DESALINATION IN THE
KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA:
CURRENT PRACTICE AND FUTURE TRENDS
By
Dr. Ahmed Alarifi
Saline Water Conversion Corporation
Monday, 17 June
2013
Main Challenges Facing Water and Desalination
Sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Rapid increase in population,
increase in water demand,
industrialization and
high per-capita consumption
Decommissioning of existing
desalination plants in the near future.
Large investments for new
desalination projects
4
1
3
2
Limited natural water sources;
Widening the gap between water
demand and supply
To Overcome the Shortage of Water
 Desalinated water is an important contributor to alleviate
water shortage.
 Today’s world contracted capacity of desalinated plants is 80.2
million m3/day and commissioned capacity 74.6 million m3/day.
 632 new plants were added last year (mid 2011 to August 2012)
in the world
 Scarcity of fresh water resources is a major challenge facing
Saudi Arabia so
 Desalination is a strategic industry for the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia.
Water Demand in 2011
Desalination Growth in Saudi Arabia
10,000,000
9,000,000
8,000,000
7,000,000
m3/day
6,000,000
5,000,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
0
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
Year
2000
2005
2010
2015
Global desalination and KSA share:
18% of global output
BAHRAIN 1.32%
OMAN 1.38%
SPAIN 7.64%
KSA
18.00%
QATAR 3.39%
OTHERS
27.36%
UAE
16.66%
USA
17.80%
KUWAIT 6.46%
Total Installed Desalination Capacity by
Region, Worldwide
Middle East
53.40%
North America,
17.00%
Europe Asia, 10.60%
10.10%
Central America,
South America, &
Australia; 2.80%
Africa
6.20%
Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC)
2 plants under
construction, 1
plant under
commissioning
19 blending
stations
34 pumping
stations
184 storage tanks
(capacity: 9 million
m3)
14 main water
transformission
systems
28 Plants at 17
locations (12 dual
purpose plants, 16
single purpose)
Water: arround
3.3M m3/day cover
50% of drinking
water needs in the
kingdom
5114 MW of
electricity
representing 10 %
of total power
generation capacity
in the kingdom
More than 4500 km
of piplines
Top 5 plants by capacity, with current status
Ras Alkhair, Saudi Arabia
Shoaiba 3, Saudi Arabia
Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia
Jubal Ali Station, UAE
AlFujairah2, UAE
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
m3/day
800,000
1,000,000
Existing Plants
#
Location
Plant
Name
Year of
Commission
Installed
Capacity
(m3/day)
Installed
Capacity
MW
Type of
Technology
1
Alwajih
Alwajih (3)
2009
9,000
-
Single Purpose (MED)
2
Khafji
Khafji (2)
1986
22,886
11
Single Purpose (MSF)
Umlujj (2)
1986
4,400
-
Single Purpose (RO)
Umlujj (3)
2009
9,000
-
Single Purpose (MED)
3
4
Umlujj
5
Farasan
Farasan (2)
2009
9,000
-
Single Purpose (MED)
6
Rabigh
Rabigh (2)
2009
18,000
-
Single Purpose (MED)
7
Duba
Duba (3)
1989
4,400
-
Single Purpose (RO)
8
ALBirk
ALBirk
1983
2,270
-
Single Purpose (MSF)
9
ALAzizih
ALAzizih
1987
4,500
-
Single Purpose (MED)
10
Haql
Haql
1990
4,400
-
Single Purpose (RO)
11
ALQunfutha
ALQunfutha
2008
9,000
-
Single Purpose (MED)
12
ALlith
ALlith
2009
9,000
-
Single Purpose (MED)
Khobar (2)
1983
223,000
710
Dual Purpose (MSF)
Khobar (3)
2000
280,000
479
Dual Purpose (MSF)
13
14
Khobar
Existing Plants
Plant
Name
Year of
Commission
Installed
Capacity
(m3/day)
Installed
Capacity
MW
Type of
Technology
Jubail (1)
1982
137,729
360
Dual Purpose (MSF)
Jubail (2)
1983
947,890
1225
Dual Purpose (MSF)
17
Jubail (RO)
2000
90,909
-
Single Purpose (RO)
18
Yanbu (1)
1981
108,074
357
Dual Purpose (MSF)
Yanbu (2)
1998
144,000
150
Dual Purpose (MSF)
20
Yanbu (RO)
1998
128,182
-
Single Purpose (RO)
21
Jeddah (3)
1979
