Attarat 554MW oil shale power plant

Overview:

• Attarat 554MW oil shale power plant.
• The project is located in the Attarat Um Ghudran area of Jordan, 100km southeast of Amman and is being developed by the Attarat Power Company (APCO).
• The project will provide between 10-15% of Jordan's annual power demand.
• Eesti Energia, Enefit and YTL Power International are acting as sponsors.
• The project has a 30 year PPA signed with National Electric Power Company (NEPCO).
• APCO has entered into a EPC contract with Guangdong Power Engineering.
• The project is being part financed by $1.582 billion facility taken out from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China with export credit insurance provided by China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure). Shareholders have also committed $528 million.
• The deal represents the largest foreign direct investment in Jordan to date. It is also the first oil shale power plant and mine project in the world to be funded by limited recourse project financing.
• In addition the project is the second largest oil shale power project in the world after Enefit's power plant in Estonia.
• Most of the recent energy projects to get the green light in Jordan have been in the renewables space including the Fujeij 89.1MW Wind Farm; the Al Rajef 82MW Wind Farm; and the Shams Ma’an 52.5MW Solar Project.

Sam Duke - Editor