The fund, owned by KMG International and the Romanian state through the Energy Shareholdings Administration Association – SAPE, signed with Calik Enerji the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contract for the turnkey construction of the cogeneration plant on the Petromidia platform.
The estimated term for the commissioning of the new plant is the first half of 2023.
The project will generate about $11 million in taxes paid to the state budget each year.
Activities will start in the last quarter of 2020 and the first phase targets land preparation and engineering works.
“The new plant will have a major role in stabilizing the production and distribution of electricity in the Dobrogea region by ensuring the energy needs of the platform and by injecting the surplus electricity into the national system. We want this investment and implicitly the contribution of state of the art technology to be an example for attracting new investors, continuing the program of construction and modernization of production units, reducing energy imports and improving Romania’s position in the regional energy market,” said Romanian economy minister Virgil Popescu.
The Fund completed the general contractor extensive evaluation and selection process, mainly taking into account the capacity of interested companies (similar projects completed in the last 10 years – at least 3 projects, the existence of similar ongoing projects, solid financial situation, letters of recommendation, qualified personnel, etc.), the technical criteria and proposals, as well as their financial offers.
In this race, 17 international companies were invited, with experience in implementing similar projects, and 9 of them expressed their interest to become general contractors or suppliers of equipment and technological solutions for the project.
“The new plant will meet the highest technological, energy efficiency and environmental protection standards,” said Beimbet Shayakhmetov, CEO of KMG International.
The new combined electricity and heat production plant will use natural gas as the main fuel and will have two high-efficiency, high-performance Siemens turbines and two heat recovery boilers in the technical configuration. They will generate about 80 MW of electricity, of which about 60-70 MW to fully cover the Petromidia platform’s electricity needs, up to 180 tons/hour of technological steam, and up to 20 MW of hot water for the town of Navodari’s heating system.
The surplus generated by the new plant will be sold domestically and will provide additional income for the investment vehicle (SPV) – Rompetrol Energy.
Rompetrol Energy is majority owned by the Kazakh-Romanian Energy Investment Fund, together with KMG International, Rominserv and the Midia Thermal Power Plant.
With a duration of 7 years, the Kazakh-Romanian Energy Investment Fund was established in October 2018 by KMG International and SAPE, its main and strategic objective being the development of energy projects in Romania.
Currently, the total level of investments of the Fund for approved energy projects amounts to $290 million.
Rompetrol Rafinare, which operates refineries Petromidia Navodari and Vega Ploiesti, is majority owned by KMG International, which holds 54.63% directly and indirectly. The Romanian state controls 44.69% of the company.