Invensys lands major power contract in Saudi Arabia

Invensys Process Systems has won a substantial contract from the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) to provide plant performance and monitoring solutions for use on one of the country's most critical power plants.

The PP8 plant is based in Central Province and is one of two power stations that supply capital city Riyadh with its electricity needs. The plant is currently rated at 1850 MW, which will rise to 2330 MW after this expansion.

The plant is currently controlled by four independent DCS systems, two from Invensys (Foxboro I/A) and the others struggling with obsolescence issues.

As part of the PP8 phase III expansion project, SEC has approved the plant's expansion with the addition of four new gas turbines to increase capacity by 480 MW. The company was looking for a DCS that has the capability to control and monitor the new gas turbines, the overall balance of plant (BOP), and to provide a seamless interface with the existing DCS systems.

Other challenges for the winning supplier are the need to provide the functionality requested by plant personnel, support delivery and set up with a strong local presence, and to meet the tight eight-month delivery demand.

Invensys's solution is a Foxboro I/A DCS, together with the Plant Performance Monitoring Solution and a Foxboro RTU SCD5200 that will interface with the load dispatch centre based 400 km from the main plant. Invensys is also to supply a Triconex system following a request from SEC for a valve shutdown safety system to be included in the project.

"PP8 operation, production and maintenance staff will have an open DCS system that handles the new functionality stipulated and be further reassured with life cycle support that guarantees no drop in spare part or technology support over time. Further, with Invensys currently establishing its office in Riyadh itself, the local support by Invensys qualified engineers is assured," explained Nahidh Elshaer Invensys Saudi Arabia Ltd. Power Director.

This is the first time in Saudi Arabia that GE Frame 7E gas turbines are to be monitored and controlled by an Invensys Foxboro I/A DCS. SEC is hoping for further successes in the future, too, as SEC power generation capacity is scheduled to rise by 2000MW every year until 2020.