UAE to Produce 230MW of Electricity Via Waste Heat Recovery Project

ADNOC’s Waste Heat Recovery project is designed to capture exhaust heat from the gas-powered turbines at ADNOC Refining’s General Utilities Plant. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
ADNOC’s Waste Heat Recovery project is designed to capture exhaust heat from the gas-powered turbines at ADNOC Refining’s General Utilities Plant. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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UAE to Produce 230MW of Electricity Via Waste Heat Recovery Project

ADNOC’s Waste Heat Recovery project is designed to capture exhaust heat from the gas-powered turbines at ADNOC Refining’s General Utilities Plant. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
ADNOC’s Waste Heat Recovery project is designed to capture exhaust heat from the gas-powered turbines at ADNOC Refining’s General Utilities Plant. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The UAE’s Waste Heat Recovery project will recycle waste heat generated from the plant to produce up to an additional 230 megawatts (MW) of electricity per day – enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes.

It will also produce 62,400 cubic meters of distilled water per day for use in the plant.

Overall, the project will increase power production and thermal efficiency at the plant by around 30% with no additional carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

ADNOC Refining, a joint venture company between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Italy’s Eni, and Austrian OMV, is set to complete the first phase of its AED2.2 billion ($600 million) project, which started in 2018 at the General Utilities Plant in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.

Phase one of the project, which includes the operation of two new boilers and turbines, will be completed before the end of the year, while phase two, which includes a further two boilers, will be completed around mid-2023.

Abdulla Ateya al-Messabi, CEO of ADNOC Refining, said the company is committed to finding innovative ways to improve the efficiency and sustainability of its operations.

“The project will revolutionize power and water generation at our plant in Ruwais and is vital to the ongoing expansion of Ruwais as part of ADNOC’s 2030 smart growth strategy.”

ADNOC’s Waste Heat Recovery project is designed to capture exhaust heat from the gas-powered turbines at ADNOC Refining’s General Utilities Plant, which is currently vented into the atmosphere, to produce steam that is subsequently used for power production.

The Waste Heat Recovery project is one of several strategic initiatives to decarbonize ADNOC’s operations and builds on the company’s heritage of responsible environmental stewardship.

This includes milestones such as the implementation of a zero routine gas flaring policy in the early 2000s and establishing the region’s first commercial-scale Carbon Capture and Underground Storage facility in 2016.



Aramco Plans Transition Minerals Joint Venture with Ma'aden

 The proposed JV would focus on energy transition minerals, including extracting lithium from high-concentration deposits and advancing cost-effective direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies - File Photo
The proposed JV would focus on energy transition minerals, including extracting lithium from high-concentration deposits and advancing cost-effective direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies - File Photo
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Aramco Plans Transition Minerals Joint Venture with Ma'aden

 The proposed JV would focus on energy transition minerals, including extracting lithium from high-concentration deposits and advancing cost-effective direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies - File Photo
The proposed JV would focus on energy transition minerals, including extracting lithium from high-concentration deposits and advancing cost-effective direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies - File Photo

Aramco, one of the world's leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, and Ma'aden, the largest multi-commodity mining and metals company in the Middle East and North Africa region, announced on Wednesday the signing of non-binding Heads of Terms, which envisages the formation of a minerals exploration and mining joint venture (JV) in Saudi Arabia.
According to a press release, the proposed JV would focus on energy transition minerals, including extracting lithium from high-concentration deposits and advancing cost-effective direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies. Commercial lithium production is likely to commence by 2027.
This JV is expected to extend Aramco's capabilities into an adjacent sector, leveraging its technological innovation resource and data management skills. It would seek to unlock the potential of the Kingdom's high-value mineral resources, with the aim of helping meet the growing demand for lithium and other transition minerals both domestically and globally. The JV is expected to harness natural resources utilizing a wealth of subsurface data and emerging technologies to advance the Kingdom's economic diversification and energy ambitions, according to SPA.
The statements also added that there is significant potential for the extraction of energy transition minerals in the Kingdom. For example, Aramco has identified several areas with a high lithium concentration of up to 400 parts per million as part of its operations. The JV will benefit from Aramco's expertise and operations, including the use of existing infrastructure, industry-leading drilling operations, and more than 90 years of geological data in its area of operations.
Aramco Upstream President Nasir K. Al-Naimi said, "This announcement reflects Aramco's focus on positively contributing to the global energy transition. The proposed JV will enable the extraction of energy transition minerals, contributing to the growth of more sustainable energy solutions while diversifying our portfolio for a lower-carbon future. We expect that this partnership will leverage the world's leading upstream enterprise to apply significant low-cost advantages, industry experience, technological innovation, accumulated subsurface knowledge and an integrated supply chain ecosystem, with a view to meeting the Kingdom and potentially the world's projected lithium demand."
Ma'aden Senior Vice President of Exploration Darryl Clark stated, "Ma'aden has been undertaking one of the world's largest single-jurisdiction exploration programs across the Arabian Shield to unearth the estimated $2.5 trillion mineral endowment. This proposed JV would enable us to accelerate exploration of the Arabian Platform, combining Aramco's knowledge of the area with Ma'aden's mining and exploration expertise."
Lithium is a fundamental component of the energy transition, essential for production in fast-growing sectors such as electric vehicles, energy storage, and renewables. The global demand for lithium has tripled over the past five years, and its compound annual growth rate is anticipated to exceed 15% annually through 2035. The JV could help meet the Kingdom's forecasted demand for lithium, which is expected to grow twenty-fold between 2024 and 2030, supporting an estimated 500,000 electric vehicle batteries and 110 GW of renewables.
The planned JV, which is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals, was announced during the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh.