Texas City, Texas - BP today broke ground on a new, 250 megawatt (MW) steam turbine power generating plant at its Texas City refinery site that will reduce emissions and improve both energy and operational efficiency.
The $100 million unit will be located next to the existing South Houston Green Power L.P. cogeneration facility and will boost the total electricity generating capacity located at the Texas City refinery site to 1,000 MW.
The project builds upon BP’s expertise in refining, cogeneration, energy efficiency and energy trading.
The new unit will result in some emissions reduction, and noise from steam venting activity also will be reduced. Power not required for refining operations will be sold into the local markets, thereby further enhancing electrical supply availability in the region. The new plant is expected to come on stream in the second quarter of 2008.
“This project is a big plus for BP Texas City,” said Plant Manager and Business Unit Leader Colin Maclean. “The new steam turbine generator will more fully utilize refinery fuel gas and boost operational flexibility by separating power production from steam production. It will improve efficiency, environmental performance and safety at the refinery.
“We’ll also see the de-bottlenecking of some 100 MW of energy from within the plant. This is an example of a cooperative effort that unlocks a range of benefits all around.”
BP’s Alternative Energy business will be responsible for the design, construction, installation, commissioning and start-up of the new steam generator plant. BP’s trading and marketing organization will direct the surplus power capacity in the region’s power market, according to James Holly, the project director.
“In preparation for the construction [of the steam turbine plant], over the past six months we have carried out a series of project assurance and technical peer reviews and undertaken a due diligence process,” says Holly. “We are now underway with detailed design and initiating construction at the site.”
The engineering design and procurement contract has been awarded to BE&K, a Texas contractor. The award was based on the company’s excellent safety record and work previously undertaken for BP.
The project will add at least three new positions to the 47 already employed at the South Houston Green Power L.P. cogeneration facility.
BP Alternative Energy, launched in November 2005, combines all of BP’s interests in zero- and low-carbon power generation: wind, solar, hydrogen power projects and gas-fired power generation. BP expects to rapidly grow BP Alternative Energy to become a material contributor to the company’s performance and anticipates investing up to $8 billion in the businesses over the next ten years.
BP is one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, serving about 13 million customers every day in more than 100 countries across six continents. BP’s business segments are Exploration and Production; Refining and Marketing; and Gas, Power and Renewables, which includes its Alternative Energy business. Through these business segments, BP provides fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services, and petrochemicals products. For more information, visit www.bp.com/us