A new power plant, Kpone Independent Power Plant (KIPP) in Tema, Ghana, will be independently owned by Cenpower Generation Company Limited (Cenpower) to provide safe, secure and reliable electricity supply to Ghana.
The power plant will comprise a multi-shaft combined cycle configuration comprising two gas turbines, two heat recovery steam generators and a single steam turbine, and it will have a nominal installed capacity of approximately 350 MW. Power generated by the plant will be supplied directly to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the main distribution utility through the Ghanaian grid.
The plant will be designed to be fuelled by any one of three fuel sources, that is, natural gas, distillate fuel or light crude oil
HP van Huyssteen, Energas Technologies Project Engineer
Energas’ scope in design and supply of fuel gas receiving package
HP van Huyssteen, Energas Technologies Project Engineer comments, “Energas’ scope was to provide temperature and pressure controlled gas to the power plant. The incoming gas will be filtered to remove any droplets and particles larger than one micron before the gas is passed through a sophisticated gas meter. The gas is thereafter heated in a waterbath heater that uses a fraction of the piped gas as a fuel source before the pressure is reduced to within the limits as required by the power plant’s gas turbines. Pressure control is achieved by using fast acting precise dual regulators. It is imperative that the gas is maintained above its due point to avoid serious damage to the gas turbines. A unique aspect of the entire fuel gas receiving package, is that it is built on skids (including the waterbath heaters) to facilitate and shorten installation time on site and a dual run layout provides the required redundancy.”
One of the challenges Energas experienced was to fit the entire fuel gas station into a tight area and to design the station in such a manner that site installation can proceed as smooth as possible. Dimensions had to be tightly controlled, as skids made in South Africa and Germany has to fit precisely after installation.
Energas’ fuel gas receiving package was delivered at the port of export at the end of November 2016. The work involved piping, structural, mechanical, process, electrical and software engineers and was successfully delivered by the required contractual delivery date, and within budget.
With many years of experience in the supply and support of products to large industries concerned with natural gas, Energas can supply a complete range of products to the various stages of gas production, transportation, distribution and storage. This includes wellhead equipment, critical control and safety valves, pipeline valves, filter vessels, relief valves, meters, regulators as well as domestic gas regulating and safety equipment. Energas has been supplying equipment for metering and pressure reduction stations since 2001.
“With experienced consultants and reputable suppliers, Energas had the capability to deliver the entire project scope. It is imperative that the Energas portion of the plant operates very reliably, without much operator intervention due to the large distance that the plant is situated from South Africa. It is critical that these types of stations operate safely and successfully due to the potential hazards involved in the handling of high pressure flammable gas,” Huyssteen concludes.
Factors including rapid economic growth, the expansion of the electricity supply network and the initiative and encouragement of the Ghanaian Government to develop industries and services, contributed towards opening the door for the private sector to participate in the building of new power plants, such as the KIPP in Tema. The power plant is due for completion in 2017 and will provide permanent employment to the operating personnel.
Energas Technologies has been a leading supplier of high-end and specialised equipment to the oil and gas industries in Southern Africa since 2001 and is the distributor for Mokveld in South Africa.
The company’s core focus is to support and supply equipment to the natural gas industry and its products find application from the gas well, through the distribution network right up until the end user. Applications include, next to the Mokveld axial valves, pressure reduction and metering stations, pipeline ball valves, HDPE pipes and fittings, pig launching and receiving stations to domestic metering and regulating units. We can also provide complete skid-mounted high pressure reduction and metering stations with gas-fired or electric heaters.
Energas Technologies offers a range of new products from its supplier, HTT energy GmbH in Germany. Products include fired heaters, indirect heating and cooling units from -80°C to 400 °C, and heat recovery products.
Energas’ secondary focus is on liquid storage tank protection equipment, such as conservation vents, flame arresters and emergency vents. Its products, such as valves, filters, flange insulating kits and process heaters, also find application in other industries, such as liquid pipelines, petrochemical and chemical industries.
Energas Technologies is a member of Southern African Gas Association NPC, is 30% black woman owned and recently obtained its ISO 9001 accreditation.
