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Power generation companies in the Middle East are seeing oil and gas as an increasingly important sector
Supplying power to the oil and gas industry can be fraught with difficulties, remote locations and difficult access offer challenges that perhaps no other sector can. However with the market currently performing admirably, it’s a challenge they are more than willing to take up.
Aggreko provides temporary power and temperature control solutions to both the upstream and downstream sectors in the Gulf. “The services that we offer are not just about power generation; they are to do with a total power supply solution for every stage of oil and gas production,” states Phil Burns, managing director of Aggreko Middle East.
The first of the applications which Burns mentions is power rental during the construction phase of oil and gas facilities, which can power anything from the cranes on site to the work camps.
“Early production is another application of rental power due to the enormous commercial pressure to produce oil as early as possible to maximize cash flow for projects. To facilitate this, the conversion of existing vessels and refurbishment of production facilities is a practice which is common,” adds Burns.
“Temporary power systems are well suited to power these applications, both during the fabrication and refurbishment phases as well as providing power for the facility when it is fully operational.”
The firm also offers rental power on an emergency basis, providing support to oil and gas companies which experience unexpected power shortages. “One such case occurred at a large oil refinery, when torrential rain and flash floods caused severe damage to much of the power infrastructure at the facility. Within a matter of days Aggreko was able to provide a 12 MW power package which enabled the refinery to continue operations during the clean-up operations,” explains Burns.
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The Middle East now offers power generation firms a fertile, if differing, market. “The last six years the GCC has enjoyed tremendous growth with the enormous volume of construction underway,” comments Michael Sagermann, regional manager, portable division, Atlas Copco.
“Very few sites operated without a generator. Our expectation for the GCC is very positive despite the economy not fully recovered from the crisis effect. Country to country there are wide gaps in expectations, however specific markets (like Saudi Arabia and Iraq) show enormous potential. The current demand for power still overshadows supply, feeding the need for temporary portable power solutions,” he adds.
Dr Mostafa Al Guezeri GM of ABB’s Power systems division also believes the market is looking positive. “If you look at the new ambitious oil and gas projects rolled out in the UAE, the market is going to be buoyant and plenty of tenders are expected. The basic drivers do not change much.
“We have seen some movement in the direction of the grid providing power to oil and gas plants. This means there won’t be large captive power plants in oil and gas industries. Stability of grid and having enough reserve capacity of production is going to be the focus. This means the quality of power produced by the IWPPs is going to be under the scanner.”
The challenges presented to these firms in supplying power are clear. “Logistics, transportation and sometimes, security are a great challenge in remote locations. Each country, province and district has different rules, terrain, weather and security conditions,” reveals Robert Bagatsing, sales and marketing manager of RSS.
The King is calling for a halt to exploration, but do you agree?
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