Siemens wins Liwa Plastics equipment contract
Siemens and its Dresser-Rand business will supply two gas turbinedriven compressor trains and two gas turbine generator packages sets for the Liwa Plastics Industrial Complex, a multibillion dollar petrochemical scheme of Orpic.
The natural gas extraction plant in Fahud, situated approximately 300 km southwest of the capital of Muscat, is part of the industrial complex. It extracts valuable liquefied natural gases.
The order was placed by GS Engineering & Construction Corp., a Korean construction firm, for the state- run oil refineries and petrochemical provider, Orpic, who will operate the plant and the industrial complex. The natural gas liquids (NGL) extraction plant is expected to go into operation in 2019.
The scope of supply includes four Siemens SGT-700 industrial gas turbines. Two of the gas turbines each drive a barrel-type turbocompressor (STC-SV) for lean gas compression. The extracted NGL from rich gas feed will be transported via a pipeline from Fahud to Sohar whilst the lean gas will be routed back to the national natural gas distribution system. Two additional gas turbines, each which drives a generator, will of supply electricity to the Fahud NGL plant in order to extract natural gas liquids and provide waste heat for the NGL extraction process. NGL is the feedstock for the petrochemical complex in Sohar. The Liwa Plastics Industries Complex will turn NGL into polyethylene and polypropylene plastics. These are used, for example, in packaging, suitcases, garden furniture, cars and computers. This will enable Oman, for the first time, to produce polyethylene.
“We are proud to assist Oman with such a large and important petrochemical project,” said Judy Marks, head of New Equipment Solutions within the Dresser-Rand business, part of Siemens. “With our technology and our project management expertise, we were able to offer our customer the most powerful solution for this application. Our components are aimed at continuously high efficiency and thus lower operating costs.”
The same type of gas turbine will be used in the plant for both generating electricity and lean gas compression. The SGT-700 gas turbine is particularly suitable for use in such plants, thanks to its fuel flexibility, compact dimensions and high efficiency.
“It is our priority to actively support the sustainable, long-term development of the Sultanate through a number of important projects. This latest contribution backs the expansion of Oman’s petrochemicals industry as well as its economic diversification goals,” said Markus-Erich Strohmeier, CEO of Siemens in Oman.