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Wärtsilä signs EPC contract
for gas-to-power project in Guyana
GUYANA has taken a step towards putting its newfound hydrocarbon resources to work as a source of fuel for domestic power generation. Earlier this week, Finland’s Wärtsilä revealed that it had teamed up with the South American country’s national electricity provider to work on a gas-to-power project.
In a statement, Wärtsilä explained in a state- ment that it had signed a contract with Guyana Power and Light (GPL) for engineering, pro- curement and construction (EPC) services on a new thermal power plant (TPP) at the Garden of Eden Generating Complex. The contract also provides for the construction of an associated 69-kV substation, which will be integrated with an existing substation within the generating complex, it said.
GPL booked the order in December of last year, it added.
The Finnish company did not reveal the value of the contract. But it did note that the new TPP was due to be completed around the middle of 2020, as it would be “delivered on a fast-track basis.” It also stated that the 46.5-MW facility would be able to use both gaseous and liquid hydrocarbons as fuel for electricity generation.
“Oil exploration activities in the offshore waters of Guyana have resulted in significant finds of crude oil and associated gas,” Wärtsilä said. “As a result, the potential [for] utilisation of [associated] gas led GPL to make the strate- gic decision to opt for dual-fuel-fired generat- ing units, able to operate on both [associated] gas and liquid fuels. The new power plant will, therefore, operate on five highly efficient Wärt- silä 34DF dual-fuel engines that will initially run on liquid fuel – and on natural gas, when that
fuel becomes available.”
The project will help Guyana minimise the
flaring of associated gas at its offshore oilfields. But it will also support plans to expand the use of renewable energy resources.
“The fast-starting capability of the Wärtsilä engines will provide the necessary load-bal- ancing for the future integration of renewable energy supplies, primarily solar and wind, into the grid,” the Finnish company said in its state- ment. “Since renewables are inherently varia- ble, flexible response from the generator sets is essential.” ™
The plant will use six 34DF engines (Photo: Wartsila)
VENEZUELA
PdVSA may restart key oil upgraders soon
VENEZUELA’S national oil company (NOC) PdVSA is reportedly planning to restart oper- ations at two key oil upgraders in the coming months, following months of inactivity.
The state-run company is trying to boost production of Merey-16 blend, now its principal export grade, after a year of stasis, according to a PdVSA document viewed by Reuters.
In the document, the NOC said that the Pedrocedeno facility, which is partly owned by
France’s Total and Norway’s Equinor, and the Petromonagas upgrader, part-owned by Rus- sia’s Rosneft, are both on track to be restarted between May and June.
The Petrocedeno upgrader is likely to be turned into a blending station in May, and PdVSA is planning to do the same with the Pet- romonagas project in July, Reuters added.
This is not the NOC’s first step in this direction. 
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