evolv-ing industries, desalination has seen unprecedented capacity brought online in the last fi ve years. But with growth comes added recognition, and added responsibilities. As the spotlight fell on the industry during the recent International Desalina-tion Association (IDA) World Con-gress held in Dubai, experts at the event were keen to stress the sec-tor’s green credentials.

According to Christopher Gasson, the publisher of Global Water Intelligence, the average additional amount of capacity brought online for seawater desali-nation has risen from around 1 mil-lion cubic metres a year to an extra 4.3 million cubic metres in 2009 alone. “Whereas completion of plants has reached a peak this year,

peak water due to over-exploitation of its own groundwater resources.” What’s worse is that the quality of the water now available to the King-

dom from aquifers is more expen-sive to obtain – it is necessary to dig deeper – and the higher salinity means that it can’t be used for agri-cultural purposes.

Saudi Arabia, in particular, has come in for heavy criticism follow-ing its decision to become self-suf-fi cient in wheat, and in the pro-cess allowing agriculture to con-sume around 90% of its annual water supply. By 2002, the Kingdom was

exporting around twice as much wheat as it was consuming.

“Saudi Arabia’s recent decision [to cut back the wheat subsidy] has

been absolutely essential,” Gasson said. “The exports have ended, and the subsidy is now going as well. But other crops are still being grown.”

Desalination will play a key part in redressing the balance. And the industry’s renewed responsibili-ties have been crystallised in the for-mation of a new task force to help combat the effects of pollution in the Gulf caused by the desalination industry, as reported in the Decem-

there’s naturally a lag between the time when plants are contracted and completed, and the peak year for contracting was in 2007,” Gasson stated. “There’s been a fall this year, partly due to the crisis – certainly in Dubai – and partly due to the fact that other countries, such as Aus-tralia, which had steeply escalating plans, are now plateauing.”

Gasson believes that the next cyclical burst of growth will prob-ably occur around 2014-16, where the additional amount of capacity being brought online will start rising to around 6-8 million cubic metres a year. “The comparison I make is that the River Thames discharges around 5.7 million cubic metres a year into the English Channel – after 2014, the seawater desalination industry will be adding a new River Thames to the world’s freshwater supply. Except, of course, that this is a river fl owing backwards,” Gasson added.

All this added capacity should in theory provide a renewable water supply that should take the pres-sure of non-renewable groundwater resources. There is, of course, a vast discrepancy between the amount of rainfall that visits the Arabian Pen-insula and the amount that is being used by the local population. Histor-ically, the shortfall has been made up by fossil groundwater, and that resource is being swiftly exhausted.

“In Saudi Arabia, total precipita-tion is 2 cubic kilometres a year, with actual use running to 22 cubic kilo-metres a year,” indicated Gasson. “The country has now reached

“Saudi Arabia has now reached peak water due to over-exploitation of its own

groundwater resources”

The alternative to desalination could be even more detrimental to pollution levels in the Gulf.

Christopher Gasson, publisher, Global Water Intelligence

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Christopher Gasson, Global Water Intelligence.

NEWS ANALYSIS


ber issue of Utilities Middle East. An inaugural meeting has already taken place, and a steering commit-tee has been formed that will decide the make-up of the taskforce. “We anticipate that it will be composed of representatives from UNESCO, universities and experts in environ-mental issues that are specifi c to the region,” said Lisa Henthorne, the now-former president of IDA. “Its objective is primarily to facilitate dis-cussion, and it’s likely that there will be a conference to consider the topic in the near future .”

So far, it seems, the initiative has been well-received. “We’ve only had positive feedback,” Henthorne added. “Our sponsor, TechnoPark, held an invitation-only workshop that consisted of government representa-tives and stakeholders in the indus-try. But the only thing we can change is what we can impact. I can’t predict

how or if those impacts will be miti-gated – but that’s all we can do.”

The other factor that will help the push towards renewable water resources is water reuse, an area in which the Middle East has tradition-ally been lacking. “The biggest area of investment today is not desalina-tion, but wastewater collection, treat-ment and reuse,” claimed Gasson. “There are huge programmes to build new WTPs in Saudi Arabia and a $4 billion national water reuse pro-gramme in Oman.”

Gasson is clear that the envi-ronmental issue should be seen from the perspective of the whole water sector, and that the alterna-tive to desalination is often much more detrimental. “When the Ilusu dam in Turkey is completed, its affect on the salinity of the Gulf will be greater than the impact of all the desalination plants based

in that area,” he indicated. “Irriga-tion schemes in West Asia leach salts and pick up pesticides, which become a hazardous dust when the water reaches the Aral Sea. You have to view the impact on the plant in context; creating renewable water resources is a vital way of pro-tecting our environment.”

Amount of annual precipita-tion, in cubic kilometres, fall-

ing on Saudi Arabia

Amount of water, in cubic ki-lometres, actually consumed

by Saudi Arabia annually

Amount of extra capacity, in milions of cubic metres,

added to the global desalination market in 2009

FAST FACTS

Former IDA president Lisa Henthorne.

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INTERVIEW


W ith the economic reces-sion thinning out the excellent consultants

from the bad, the onus is on the best companies to provide a stronger and more varied portfolio of products to their clients. For the utilities indus-try, which is still benefi ting from signifi cant injections into regional infrastructure budgets, this is coming to mean a tendency towards integrated solutions. No longer is it enough for the larger contrac-tors or consultancies to offer single products, but there is an inherent requirement for a differentiated strategy that provides maximum value to the client, especially where budgetary constraints may exist.

Fulfi lling that demanding role is ‘wet infrastructure’ specialist consultant MWH Global, which is leveraging its 6,000-strong world-wide workforce to bring newer offer-ings to its range of stellar Middle Eastern clients. With a 60-year history in the region, the fi rm is not new to the fi ner workings of the local industry, but director of opera-tions for MWH Middle East Andrew Scoble is adamant that the consul-tancy will not rest on its laurels.

Consultancy fi rm MWH Global has diversifi cation and expansion on its bulging agenda. Director of operations Andrew Scoble tells Utilities Middle East about the company’s future plans

“The concept of wet infra-structure also includes pro-gramme management and asset management – areas in which we’ve pushed the boundaries quite far in comparison to other inter-national consultants – but we’re mainly focused on water, wastewater and process technologies, along with solid waste and renewable energy,” Scoble explains. “Most of our history here consisted largely of long-term basic engi-neering for clients, focusing on issues like municipal drainage and water distribution, but about six years ago, we decided to import our global knowledge and carry out a large amount of process design.”