88,357
256
Dual Purpose (MSF)
22
Jeddah (4)
1982
221,575
590
Dual Purpose (MSF)
Jeddah (RO1)
1989
56,800
-
Single Purpose (RO)
24
Jeddah (RO2)
1994
56,800
-
Single Purpose (RO)
25
Jeddah (RO3)
2013
240,000
-
Single Purpose (RO)
Shoaiba (1)
1989
223,000
263
Dual Purpose (MSF)
Shoaiba (2)
2001
454,545
520
Dual Purpose (MSF)
Shoqaiq
1989
97,014
108
Dual Purpose (MSF)
#
Location
15
16
19
23
26
27
28
Jubail
Yanbu
Jeddah
Shoaiba
Shoqaiq
IWPP Projects in Saudi Arabia
2500 MW
176 MIGD
800,000 m3/day
( SWCC 500,000 m3/day )
Shuaibah Phase-3 IWPP
and Shuaibah Expansion IWP
ACWA Power, Saudi Arabia
Malakoff Berhard, Malaysia
Tenaga Nasional Berhard,
Malaysia Khazanah
Nasional, Malaysia
Marafiq
900 MW
194 MIGD
880,000 m3/day
150,000 m3/day
Shoaiba
Shoaiba Expansion
Shuqaiq
Shuqaiq Phase-2 IWPP
850 MW
47 MIGD
212,000 m3/day
ACWA Power, Saudi Arabia
Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC), Kuwait
Mitsubishi Corporation, Japan
Locations of Main Water & Power Generation
Plants And Transmission Pipelines
KSA Total Water Demand Versus Planned
Supply Sources (in ‘000 m3/day, 2005–2025)
Water Demand in KSA – Main Figures
Population
(Million)
Water demand
(Million m3/day)
Desalination share in water
*
2010
2025
27.2
34 (*)
6.8
8.5 (*)
53%
63%
(3.3 Million m3/day) (5.2 Million m3/day)
( ): assuming an average annual growth rate of 1.5%
SWCC plants under construction and tendering
Plant
Water
(m3/day)
Ras Al-Khair
Yanbu 3
1,025,000
550,000
Power
Commissioning
(Megawatts)
Date
2,400
2,500
Power
Capacity
Expected Date
(Megawatts)
Plants
Capacity
(m3/day)
Haql 3
9,000
-
2014
Dhuba 4
9,000
-
2014
Rabigh 3 A
600,000
-
2014
Rabigh 3 B
400,000
-
2014
2013 / 2014
2016
The New and Proposed Desalination Plants
for the Period 2014-2025
Year
Desalination
Plant
Riyadh
Region
Makkah
Region
Medina
Area
Eastern
Region
Tabuk
Region
AlQseem
Region
Asir
Region
Jazan
Region
Station
Capacity
M3/day
2013
Jeddah RO
0
240,000
0
0
0
0
0
0
240,000
Ras Alkhair
700,000
0
0
100,000
0
200,000
0
0
1,025,000
Al Khafji 3
0
0
0
30,000
0
0
0
0
30,000
Duba 4
0
0
0
0
9,000
0
0
0
9,000
Alwajh 4
0
0
0
0
9,000
0
0
0
9,000
Haqal 3
0
0
0
0
9,000
0
0
0
9,000
2017
Rabigh
0
1,000,000
0
0
0
0
0
0
1,000,000
2019
Jubail 3
550,000
0
0
750,000
0
200,000
0
0
1,500,000
400,000
0
0
0
0
0
0
400,000
2015
Jeddah RO 4
2025
Al Khubar 4
0
0
0
775,000
0
150,000
0
0
925,000
Al Khafji 4
0
0
0
45,000
0
0
0
0
45,000
Omluj 4
0
0
0
0
17,000
0
0
0
17,000
Haqal 4
0
0
0
0
7,500
0
0
0
7,500
Shuqaiq 3
First stage
0
0
0
0
0
0
175,000
50,000
225,000
Total Capital Investments until 2020
CAPEX 17,453
Transmission
5,802
Power and
Water
11,651
Total = US$ 17.5 Billion (SR 65 Billion)
Alternative energy for Desalination
 SWCC plants use either gas or liquid oil ( crude
oil or heavy fuel oil) as source of energy and
energy cost contribute almost 50% towards cost
of water. It is Energy intensive
 SWCC consumes around 0.3 million of the daily
kingdoms oil production
 Transportation of fuel for plants at remote
places especially satellite plants incurs huge
expenses apart from other difficulties such as
non delivery of fuel in time and maintenance of
accessories and equipment for transport of fuel.
As an example transporting fuel of diesel to
Farasan plant is around 300 SAR for each cubic
meter of diesel.
COS T OF WATE R
S pare &
Maintenance
4%
Chemicals
1%
Pow er Cos t
6%
S team Cos t
52%
Labor (O & M)
8%
Capital Charges
29%
Possible Scenarios
1- Additional fossil-based capacity
2- No additional fossil-based capacity (Additional capacity
from renewable energy)
3- No additional fossil-based capacity (Additional
capacity from nuclear energy)
4- a combination of the above
So Nuclear energy for water Desalination is
an Option for kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Thank You