Al Fadhili 380/115 kV gas plant

Linxon (former ABB) has supplied a 380-kV gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) substation to Fadhili Plant Cogeneration Company (FPCC). The substation will help boost transmission capacity and ensure reliable power supply at a new 1,549-megawatt (MW) combined cycle power plant in the Al Fadhili area near Jubail in eastern Saudi Arabia.

About 400-MW of electricity as well as around 1550 tons of steam per hour from the power plant’s output will be used to operate the adjacent Fadhili gas processing complex, which will in turn supply natural gas for the plant’s five generating turbines. The balance of electricity output will be delivered to the Saudi state grid, and is enough to supply electricity to about 1.1 million Saudi households nationwide.

The state oil company, Saudi Aramco, is developing the Fadhili project, which is a key part of a master plan to boost production and supply of clean-burning natural gas in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in order to reduce its dependency on oil as power generating fuel, in line with Saudi Vision 2030.

The supply for the Fadhili project covers construction of a new 36-bay indoor 380-kV GIS substation including protection, metering, control, communication and SCADA equipment, as well as modification of associated existing substations.

The substation’s automation system enables it to be remotely controlled from the Load Despatch Center (LDC) via the SCADA and communication system, and gateway. In addition to an IEC 61850-based Control and Protection system, Linxon also provided all related civil design and construction, security, and mechanical works according to Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) specifications.

The fast-track project required partial energization within 18 months of the contract award to meet an early steam operation milestone. Linxon/ABB achieved full energization of the complete substation in August 2018, three months ahead of schedule. It is important to note that the pilot class 1 HCIS 2017 security standards were implemented at the substation within the same period.

Operationally, the power plant substation is important because the Fadhili gas plant complex is expected to process up to 2.5 billion standard cubic feet per day (SCFD) of natural gas from offshore and onshore fields. This processing plant will help to boost Saudi Arabia’s natural gas supply by 2020, and deliver new opportunities for steel, aluminium and downstream value-added industries within the country.