The fruits of that decision are obvious via a quick look at the local MWH portfolio, which contains a signifi cant amount of government work throughout the GCC. In Dubai,

Callingthe shots

INTERVIEW


“The only way you can be successful as a consultant in this industry is to

be your client’s trusted adviser”

MWH AND LIBYA’S GREAT MAN MADE RIVERThis project will last approxi-mately 12 months and will take water from the Great Man Made River and deliver it to over 15,000 farms on the Coastal Plan located to the south of Tripoli. The network will be divided into 6 separate zones, to allow effi cient management of the water system. Each zone will be provided with 1495 litre per second.

This agricultural area cov-ers approximately 80,000 Ha and provides a range of pro-duce including fruit, olives and vegetables to local and international markets.

The provision of this water will improve the livelihood of local farmers.

MWH and its consortium of partners is hoping to win a complex ADSSC pumping station contract.

facturers who can design and build pumps that big,” Scoble says. “We’ve done similar pumping stations at the same capacity or depth in Kuwait and Hong Kong and the people who designed those projects are actually on our team. We’ve got a couple of features in our tender that we think will be appealing to ADSSC.”

But MWH’s portfolio is not limited to just the UAE. Through its joint venture with Gulf Consult in Kuwait, the fi rm has won a number of com-plex sewerage projects, including a recent US$17 million four-year con-tract to assist with sewerage and new trunk mains pumping stations in Kuwait. In Jordan, MWH has just won a $2.5 million contract with the Millenium Challenge Corporation.

With regard to the key Saudi market, Scoble says that has been something of a hiatus in the compa-ny’s activity. “We used to be one of the biggest consultants there and we pulled out about 10 years ago, although we’re now looking at going back in again,” he states. “We will try

www.utilities-m

The company has a stellar list of government clients in the GCC and overseas.

the fi rm acts as Dubai Municipali-ty’s main advisor and supervisor for the mammoth Jebel Ali Wastewa-ter Treatment Plant (WTP), which is planned to be one of the largest in the world.

In Abu Dhabi, MWH is also involved – either as a client’s engi-neer, contractor’s designer or lend-er’s agent, to carry out due diligence or as a checker - with a high percent-age of the WTPs being built, some of which are extraordinarily complex. The fi rm is the lender’s engineer for Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company (ADSSC)’s Al Wathba and Al Saad plants, and is also involved with the more advanced membrane bioreactor (MBR) facilities on Reem Island and Saadiyat Island.

“Water treatment for us in this region is still quite embry-

onic, because there has long been a focus on the larger and more centra-lised thermal desal plants,” says Scoble. “Our expe-rience globally has been on reverse osmosis [RO] membrane technology, so we are now starting to look at smaller plants, or brackish water plants for clients that are using other types of source water such as ground-water or recycled indus-trial effl uent.”

Another major project that MWH is hoping to win is the ADSSC deep pumping station contract at Al Wathba. A consortium led by Kharafi National, and which includes MWH and a number of other contractors, will construct a pumping station around 100 metres below ground in order to receive, screen and pump water from a new tunnel being built from Abu Dhabi island. “There are only a few manu-

For Scoble, success in this fi eld is more about specifying the mem-branes. “It’s really understanding how far you can push the project and how you can integrate it into a system. To get the maximum value out of a product, you have to sys-temise the whole thing and get it bolted together into a coherent plan; that’s how you get your savings, and that is exactly what the client is trusting us to do.”

INTERVIEW


and build strong relationships and develop our business organically, focusing on core clients such as gov-ernment bodies or their agencies, or with fi rms like Saudi Aramco.” The MWH executive adds that there are a couple of projects the fi rm already has its eye on, including water trans-mission schemes. “Our contacts in Saudi Arabia want to bring us into the country – I’ve fi elded some calls recently over the fl ooding crisis in Jeddah – and there’s no doubt that the Kingdom is a huge market.”

Scoble is also keen to highlight the benefi ts of Libya as an emerg-ing market. MWH is working on two types of project in the North African nation; infrastructure projects for quasi-government clients, and speci-alised water modeling and irrigation design for clients such as the Great Manmade River Authority (with which MWH won a $5 million con-tract). “We’ve just opened an offi ce in Tripoli and have seen no down-sides to working there,” Scoble indi-cates. “Naturally you need to be Ara-bic-speaking, but that’s something that our business has to adjust to.”

The issue of language clearly refl ects greater efforts on the part of MWH to build closer relationships with its client base. Scoble says that from a recruitment perspective,

the consultancy needs to be able to communicate and participate more effectively in local business deal-ings, and has plans to recruit more Arabic-speaking project managers.

“That’s probably a reaction to more indigenous consultancies springing up,” he explains. “But it’s also more of a respect issue. These countries have developed enough to pick and choose and inject their own iden-tity into the equation and we have to respond to that. A typical project will incorporate overseas experience from global operations, expat expe-rience from employees who have worked in traditional Western sec-tors, and local talent that can bridge the gap with the client and prevent a lapse in communication.”

In terms of industry trends, Scoble sees a few developments on the hori-zon. Not only is the shift from ther-mal desalination to RO playing into the company’s hands, but it’s also

clear that the issue of water reuse is becoming increasingly impor-tant. Gulf nations are already look-ing at recycling water for irriga-tion, and also for district cooling. On that note, he sees Abu Dhabi’s plan to recycle 100% of its water by 2015 as entirely possible, and believes the authorities are going about this plan in the right way. But recycling for potable usage is still some way off, mainly due to cultural percep-tions. “The way I think it will work

in this part of the world is via aquifer recharge – so we can treat the water to potable quality but deliver it to an aquifer rather than the tap,” says the director. “Management of aquifers and groundwater is crucial – the way they’re being used at the moment is completely unsustainable.”

Scoble thinks that the fi rm has probably weathered the storm in terms of the recession. While it has been a tough period – MWH lost around 6-7% of staff in the region – the executive believes it is perform-ing well in relation to its competitors as a result of its focus on government clients. “Looking ahead, we want to continue working for those kind of clients, plus extra work in Kuwait, KSA, and also Qatar and Oman,” Scoble outlines. “We aim to expand carefully from a geographical per-spective and once we have a good base, we can look at programme management opportunities.”

On the programme manage-ment side, MWH is leading the water sector in markets such as the US and UK and hopes to bring this service to strategic clients in the region. MWH is also seeing that cli-ents locally are taking are taking a more structured approach towards asset management. “We have lots of ideas, systems and tools to help our clients,” the executive adds. “We can help with redesigning business organisation, asset management accreditation and asset manage-ment optimisation, which is more of a management consulting angle.”

For the time being, though, MWH is happy to focus on the fundamen-tals and continue to work with its strong set of strategic clients in the region. “The only way you can be successful as a consultant is to be your client’s trusted adviser,” Scoble concludes. “We promote people and train people on how to be a trusted adviser – it’s absolutely key to us. We can go and win projects fairly easily, but we need to guard our reputation because at the end of the day that’s all that counts.”

“Management of aquifers and groundwater is crucial - the way they’re being used at the

moment is completely unsustainable”

MWH has carried out landmark work on the Jebel Ali STP, planned to be the world’s largest.

The fi rm is aiming to grow its GCC footprint.

GAS CITIES

16 Utilities Middle East ● January 2010

“Natural gas is a great facilitator to build political, social and

economic bridges between two different countries”

www.utilities-me.com

nomic bridges between two coun-tries,” continues Jafar. “I think that gas has something that oil doesn’t and that is the fact it can act like an umbilical cord between two nations, which then promotes long-term sta-bility, as natural gas projects tend to be measured in decades not years.”

From the industrial perspective, the Crescent executive believes that one strong solution is his fi rm’s Gas Cities concept.

The Gas Cities Ltd joint venture company has been set up to explore the possibility of clustering various industries so that by-products and waste from one sector can then be used as feedstocks and energy for its neighbours.

“In the Gas Cities, we would like to be able to develop the gas resources ourselves, and price that feedstock according to what the industries can afford,” explains the Crescent exec-utive. “That would incentivise an industry to be effi cient, and simulta-neously allow us to share in the prof-its of that industry.”

As the most prolifi c hydro-carbon region in the world, the Middle East

has long been attempting to add value to its most vital exports. With Saudi Arabia spending vast amounts in developing its petrochemicals industry, one fi rm, in particular, is looking at

gas as a way to earn extra reve-nue for regional nations.

“Most international oil companies (IOCs) go into a country to source commodities for export,” says Badr Jafar, executive director of Cres-cent Petroleum and executive chair-man of Gas Cities, a joint venture between Crescent Petroleum and

The Gas Cities concept has the potential to create long-term economic stability, says Badr Jafar

Dana Gas. “With natural gas that usually entails pipeline projects and LNG shipping in order to export it – once that gas molecule has reached the border, you’ve exchanged its value and that’s it.”

Jafar says that using the gas mole-cule within the exporting country’s borders to maximise the netback value of the gas can have an eco-nomic multiplier effect. Often, the power generation sector receives the greatest benefi t, which in turn encourages added foreign direct investment, mass employment, training, education and so on.

“Natural gas is a great facilita-tor to build political, social and eco-

Maximisingvalue

GAS CITIES


ANALYST BMI’S TAKE ON THE YEMEN GAS CITY COMPANY The Yemen Gas City Company is planning a US$20bn industrial city in Hodiedah. Powered by gas, the industrial complex will house petrochemical and heavy manufacturing plants, as well cement plants and power stations. A memorandum of under-standing (MoU) for the project has been signed by the UAE’s Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum, which are planning to build four gas cities in the Middle East. As well as creating upwards of 90,000 jobs, the gas city is expected to attract US$15bn-US$20bn in foreign investment over the next three decades.

GAS CITIES: AT A GLANCE“The concept of Gas Cities is based on the effective utilisation of natural gas as feedstock, thereby maximis-ing the value of industrial outputs. In the Gas Cities, available natural gas is con-verted into economically viable petroleum related products & derivatives by systematically utilising the operational synergies and economies of scale arising from clustered industrial units. Designed to be self-sustaining, Gas Cities offers services that will satisfy all industrial/business needs. Highly developed infrastruc-ture ensures smooth logis-tics, while service facilities like banks, fi nancial centres, engineering and business consultancies offer increased in-house fl exibility and inter-cluster synergies.”Source: www.gascities.com

Iraq, where Crescent Petroleum has a rich history, has huge potential with regard to Gas Cities, as it has the opportunity to start afresh. Gas Cities are designed to be self-sustaining.

Crescent’s pipeline investment is considerable.

As an example, Jafar referred to the ammonia industry. If the price of ammonia doubles, the ammonia sector should pay more for its feed-stock. “Likewise, if the commod-ity price falls, we go down together, because we always want to have a happy tenant – as long as we are both able to share in the good times.”

While this concept would be admittedly diffi cult to establish in the more mature local markets, Jafar has set his sights on potential high-growth sectors, such as Iraq. Crescent Petroleum already has a long heritage in the country, and was instrumental in the construc-tion of a 180-kilometre gas pipeline to provide feedstock for two inde-pendent power plants (1,500MW and 750MW) ordered by the Kurd-istan Regional Government.

“Iraq in this regard has huge potential, because it has an opportu-nity to start afresh, and build the nec-essary framework today,” said Jafar. “The biggest problem Iraq faces is to break out of that negative mindset and infl uence that is coming from some of its neighbours, who don’t

necessarily want to see Iraq fl ourish as fast as it can.”

Studies conducted by Gas Cities indicate that there are three areas where the concept would add the most value. In each of those three areas, the fi rm has reached beyond the preliminary discussion stage.

“There’s the Kurdistan region of Iraq, where we have identifi ed a 42 square kilometre piece of land in the north,” said Jafar. The second Gas City is in Egypt, where we are cur-rently identifying potential sites, and where we are now working with the Egyptian government. In addi-tion, in Yemen we have conducted

a pre-feasability study along with the Yemeni government to identify a location for the site, and signed an MoU with the government a few weeks ago.

“Yemen is a great example because they know that have gas resources, but their only use at the moment is for LNG export,” Jafar continues.

“Most of the PSAs in Yemen only extend the title holders to the oil, not the associated gas, so there has been no incentive for companies to develop the gas infrastructure. There is now a drive to change some of those contracts to cover titles to the gas too.”

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EVENT PREVIEW


Last year’s edition of the World Future Energy Summit saw over 18,400 visitors attend from 84 countries.

on the actions necessary to bal-ance demands the world is facing between an economic and social need to boost energy infrastructure to fuel economic growth and envi-ronmental imperatives that must be met to ensure sustainability.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has predicted that 70% of the increased energy demand to 2030 will come from developing coun-tries. Meanwhile, the other 30% of this growth will emanate from devel-oped economies, which will con-tinue to witness growing demand

As Utilities Middle East went to press towards the tail-end of December, the fi nal

details of the Copenhagen climate summit were starting to become a little clearer. The main headlines in the international press have by and large intimated that the conference was a failure, as the nations taking place only managed to reach a weak outline of a global agreement, with-out anything more substantive being signed up.

For now, the focus will turn to the Abu Dhabi and the four-day World Future Energy Summit (WFES) 2010 – being held from January 18th – 21st which is the perfect opportu-nity for companies as well as coun-tries to put their messages across.

With 2009 being such a success-ful year for Abu Dhabi on the renew-able energy front as a result of the

decision of the International Renew-able Energy Agency to base its headquarters there and the continu-ing work at Masdar, WFES comes at exactly the right time for Middle Eastern companies to get the best out of some truly international net-working opportunities.

