Promoters of a $1.7 billion combined petrochemicals and power and water generation project in Bahrain have been assured its natural gas requirements of 255 million standard cu ft per day at full capacity will be met.
Consortium leader Kuwait Finance House-Bahrain and other consortium members expressed satisfaction over progress made with regard to the technical, operational and financial aspects of the project
The project, described by the promoters as the first of its kind in the region, is the fruit of cooperation between KFH-Bahrain and the Ministry of Industry. The planned facility will produce seven petrochemicals as well as power of capacity 1,000 MW per hour and 30 million gallons of water per day.
The petrochemicals it will produce are ethylene dichloride (EDC) of capacity 345,000 tonnes per year (tpy), caustic soda (564,000 tpy), propane (231,000 tpy), butane (150,000 tpy) and gasoline stream (44,000 tpy) as well as some quantities of hydrogen and sulphur.
“This is truly a unique project and, working with the Ministry of Industry and our industry-leading consortium, we fully expect to deliver maximum benefits for the kingdom’s economy and our stakeholders and partners alike,” said KFH-Bahrain general manager Abdulhakeem Alkhayyat.
A seminar was held in early December 2004 to cover in depth the fast-developing plans and strategies for the technical, operational and financial aspects of the complex, which is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2008 and which will be designed according to the highest international safety and environmental standards with the adoption of the latest technologies. Consortium partners made detailed presentations on their areas of expertise. In addition to KFH-Bahrain, the project’s world-class consortium comprises General Electric Energy, Weir International, Stone & Webster, Uhde GmbH and Chicago Bridge and Iron Company - all global leaders in their various industry sectors.
Industry Under-Secretary Nader Al Moayyed said: “On behalf of the Minister of Industry, Dr Hassan Fakhro, I am pleased to welcome the development of such a groundbreaking project in the kingdom of Bahrain and express the minister’s praise for the progress made to date and the positive results of feasibility studies already completed.
“This project not only helps to meet increasing demand for power and potable water but also simultaneously supports greater economic diversification, downstream development and job creation in the kingdom.”
The project is expected to create significant export opportunities for the complex. KFH is already engaged in discussions with a number of reputable offtakers supplying markets such as China, India, Japan and Australia, among others.
