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.



BP Nears Deals for Oil Fields, Curbs on Gas Flaring in Iraq

British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
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BP Nears Deals for Oil Fields, Curbs on Gas Flaring in Iraq

British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)

Iraq and British oil giant BP are set to finalize a deal by early February to develop four oil fields in Kirkuk and curb gas flaring, Iraqi authorities announced Wednesday.

The mega-project in northern Iraq will include plans to recover flared gas to boost the country's electricity production, they said.

Gas flaring refers to the polluting practice of burning off excess gas during oil drilling. It is cheaper than capturing the associated gas.

The Iraqi government and BP signed a new memorandum of understanding in London late Tuesday, as Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and other senior ministers visit Britain to seal various trade and investment deals.

"The objective is to enhance production and achieve optimal targeted rates of oil and gas output," Sudani's office said in a statement.

Iraq's Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani told AFP after the new accord was signed that the project would increase the four oil fields' production to up to 500,000 barrels per day from about 350,000 bpd.

"The agreement commits both parties to sign a contract in the first week of February," he said.

Ghani noted the project will also target gas flaring.

Iraq has the third highest global rate of gas flaring, after Russia and Iran, having flared about 18 billion cubic meters of gas in 2023, according to the World Bank.

The Iraqi government has made eliminating the practice one of its priorities, with plans to curb 80 percent of flared gas by 2026 and to eliminate releases by 2028.

"It's not just a question of investing and increasing oil production... but also gas exploitation. We can no longer tolerate gas flaring, whatever the quantity," Ghani added.

"We need this gas, which Iraq currently imports from neighboring Iran. The government is making serious efforts to put an end to these imports."

Iraq is ultra-dependent on Iranian gas, which covers almost a third of Iraq's energy needs.

However, Teheran regularly cuts off its supply, exacerbating the power shortages that punctuate the daily lives of 45 million Iraqis.

BP is one of the biggest foreign players in Iraq's oil sector, with a history of producing oil in the country dating back to the 1920s when it was still under British mandate.

According to the World Bank, Iraq has 145 billion barrels of proven oil reserves -- among the largest in the world -- amounting to 96 years' worth of production at the current rate.