And it certainly is a bumper pro-gramme this year. The fourth edi-tion of WFES has invited a number of analysts, executives and poli-ticians from over 100 countries to bring their experience to the event, with the focus being placed

World Future Energy Summit 2010With Copenhagen sewn up, the spotlight is switching to Abu Dhabi

WFES 2010:In quotes“We really need to build the green economy of the future by jettisoning fossil fuels and embracing renew-able energy.”Mohamed Nasheed, the president of the Maldives, who is a keynote speaker at WFES 2010.

“A carbon price alone will not get us where we need to go unless it is supported by comprehensive regulation that will encourage and fa-cilitate new sources of clean energy. Feed-in tariffs and rules to make sure renew-able energy providers can link easily into the grid are essential to stimulate more active investment in alterna-tive energies.”Kevin Parker, global head of Deutsche Bank’s Asset Man-agement division.

“Exposure to the quality of experts taking part in World Future Energy Summit will help our young people de-velop an international per-spective that will be essential to developing a global solu-tion to energy challenges.”Dr Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar.

“We are pleased that we have received sig-nifi cant interest from young Emiratis for the Young Future Energy Leaders programme”

EVENT PREVIEW


as they get wealthier, and as their populations expand with ever-increasing migration from the developing world.

In addition, the US-based Energy Information Administration has said that global energy demand is expected to soar 44% over the next two decades, fuelled heavily by the emergence of economic heavy-weights such as China and Russia. With China playing a key role in the success or otherwise of post-Co-penhagen climate change talks, the importance of the emerging nations has never been more crucial.

One of the highlights of WFES this year will be the launch of a spe-cial programme, Young Future Energy Leaders, by Masdar Insti-tute of Science and Technology (MIST), which threw open its doors for the fi rst time during 2009. The four-day programme is designed to offer 150 participants an unparal-leled opportunity to engage in dis-cussions with the world’s foremost experts in energy, climate change, Monday, January 18th, 2pm

Plenary Forum 1World Future Energy Policy – Energy Ministers’ RoundtableAs well as the interim direc-tor of IRENA, senior energy offi cials from Canada, Swit-zerland, Holland, India and Japan – as well as the UAE – will discuss how the role of renewable energy will shape the future of the planet.

Tuesday, January 19th, 2pm Advanced Solar Technologies, Materials and Costs – Summit Room AExecutives from the Fraun-hofer Institute for Solar En-ergy Systems, Calisolar, First Solar and Schott Solar discuss the advances being made in the major PV technologies; crystalline Si, thin fi lm and high-effi ciency concentrated PV as well as concentrated solar thermal technology.

Wednesday, January 20th, 11am Into The New Electricity Age with Smart Grids – Summit Room BKhaled Awad, director of property development unit, Masdar, takes a look at this vital sector in conjunction with senior executives from Siemens, ENEL and RWE Effi zienz.

Thursday, January 21st, 11amPanel on Private Sector Suc-cesss Criteria for Project Fi-nance in Sustainable Energy – Main Summit TheatreThe fl ow of capital for fund-ing sustainable energy proj-ects is crucial to the success of the world’s future energy sup-ply. This panel brings together leading private sector fi nan-ciers to discuss the criteria for successful funding in today’s challenging economic climate.

Selected Summit Highlights

Quick WFES FactsDate Monday 18th to Thursday 21st January 2010

OpeningCeremony Monday 18th January 2010 11:00am to 12:30pm

Summit timing 9:30am to 5:30pm

ExhibitionTiming 10:00am to 6:00pm

Location Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Center

policy, and sustainability. They will also have a chance to network with government representatives, busi-nesses leaders and other organisa-tions active in the area of alternative energy and sustainability.

“We are particularly pleased that we have received signifi cant inter-est from young Emiratis in attend-ing the Young Future Energy Lead-ers program, which will increase their awareness of and partici-pation in the fi elds of alternative energy and sustainability,” said Dr Lammya Fawwas, assistant provost for regional affairs at MIST. “This is just one of a number of outreach activities planned by Masdar Insti-tute to develop Nationals into lead-ers in these fi elds, as part of the over-all vision for Abu Dhabi.”

Unsurprisingly, there are a huge number of international and local companies showcasing their wares at the event this year. Amongst the biggest fi rms attending that will be of interest to utilities executives are GE, ADWEA and Siemens.

Global energy demand is expected to soar by 44% over the next two decades.

This year sees the fourth edition of the World Future Energy Summit.

EVENT PREVIEW


Masdar City – the carbon-neutral development currently taking shape on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi – has just signed a six major supply and installa-tion contracts, worth around US$2.9 billion, for the world’s fi rst 1GW offshore wind farm, located in the United King-dom’s Thames Estuary.

Offshore work on the Lon-don Array project will start in early 2011, with phase one of construction earmarked for completion in 2011.

“The completion of these contracts marks a major step towards making the project a

As event host and HQ of IRENA, Masdar City will be looking to make a splash at WFES 2010

Masdar news round-up

reality,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar.

Masdar is working on the de-velopment in partnership with Dong Energy and E.ON. Over

the last few years, Masdar has invested around US$15 billion in renewable energy projects around the world and at home.

Also during December, the Masdar subsidiary, Masdar PV, saw its solar photovoltaic (PV) panels installed for the fi rst time on a commercial rooftop. The installation took place at the stainless steel tube systems company Dockweiler AG, in Neustadt-Glewe, Germany.

“We are delighted that our solar modules are now being used for the fi rst time in a roof mounted system – shortly after having equipped the fi rst open

space solar park with them. The company Ralos has been awarded the contract for planning and installing the equipment and we are hoping to work with them on future projects as well,” said Joachim Nell, COO/CMO of Masdar PV.

Lastly, the Neutral Group, a global carbon consultancy, also chose December to an-nounce that it is relocating its headquarters to Masdar City. The Neutral Group as-sists companies such as BP and DHL calculate and re-duce their carbon footprint.

A concept image of Masdar City.

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Our 24/7 service team has the necessary spare parts and diagnostic tools to provide you with immediate support whenever you need it.

GENERATORS AND COMPRESSORS


Contrary to popular belief, there are still certain ser-vice sectors for the utilities

sector that seem to be outperform-ing the market. In the fi eld of gener-ators and compressors, the demand has never been higher.

For generator companies, the rental option is still becoming more and more prevalent. “Leasing has a cushioning effect for compa-nies who are uncertain about the long-term future of their projects,” explains Phil Burns, managing director of Aggreko Middle East. “By renting equipment, fi rms can ensure that they will not be left with equipment that will sit unutilised; if a company that has purchased large amounts of equipment decides that a project must be put on hold, the cost damage incurred can be major.”

What are the effects of the global economic conditions on the Middle East’s vital generators and compressors market?

