The energy sector in Latin America is more active than ever. The Asturian group DF has signed a contract with the Chilean company Empresa Nacional del Petróleo (ENAP) to implement a 77 MW cogeneration plant in Concón (Valparaíso region), for approximately 106 million euro. It will integrate one natural gas turbine.
The contract won by Duro Felguera (DF) includes the development of a “turnkey” project for the installation of a cogeneration plant consisting of one 77 MW GE natural gas turbine and a boiler that will produce 125 tons / h of steam.
ENAP’s chief executive, Marcelo Tokman, said, “With this agreement, ENAP initiates the process to build the country’s first natural gas cogeneration plant of this nature, for which we rely on an international expert group in the field of refineries and petrochemicals, which has carried out other projects in the energy field. “
The chief executive of the state oil company added that “with the construction of this unit, we ensure a clean, safe and inexpensive supply to Aconcagua Refinery, while surplus energy is injected into the Central Interconnected System (SIC).” Thus, he said, “ENAP is fulfilling its commitment to the Agenda of Energy to boosting the use of natural gas in the country and meeting simultaneously the requirements of our Aconcagua Refinery”.
Plant features
The facility will be located 1.5 kilometers from the Aconcagua refinery, to which it will supply all the steam produced and 35 MW of electricity, feeding the surplus into the Central Interconnected System of Chile.
The cogeneration plant will allow reduce emissions and will not require any additional water consumption to that already being used at the Aconcagua refinery, which processes 104,000 barrels of crude oil daily, supplying most of the fuel consumed in the Metropolitan Region.
This is the second energy project that DF runs in Chile following the 160 MW Tierra Amarilla simple cycle power plant located in Copiapo, whose construction was completed in 2008.
The signing ceremony, held in Santiago, Chile, was attended by ENAP’s General Manager Marcelo Tokman; ENAP’s Refining and Marketing Manager, Marc Llambías; DF’s President, Angel Antonio del Valle, and Rafael Murillo General Director of Energy DF.
91% of the business is international
As we already reported DF closed the first quarter of this year with a consolidated net profit of EUR 8.5 million, which represents an increase of 6% over the same period last year. Secured contracts double to reach 193 million, mainly outside of Spain since international turnover is already 91% of the overall.
The weight of Latin America in total sales decreases from 43% to 24%, while the other geographical areas increase significantly such as Asia-Pacific, which represents 31%, and Africa-Middle East, that goes from 4 % to 20%, and expected to continue on this upward trend. Thus the Spanish company currently has five generation projects running in Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, United Kingdom and Algeria exceeding 4,000 MW.
