By Mohammad Shoeb
DOHA: Nebras Power, a Qatari joint stock company, yesterday signed an agreement with Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC) to acquire its stake in Phoenix Power Company, the owner of Oman’s Sur IPP, amounting to 9.75 percent.
Nebras also acquired QEWC’s 15 percent stake in Phoenix Operating and Maintenance Company.
It is anticipated the completion of the $39m (about QR142m) acquisition deal will take place in January 2016.
Phoenix Power owns Sur IPP in Oman, which is considered to be the largest power plant in the Sultanate with the installed capacity of generating 2,000 MW of electricity. The plant is managed by Phoenix Operating and Maintenance Company.
Established in 2014, Nebras Power is a joint venture of QEWC (60 percent), Qatar Petroleum International Limited (20 percent) and Qatar Holding (20 percent).
The agreement was signed by Fahad bin Hamad Al Mohannadi, Managing Director and General Manager, QEWC, and Khalid M Jolo, CEO of Nebras Power. The signing ceremony was attended by Faisal Obaid Al Siddiqi, Business Development Director at Nebras and Abdulsattar Alrashid, Business Development Director at QEWC, in addition to a number of representatives from both companies.
The Sur IPP power plant generates about 28 percent of the total installed capacity for electrical connection system in the country, and it is expected that this plant will play an important role in meeting the growing energy demand in Oman during the coming years.
The project agreements were signed between Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) and Phoenix Power Company in 2011, while the commercial operation of the plant started in December 2014. The project is selling the total amount of electricity generated for OPWP through a long-term power purchase agreement that will expire in 2029. Other project partners are Marubeni Corporation, Chubu Electric, and Multitech company.
Al Mohannadi said: “We hope that this project will be a qualitative addition to Nebras Power through which QEWC is seeking to expand its international investments, while QEWC focuses on investments in power generation and water desalination projects in the Qatari market.”
He also said that the demand for electricity and water in Qatar will continue to remain robust, which is currently growing at the rate of 6 to 8 percent.
On the occasion Khalid Jolo added: “We are proud of this achievement, which contributes to the expansion of Nebras Power activities and strengthening its financial income as well as supporting its strategic plan in development and becoming a global leader in the power sector. “We would like to thank QEWC for their cooperation to conduct this transaction. We would also like to emphasise that the Sultanate of Oman is one of the countries that Nebras Power is looking to expand its investments in as it has a proven track record for the development of power plants projects based on well-structured IPP programmes,” he said.
“We are exploring more investment opportunities in the Mena region, which is considered as the most attractive destination. We have also classified some other regions as our priority destination for investment, such as America, Southeast Asia, and some countries in African and Europe, but it doesn’t mean we intend to remain confined to these areas.”
The Peninsula