In general terms, clients’ unwill-ingness to invest large sums of cap-ital means that the rental option is perfect for companies that may not be able to afford such large lump-sum outlays. Furthermore, lead times are by defi nition shorter with rental solutions, which can be util-ised within days (or even hours – see case study) of an agreement being signed. Lastly, the fl exibility that the leasing option provides – allow-

The

gamegenerator

ing clients to increase or decrease capacity at the drop of a hat – means that, all in all, for some companies, the rental packages are certainly making more sense.

In the market for compressors, however, there is a belief on the part of some that while the rental sector is strong in the construction sector, this has not yet passed over to the utilities industry. Burns believes that as Aggreko has just come out of

a busy summer period, the company is still benefi ting from the seasonal increase in business due to summer shortages. This positive outlook is refl ected by Kaeser Kompressoren, a major provider of compressed air technology, which bases its regional head offi ce in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone. “Currently, business is run-ning extremely well, in fact our order book has never been higher,” says Carl Briden, director at Kaeser Kompressoren. “Obviously the fi rst few months of 2009 were diffi cult for everyone due to the uncertainty in the market. However, we have noticed that with a need for greater effi ciency across all market sec-tors, decision making has tended to be more focused on quality and energy effi ciency rather than just the bottom line.”

“Currently business is running extremely well. In fact, our order

book has never been higher”



In terms of trends, the themes of sustainability and diversifi cation are most prevalent. Rather than relying on one particular type of fuel, cus-tomers are looking to expand their capacity to include two or more fuel types. “One of our customers, a cement company in Ras Al Khaimah, has its own gas-powered turbine, but contracted a diesel-powered package from us to provide addi-tional capacity to their facility,” says Burns. Aggreko has reacted to this demand by introducing its ADDGas system, which allows customers to substitute a signifi cant portion of diesel fuel with natural gas, giving the customer a considerable saving on overall costs.

On the sustainable side, Kaeser Kompressoren ensures that con-sumption is kept to a minimum by producing highly energy effi cient compressed air stations. “With com-pressed air generation requiring over 30% of all electricity consumed in industry today, it is our respon-sibility as manufacturers to look at ways of reducing this consumption,” says Briden. “The ultimate benefi t is a greener environment.”

Whereas supply chains are often a factor in the regional transformer market, lead times are also improv-

Aggreko can supply gen-erators from 15 kVA to 2 000 kVA in single units, as well as multi-megawatt packages using 1 250 kVA units linked together. Smaller sets are used to power Portacabins, piling machines and hand tools, while construction cranes are usually powered by 250 kVA or 320 kVA generators.

Altas Copco provides portable and stationary generators. The company has reported increased activity in the larger 500 kVA to 1 000 kVA cat-egory due to power shortfalls in some urban areas, but it mainly supplies contractors who require units in the 20 kVA to 275 kVA range.

Caterpillar provides gas-pow-ered gensets ranging from 9 kW to 600 kW and diesel-powered generator sets from 7 kW to 16 200 kW. It supplies these products to a total of fi ve GCC countries for which Al Bahar, a machinery and trading group in the Middle East, has the Caterpillar deal-ership. Caterpillar has a num-ber of different models to cater the needs of the industry and for varied project requirements.

Caterpillar supplies its range of gensets to fi ve GCC countries.

Cummins offers gensets be-tween 15 kVA and 500 kVA. The 250 kVA to 500 kVA range is used during construction for powering offi ces, cranes and other miscellaneous construc-tion requirements. Gensets ranging from 500 kVA to 3 000 kVA are used for perma-nent installations as back-up power to local utilities compa-nies in most buildings. Cum-mins believes that contractors prefer to rent generators for specifi c projects instead of owning the equipment and continuously moving it to new project locations where they incur hefty logistical costs.

FG Wilson designs and manu-factures diesel and gas gensets. Its most popular products for construction sites range from 60 kVA to 500 kVA. It also gensets from 10 kVA to 2 200 kVA so as to be able to cater for customer demand. All these can be supplied as sound-attenuated and weatherproof canopied gensets. FG Wilson offers tech-nical support from pre-sales and aftersales support from installation to commission-ing. Its Middle East business includes countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

Utilities Middle East reviews fi ve local operators in the generator sector

FIVE TO WATCH

u

moer

eddech-s

m

saq

ing. Generally speaking, the wider the global reach of the company, the more effi ciently it can trans-port its offerings to utilities. In the case of Aggreko, a worldwide fl eet of around 13,500 generators – with a total of 5,600MW of operating capacity – combined with a strong network of depots, mean that its products can be readily available to potential clients.

Extra investment over the last 12-18 months has improved lead-times for Kaeser Kompressoren, an approach that has also been assisted with technological advancements that allow customers to monitor their installations on a 24-hour basis. There are even computer-controlled management systems available that can send text messages to a mobile phone providing operational status.

And that need for constant updates as to operational status is absolutely vital. “A 3mm hole in a compressed air network for example, can cost a customer US$6,900 per year in elec-tricity costs,” explains Briden. “This is a substantial amount and in most cases the customer is unaware such losses are taking place. It is our duty to continually educate clients as to the proper use and up-keep of their compressed air systems.”

Carl Briden, director at Kaeser

Kompressoren.

“A 3mm hole in a compressed air net-work can cost a customer

US$9,600 a year in costs”



“Aggreko was able to deliver and install a generator within just a few hours”

“In June, the British Trade Offi ce was commissioned by British airline BMI to host an anniversary reception to cel-ebrate the fi rst anniversary of the company’s operations in the Eastern Province of Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.

With over 100 guests expected, a sophisticated

lighting and sound system was put in place to ensure that the event made an impression. However, only three hours before the evening was due to begin, the British Trade Of-fi ce discovered that the power

distribution panel was unable to handle the amount of power needed to operate the system.

In need of a fast solution, Aggreko was called in to

Aggreko’s Phil Burns outlines a recent company success story

CASE STUDY help provide suffi cient power to ensure the lighting and sound would function at opti-mum capacity; the alternative would have been to cancel the whole evening.

Having a base in the region and a reputation for being able to supply effi cient and reliable power at short notice, Aggreko was able to deliver and install a generator within a few hours – just in time for the reception starting. The evening was a resounding success and Aggreko’s on the ground support and quick response time ensured that guests were completely un-aware of the question mark that had hung over their eve-ning a few hours before.”

install a generator within just

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Circuit balancing: Improving HVAC system operationsDavid Hudson says balancing should be integrated into commissioning

M any building manag-ers would agree that the symptoms of indoor cli-

mate problems most often surface as complaints from tenants. Living or working spaces are too cold in winter, too hot in summer or a com-bination of both extremes.

