Abu Dhabi Plans Two New Power Plants and $25 Billion Gas Investment Program

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Abu Dhabi Electricity and Water Authority is in the process of receiving bids for one power and water desalination project and inviting bids for a second plant, both of which will be situated at Shuweihat in the western region of the Gulf emirate.

The 1,600-megawatt (MW) Shuwiehat 2 plant will have a water desalination capacity of 378 million liters per day. Shuwiehat 3 will have a similar water output and a power generation capacity of 1,500 MW. Both plants are scheduled for completion by 2012 when power demand is expected to have risen by 80% from current levels. Power demand is being driven by population growth in parallel with commercial and industrial expansion financed by record oil prices. Abu Dhabi controls over 90% of the United Arab Emirates' oil reserves.

The Abu Dhabi government has forecast that demand will rise to 10,600 MW by 2012 from 5,910 MW in 2008. The two new plants at Shuweihat will make a major contribution to generating capacity, increasing from 9,245 MW to 12,503 MW. The plants will be gas-fed with supplies from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

The pace of plant development in the region is putting severe pressure on engineering project resources, which will be increased with the announcement by Abu Dhabi Gas Industries (Gasco) of a $25 billion, five-year investment program into two new large-scale gas processing plants and 1,500 kilometers of onshore pipelines. The two plants will be sited at Habshan and Maqta. Currently, Gasco operates 2,500 kilometers of pipelines transporting gas, crude oil condensates, natural gas liquids and water.

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