Wärtsilä Signs Asset Management Agreement

Wärtsilä and Saudi Arabian Northern Region Cement Co. (NRCC) have signed a new three-year asset management agreement for NRCC’s power plant in Turaif, Saudi Arabia.

Wärtsilä will continue to be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the power plant and to ensure the reliability and availability of its operations. This agreement is an extension of Wärtsilä’s previous service agreements for NRCC’s power plant. The first service agreement with NRCC was signed in 2008.

The 62 MW power plant is equipped with nine Wärtsilä 32 engines and provides energy for NRCC’s Turaif cement factory. The four-stroke engine has a bore and stroke of 320 X 400 mm and comes in 6, 7, 8 and 9 in-line and 12, 16 and 18 vee configurations. The factory has two cement lines, producing in total almost 10 000 tonnes of cement per day.

“Wärtsilä has been responsible for the operation and maintenance of our power plant already since 2008. We have been very satisfied with the quality of Wärtsilä’s service and support as well as the way they ensure safe and reliable operations. In such a challenging business environment, the partnership with Wärtsilä has helped us to become a competitive player in the market,” said Obaid Alsobiei, CEO of NRCC.

The agreement covers all aspects of operating and maintaining NRCC’s power plant, including the day-to-day operation of the power plant as well as preventive and predictive maintenance. The power plant’s condition is continuously remotely monitored by Wärtsilä’s Customer Center in Dubai to create a holistic view of the plant and to provide expert technical advisory and data analysis services. These enable the making of knowledge-based, predictive decisions to ensure the plant’s reliability and efficiency, the company said.

Over the years, Wärtsilä has also carried out electrical and automation services to improve the performance and extend the lifecycle of NRCC’s power plant.

“We are proud to be able to continue our 10-year cooperation with NRCC. By having full responsibility for the operation and maintenance of NRCC’s power plant, we have been able to ensure reliable operations, optimized fuel consumption and reduced maintenance costs for NRCC. With this new agreement, we want to give them peace of mind and ensure they can focus on their core business also in the future,” said Haidar al Hertani, managing director, Wärtsilä Saudi Arabia.