‘Fixes’ to HVAC systems often prove both costly and ineffective. For example, the resetting of a work-place HVAC system startup time from 7:30am to 5:30am leads to a plant operating at capacity two addi-tional hours per day. This equates to a 25% increase in energy consump-tion, cancelling any energy savings that night setbacks are designed to achieve. Additional consequences include increased wear on pumps and HVAC components and reduced control-valve authority.

Indoor temperature and climate problems are not typically caused by control malfunctions or sizing errors. Often, they can be traced to incorrect fl ow rates attributable to improper terminal-unit balanc-ing. Engineers normally design HVAC systems with excess capac-ity in mind, so that the ability to pro-vide necessary heating or cooling energy is present. Transferring that energy to terminal units and air-han-dling units (AHUs) is the challenge. Therefore, the key to HVAC-system effectiveness and effi ciency is prop-erly controlled fl ows from produc-tion and delivery units to terminals.

Balancing valves maintain fl ow conditions so that control valves may function properly, providing correct fl ows to the heat transfer coils, which results in the correct output of energy to a space.

David L. Hudson is a senior product engineer for Victaulic. He is a practis-

ing mechanical engineer with more than 26 years of experience.

He can be reached at [email protected]

Expert analysis:

fl ows for optimal performance. When pumps, chillers and other components operate at the lowest possible load, there is less wear and tear, longer life, and lower energy and maintenance costs.

In addition to providing a com-prehensive record of specifi ed and actual fl ows, circuit balancing helps simplify the setup and monitoring of control equipment. This reduces capital costs, as well as the time needed for commissioning.

Far too many buildings are plagued by temperature varia-tions that can lead to tenant com-plaints, high energy consumption and increased operating expenses. In most cases, these can be easily resolved through proper balanc-ing of the heating or cooling system in conformance with original spec-ifi cations. In addition to ensuring occupant comfort and minimising energy and operating costs, effec-tive circuit balancing can help deter-mine the causes of improper heat-ing and cooling. Therefore a com-prehensive circuit balancing pro-gramme should be integrated into any commissioning to save time and energy and to improve the long-term value of the building.

HVAC-system fl ows are dynamic, changing throughout a typical 24 hour period. Because of heat gain from the sun and changes in build-ing occupancy, the demand for heating and cooling varies, not only throughout the day and night, but also by building sector. An effective and effi cient HVAC system must provide correct energy output when and where required, and proper Hydronic balancing is the key to proper performance in the most cost-effective way.

Circuit balancing is essential to ensuring that heating and chilled-water systems deliver correct fl ows to all terminal units in an HVAC cir-cuit. In an unbalanced system, sec-tors of a building have underfl ow or overfl ow conditions that impact con-trol-valve authority and therefore indoor climate. For instance, areas closest to an energy-production and delivery source could receive excess fl ow, resulting in excessive heating or cooling. On the other

hand, areas furthest from an ener-gy-production and delivery source could receive insuffi cient fl ow, resulting in inadequate heating or cooling. For every single degree temperature is increased above 20°C there is an 8% increase in heat-ing costs, whilst each and every degree of cooling below 23°C adds on 15% to costs.

By properly applying circuit bal-ancing techniques to each balancing valve it is possible to achieve proper balance throughout a system so that all circuits receive specifi ed design

David L. Huengineer fo

ing mechathan

Hed

Expert

Unwanted temperature variations can be resolved through proper balancing.

PROJECTS


UTILITIES PROJECT TRACKERInformation is supplied by Ventures Middle East. Tel: +971 2 622 2455. URL: www.ventures-uk.com

Shouaiba-2 Substation - Namera North Overhead Transmission Line

Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) Not Appointed 106 EPC Bid Power Transmis-

sion

Tabouk Power Plant Saudi Electricity Company

NationalEngineeringServices Paki-stan (Nespak)

National Contracting Company 114 project under

construction Power Plant

Desalination Plant in Jeddah - Phase 3

Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC)

Kuljian EngineeringCorporation

Doosan Heavy Indus-tries & Const. Company / Saudi Berkefeld Filter (Witco)

245 project under construction Desalination Plant

10J Substation & 101 Satel-lite Substation in Yanbu

Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (RCJY) Not Appointed 150 EPC Bid Substation

Princess Noura Bin Abdulrah-man University - High Volt-age Substation

Ministry of Higher Educa-tion / Ministry of Finance

ABB Contracting Co. / Al Fanar Contracting 167 project under

construction Substation

Yanbu IWPP Marafi q/SWCCMohammedA.Turki Mott MacDonald

Not Appointed 4000 project under design

Power and Desali-nation Plant

King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) - Power Grid Package

Emaar Middle East Properties Siemens 400 project under


Power and Water Plant in Ras Al Zour Maaden/Rio Tinto Alcan Not Appointed 2500 project under

designPower & Desali-nation Plant

Substations 9024 and 8183/8184

Saudi Electricity Company (SEC)

ABB Contracting Co., Saudi Arabia 120 project under


Ras Al-Zour IWPP Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) Fichtner Not Appointed 3,000 EPC Bid Power & Desali-

nation Plant

Captive Power Plant in JECSaudi Binladin Group / CHALCO / MMC Corpora-tion Berhad

CPI Power Engineer 2000 project under construction Power Plant

480 MW Expansion of Jed-dah PP3 - Stage 2

Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) Not Appointed 250 project under

study Power Plant

PP11 Power Plant in Riyadh Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) Not Appointed 2133 EPC Bid Power Plant

1200 MW Thermo-electric Power Plant in Rabigh

Saudi Electricity Company (SEC)/ACWA Power International/Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco)

Not Appointed 2500 project in its concept stage Power Plant

UAE

Desalination Plant in Jafza Jafza/Palm Water GHD Not Appointed 250 EPC Bid Desalination Plant

Hassyan Complex - Station P - Phase 2(P2)

Dubai Electricity and Wa-ter Authority (DEWA)

LahmeyerInternational, Abu Dhabi

Not Appointed 3000 EPC Bid Power and Desali-nation Plant

MIDDLE EAST

Project Title Client Consultant Main Contractor

Value / Value Range (US$. Mn) Project Status Project Type

SAUDI

PROJECTS


Fujairah 2 (F2) IWPPADWEA/ Marubeni Corporation/ International Power

Fichtner Alstom Power / Sidem 3,000 project under construction


Desalination Plant near Hamriyah Free Zone

Sharjah Electricity and Wa-ter Authority (SEWA)

Aqua Engineering, Techton Engineering & Construction


General Utility Plant Expan-sion at Ruwais

Abu Dhabi Oil Refi nery Company (Takreer) Not Appointed 500 EPC Bid Power Plant

Power and Desalination Complex-M Station

Dubai Electricity and Wa-ter Authority (DEWA) Fichtner Doosan / Fisia Italimp-

lanti 2,693 project under construction


Nuclear Power Plant in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority / Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation

