Wärtsilä receives O&M agreement for Iraqi floating power plants

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Wärtsilä, a leading global supplier of decentralised power plant solutions, has been awarded two operations & maintenance (O&M) contracts for two floating power plants that will be used to boost Iraq's energy capacity. The O&M agreements give Wärtsilä full responsibility for ensuring the efficient running and servicing of these so called "Powerships".

The "Power of Friend Ship" project has been initiated by Karadeniz Holding AS, a Turkish group of companies specializing in the energy sector. During 2007 and 2008, Karadeniz acquired a series of second-hand generating sets from China and Dubai. These were then installed on one barge and three vessels converted into floating power plants in shipyards in Turkey and Singapore.  

Of the generating equipment acquired by Karadeniz for the Powerships, thirty are Sulzer 16ZAV40S engines, seventeen are Wärtsilä 12V46 engines, and six are Wärtsilä 16V46 engines. Together, these produce more than 570 MW of the total 615 MW produced by the entire Karadeniz "Power of Friend Ship" project. Major overhauling of the electricity generating units was carried out by Wärtsilä Services in Turkey and Singapore.

The two O&M agreements were signed in March 2010 and April 2010 respectively, and cover two of the Powerships; the 'Karadeniz Powership Dogan Bey', which has an output capacity of 126.5 MW, and the 'Karadeniz Powership Kaya Bey' with an output capacity of 220 MW. Commissioning of the two plants is scheduled for summer 2010.

"We wanted to bring our relationship with Wärtsilä to a higher level. The signing of these O&M contracts with Wärtsilä for the Powership project in Iraq, gives us, more than anything, peace of mind. The importance of having these installations up and running is vital for our contract with the Iraqi Government, and we trust in Wärtsilä's ability to efficiently meet the demand for electricity production from our Powerships," says Mr. Ali Can Takunyaci, Director of Energy Generation and Investment, Karadeniz Holding AS.

"We have had the pleasure of working with Karadeniz Holding earlier. Two of their power plants in Turkey, having a total output of 181 MW, are powered by Wärtsilä engines. This is a very interesting project as these are the first power ships ever designed. It is a mark of the trust that the customer has in Wärtsilä's competence and experience, that we have been contracted to undertake responsibility for operating and maintaining these important units, and ensuring that they will be run efficiently and reliably. Wärtsilä is proud to accept this responsibility," commented Kaj Nordman, Director, Solutions Support for South Europe and Africa, Wärtsilä Services.

The Powerships will be moored in the ports of Um Quasr and Al Zubayr, near Basra, South Eastern Iraq, and will supply electricity to ease deficiencies in Iraq's energy supply

Source: Wärtsilä