Saudi Firm Wins $98m Musandam Power Transmission Project



Saudi Arabian power contractor Saudi National Contracting Co (NCC) has been awarded a contract worth RO 37.7 million ($98 million approximately) to build the first major power transmission line in Musandam Governorate.


The project is a key part of a raft of major infrastructure schemes being implemented by the government in this strategically important Omani enclave in accordance with the Royal directives of His Majesty the Sultan.  Around RO 500 million has been earmarked towards a number of large-scale ventures — encompassing energy, power and water, road and maritime transportation, and healthcare and education — during the current 8th Five Year Plan (2011-2015).


The transmission line will be built in tandem with the governorate's first natural gas-based power plant, which is currently the subject of a competitive tender.  Electricity from the power plant, which is expected to be sized at around 120 MW, will be supplied to towns and villages in Dibba and Khasab, supplanting diesel-based electrical generation for the first time in the governorate.


According to officials, the 132KV overhead transmission line will start at Tibat in Wilayat Bukha, where the power plant is proposed to be located. It will travel around 18 kilometres to Khasab and extend a further 80 kilometres all the way to Dibba.
Also as part of the project, 132KV grid stations will be built at Tibat, Khasab and Dibba. The project's substantial cost is attributable to the extremely rugged terrain through which the transmission line will run, say officials.


Natural gas as fuel for the power plant at Tibat will come from a new integrated oil and gas processing plant (also known as the Musandam Gas Plant) currently under development by Oman Oil's upstream subsidiary, Oman Oil Company Exploration and Production (OOCEP). OOCEP is investing around $ 600 million in an integrated processing plant with a capacity to treat 45 million standard cubic feet per day of gas and 20,000 barrels per day of crude oil. Korean engineering and construction giant Hyundai is building the gas plant on an EPC contract.


Saudi National Contracting Company led a field of 10 firms that bid for the contract.  Also in the fray were Bahwan Engineering, GAM Partners, Al Jood Trading, Larsen & Toubro (Oman), Al Hassan Engineering, Modern Light Trading, ONEC, Civil Contracting, and Ozdil Energy Resources.


Saudi NCC is the Omani subsidiary of National Contracting Company, which is one of Saudi Arabia's largest power contractors. The Musandam contract is the subsidiary's fourth major project in the Sultanate.


It has completed the construction of a 400KV transmission line from Sur to Jahlut (130km), and a 220kV line from Barka to Misfah (60km). The company has also undertaken a large cable undergrounding job for Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC).


A two-year timeframe has been specified for the completion of the Musandam power transmission project.

source from wireworld