Not Appointed 41000 EPC Bid Power and Desali-nation Plant

Five 132/11 kV & One 132/33 kV Substations in Dubai

Dubai Electricity and Wa-ter Authority (DEWA)

Emirates Trading Agency (ETA), Dubai 225 project under


KUWAIT

Al Zour Power Plant Expan-sion

Ministry of Energy (Elec-tricity & Water)

Parsons Brinck-erhoff Not Appointed 3,700 project under

designPower and Desali-nation Plant

Shuaiba Power & Desalina-tion Plant


Parsons Brinck-erhoff Mitsui Company 1,300 project under

constructionPower and Desali-nation Plant

Shuwaikh Desalination Plant Ministry of Energy (Elec-tricity & Water)

Doosan Heavy Indus-tries & Construction Kuwait


Five 132/11 kV Substations at Jaber Al-Ahmed


Al Ahlia Switchgear Company 66 project under


QATAR

Ras Laffan C Independent Water & Power Project

Qatar General Electric-ity & Water Corporation/Qatar Petroleum (QP)/Suez Energy International (Bel-gium)/Mitsui & Company, Japan

Kema Mitsui & Company 3,700 project under construction


Captive Power Plant at Mesaieed Qatalum Mott MacDon-

aldGE / Doosan Heavy Industries 1,000 project under


Mesaieed A - Power Project in MIC QEWC/QP/Marubeni Fichtner Iberinco 2,000 project under


OMAN

Salalah IWPP

Oman Power and Water Procurement Company /Sembcorp Utilities Pte Ltd /Oman Investment Corporation

Shandong No.3 Electric Power Construction Corporation,China

750 project under construction


BAHRAIN

Independent Water and Power Plant in Addur

Ministry of Finance / Ministry of Electricity & Water / Suez Energy International

Mott MacDon-ald

Degremont / Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) 4000 project under

constructionPower and Desali-nation Plant

Ten 220kV Substations Ministry of Electricity & Water, Bahrain

ElectricitySupply Board International-Ireland (ESBI)

Electricity Supply Board International- Ireland (ESBI)

105 project under construction Substation

TENDERS


UME provides free access to the latest publicly available tender listings from across GCC countries. The tenders included are aggregated from a wide variety of public and private sector sources from across the region. Where possible, tenders include the issuer, name and category of the tender; opening and closing dates; narratives; fees, bonds and contacts

UPGRADING OF THE COMPLETE SCADA SYSTEM IN RQWTS LINES A & B Issuer: Saline Water Conversion CorporationTender number: RQWTS-SCADATitle: Upgrading of the Complete SCADA System in RQWTS Lines A & BDescription: The scope of work includes upgrading of the complete SCADA System, communication system & communication cable in RQWTS Lines A & B.Bond: N/ATender fee: 5000.00 SAR Closes: Jan 3, 2010Contact: http://www.swcc.gov.sa

NEW 11-KV SWITCHGEAR BUILDING AT THE GHUBRA NORTH 33\11-KV PRIMARY SUBSTATION IN OMAN Issuer: Muscat Electricity Distribution Co. (S.A.O.C)Tender number: 334/2009Title: New 11-kV Switchgear Building at Ghubra North 33\11-kV Primary SubstationDescription: The scope of work includes construction of New 11-kV Switchgear Building at 33\11k.V Ghubra North Primary Substation.Bond: N/ATender fee: 257.00 OMR Closes: Jan 4, 2010Contact: http://www.tenderboard.gov.om

Tender activityVisit constructionweekonline.comfor the latest tender information

To add a tender to our listing, email details to lutfi [email protected]

SUPPLY OF ELECTRICAL CABLES FOR MAJAN ELECTRICITY COMPANY IN OMANIssuer: Majan Electricity Company S.A.O.CTender number: 344/2009Title: Supply of Electrical Cables for Majan Electricity CompanyDescription: The scope of work includes supply of electrical cables for Majan Electricity Company in the Sultanate of Oman. Bond: N/ATender fee: 150.00 OMR Closes: Jan 4, 2010Contact: http://www.tenderboard.gov.om

SUPPLY OF 8 TRANSFORMERS (20 MVA,33/11.5-KV) FOR MAJAN ELECTRICITY COMPANY IN OMANIssuer: Majan Electricity Company S.A.O.CTender number: 343/2009Title: Supply of 8 Transformers (20 MVA,33/11.5-kV) for Majan Electricity CompanyDescription: The scope of work includes supply of 8 transformers (20 MVA,33/11.5-kV) for Majan Electricity Company.Bond: N/ATender fee: 150.00 OMRCloses: Jan 4, 2010Contact: http://www.tenderboard.gov.om

132-KV XLPE CABLE IN SAAD AL-ABDULLA SUBSTATIONIssuer: Central Tenders CommitteeTender no: 109/2008/2009Title: -kV XLPE Cable in Saad Al-Abdulla SubstationDescription: The scope of work includes installation of 132-kV XLPE cable in Saad Al-Abdulla substation.Bond: ApplicableTender fee: 3000.00 KWD Closes: Jan 5, 2010Contact: Central Tenders Committee - Ministry of Water & Electricity

EXPANSION OF AL BATHA OUTLET SUBSTATION Issuer: Ministry of FinanceTender number: 1195Title: Expansion of Al Batha Outlet SubstationDescription: The scope of work includes expansion of Al Batha outlet substation.Bond: N/ATender fee: 1000.00 SAR Closes: Jan 10, 2010Contact: www.mof.gov.sa

CONSTRUCTION OF WATER DISTRIBUTION NETWORK FOR SMALL TOWNIssuer: Public Authority for Electricity and WaterTender no: 335/2009Title:Construction of Water Distribution Network for

TENDERS

January 2010 ● Utilities Middle East 31www.utilities-me.com

Small TownDescription:The scope of work includes construction of water distribution network for small town in Al-Dakhiliah Region.Bond: N/ATender fee: 150.00 OMR Closes: Jan 11, 2010Contact: http://www.tenderboard.gov.om

HASSYAN POWER & DESALINATION STATION - WATER INTAKE AND OUTFALL SYSTEM PACKAGEIssuer: Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA)Tender no: CNE/0114/2008(R)Title: Hassyan Power & Desalination Station - Water Intake and Outfall System PackageDescription: The scope of work includes construction of water intake channel (onshore and offshore sections), outfall System comprising and outfall chamber means of transporting the discharge offshore, boat house anf boat lifting facilities, and ancillary works, including roads and lighting.Bond: N/ATender fee: 5000.00 AED Closes: Jan 25, 2010Contact: The Chairman, Board of Directors Dubai Electricity & Water Authority

