The aluminium smelter Qatalum, which is a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and Norsk Hydro, has signed an agreement with GE, the global digital industrial company to deliver five Advanced Gas Path (AGP) upgrade units and maintenance services for 15 years for equipment at its 1,080 megawatts (MW) power plant, and a suite of cybersecurity solutions.
Out of the five AGP upgrades, four will be installed on Qatalum’s 9F gas turbines and the remaining one unit will be put aside as a spare.
The innovative AGP solution will be for the first time deployed in Qatar. It is anticipated that this installation will support Qatalum to enhance its power supply by up to 96.7 megawatts with boosted plant efficiency and increase the availability of its gas turbines and reduce operational expenses by expanding the interval between their planned maintenance cycles from 24,000 factored fired hours (FFH) to up to 32,000 FFH. Furthermore, it will reduce its carbon dioxide emissions for the same level of power output by up to 67,000 tonnes annually, which is equivalent to taking up to 14,000 cars off Qatar’s roads.
Qatalum is the only aluminium smelter in Qatar, located in Mesaieed Industrial City, approximately 40 km south of Doha and producing more than 600,000 tonnes of high-quality primary aluminium products per annum that are used in the automotive, construction, consumer goods, and other industries and exported worldwide.
Khalid Mohamed Laram, CEO, Qatalum, said: “At Qatalum, we continuously explore solutions to improve productivity and reduce the environmental impact of our activities as part of our efforts towards becoming a green aluminium producer. The electricity generated at our power plant is a critical input for our manufacturing processes and GE’s AGP upgrade is an excellent fit for our needs, enabling us to boost fuel efficiency and output, increase the duration between planned maintenance cycles, and reduce costs, as well as carbon dioxide emissions, per megawatt of power generated.”
The 15-year service agreement states: “GE will provide maintenance works for four 9F gas turbines, four generators, and other equipment at Qatalum. The agreement is a continuation of maintenance services that GE had already been providing at the site since it was set up in 2010. Moreover, GE will also provide a comprehensive suite of cybersecurity solutions to Qatalum for five years to address external and internal risks, including application and network security, data protection, change management, incident handling and response, data privacy, identity management, and more.”
Joseph Anis, President & CEO of GE Gas Power in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa said: “GE is honoured to support Qatalum in its journey to further increase efficiency, enhance reliability, and decarbonize its operations.”
“More than 440 AGP units have been sold to date for use across 5 continents and we are delighted to bring this technology to Qatar for the very first time. Upgrade solutions such as the AGP are a cost-effective means for power plant owners and operators to better utilize existing power generation assets and drive more sustainable growth for current and future generations.”
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