SUPPLY OF LV XLPE CABLES IN BAHRAIN Issuer: Electricity and Water AuthorityTender number: 365/2009/5310Title: New 11-kV Switchgear Building at Ghubra North 33\11-kV Primary SubstationDescription: The scope of work includes supply of 70,000 metres of LV XLPE cables aluminum & conductor in Bahrain.Bond: ApplicableTender fee: 50.00 BHD Closes: Jan 14, 2010Contact: http://www.tenderboard.gov.bh

SUPPLY OF MINERAL OIL TRANSFORMERIssuer: Electricity and Water Authority

WATER INTAKE AND OUTFALL SYSTEM PACKAGE IN DUBAIDEWA has issued a tender for a water intake and outfall system package at the Hassyan Power and Desalination Station. The scope of work includes construction of water intake channel (onshore and offshore sections), outfall System comprising and outfall chamber means of transporting the discharge offshore, boat house anf boat lifting facilities, and ancillary works, including roads and lighting.The tender number is CNE/0114/2008(R) and there is a tender fee of 5000 AED. This tender closes on January 25, 2010.Contact: The Chairman, Board of Directors Dubai Electricity & Water Authority

KEY CONTRACT

Tender no: 341/2009/5310Title: Supply of Mineral Oil TransformerDescription: The scope of work includes supply of Mineral Oil Transformer in Bahrain. The Distribution rating is between 1000 & 1500-KVA.Bond: ApplicableTender fee: 50.00 BHD Closes: Jan 6 2010Contact: http://www.tenderboard.gov.bh

SUPPLY OF 11-KV XLPE CABLE IN BAHRAINIssuer: Electricity and Water AuthorityTender number: 348/2009/5310

Title: Supply of 11-kV XLPE Cable in BahrainDescription: The scope of work includes supply of 200,000 metres of 11-kV XLPE underground cable.Bond: ApplicableTender fee: 50.00 BHDCloses: Jan 13, 2010Contact: http://www.tenderboard.gov.bh

SUPPLY OF 11-KV SF6 RING SWITCHESIssuer: Electricity and Water AuthorityTender no: 349/2009/5310Title: Supply of 11-kV SF6 Ring SwitchesDescription: The scope of work includes supply of 11-kV SF6 ring Switches in Bahrain.Bond: ApplicableTender fee: 50.00 BHD Closes: Jan 13, 2010Contact: http://www.tenderboard.gov.bh

SUPPLY OF AIR CIRCUIT BREAKERSIssuer: Electricity and Water AuthorityTender number: 350/2009/5310Title: Supply of Air Circuit Breakers Description: The scope of work includes supply of air circuit breakers ACB or MCCB metal 500A 1-kV, 50 Hz.Bond: ApplicableTender fee: 15.00 BHD Closes: Jan 13, 2010Contact: http://www.tenderboard.gov.bh

SUPPLY OF UNDERGROUND XLPE CABLES IN BAHRAINIssuer: Public Authority for Electricity and WaterTender no: 335/2009Title:Supply of Underground XLPE Cables in BahrainDescription:The scope of work includes supply of underground XLPE cables, aluminum and copper. The quantity is 273,500 metres.Bond: ApplicableTender fee: 50.00 BHD Closes: Jan 13, 2010Contact: http://www.tenderboard.gov.bh

QUICK Q&A


How is Brush coping with the downturn?Our initial plan was to produce 33kV and 132kV transformers up to a range of 90 MVA. Recently we have upgraded our facility to produce 220 kV transformers upto 150 MVA, for which there also is a big demand within the region. As owners of the Hawker Siddeley transformer tech-nology, this was the logical next step for Brush. Any local compet-itor would have to partner up with another company to acquire this technology. In addition, in a recent board meeting, it was decided that we would move to 400kV in a few years time, with 315 MVA transformers, and there’s no-one else in the Middle East that can match this. We’ve also been focusing on the service industry. We offer our customers anything from oil sampling, oil testing, site testing, life-time assessment, refurbishment and complete renewal of transformers.

What makes Brush a good proposition for local fi rms?In the past, all the bigger transform-ers in the Middle East had originated from abroad. Since we are a local com-pany, we can produce cheaper prod-ucts and transport is also quick, safe and cheap, particularly true for the refurbishment of transformers. As we’re local, we can put the transformer

on a truck, ship it to our factory here in a day, and then repair and have it back to our customers in a very short space of time. We also refurbish transform-ers; since no-one else can carry out this work locally, it’s our way of prov-ing the quality of our product. Many clients may still have the perception that transformers have to come from overseas, and local products some-times cause hesitancy, but we’re here to prove that that’s not the case.

How is business currently?It’s been fairly fl at recently but we are seeing some signs of change, which might be due to the fact that it’s the year-end and some budg-ets have been dedicated to certain projects that will be taken on shortly. There are also a number of huge projects in the oil and gas fi eld which are in the process of being awarded. We are expecting a good outcome for 2010 and at the end of the second and the beginning of the third quar-ter, I see things picking up.

What challenges are you seeing in the current market? Decisions are being delayed because of the uncertain market situation but also because of possible fi nancial gain. The fl uctuations in the copper price have a lot to do with that. When the price of one tonne of copper goes down from above US$8,000 to below US$3,000 in the span of six months, it is very tempting to delay your projects and renegotiate the price.

This is what happened earlier this year. Unfortunately we have seen the price go right back up to US$7,000 since then and because there is no copper variation clause in most utility contracts, that leaves us as a manu-facturer in a very vulnerable position.Another challenge we see, espe-cially for bigger transformers, is the perception that good quality cannot be produced locally but has to come from Europe or Japan. We are work-ing hard to change this mindset by supplying European quality, pro-

“There’s still huge demand in the mar-ket; the electricity sector is growing and the oil and gas sector is still positive”

duced right here in Abu Dhabi at local prices.

Can you give an example of a recent contract where you over-came challenges to satisfy one of your clients?We pride ourselves that we go the extra mile to satisfy our custom-ers. One local company asked us to check the lifetime of their trans-former – the insulation material gets brittle as the polymer material breaks down. In the old days, you would have to examine the insula-tion paper, but now we have more advanced methods. In this case, our examination showed that there was a need to replace the windings. In the end, the client asked for a new transformer instead, on the condi-tion we would remove and dispose of the old one.

What’s the future for the transformer industry in the Middle East region?For me, it’s still bright – there’s still huge demand in the market. The electricity sector in the region is growing, and the oil and gas sector is still looking very positive. we have this beautiful facility in Musaffah which is being underused – and it will be a huge cost benefi t for the utilities and industries in the GCC area.

Brush Transformers Gulf general manager Manu Domen outlines how the firm plans to beat the recession by implementing new policies

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Documents

Utilities Middle East - Jan 2010