BIG COGENERATION PLANT HITS FULL STRIDE IN U.K.

A unit billed as the world's largest gas fired, combined cycle heat and electrical cogeneration plant has achieved full operation in Cleveland County, England.

Teesside power station, on a 23 acre industrial site near the Wilton plant of ICI Chemical & Polymers Ltd., can generate as much as 1,875,000 kw of electrical power, nearly 4% of. total U.K. electricity requirements.

Plant owner Teesside Power Ltd. is to sell 1,725,000 kw of Teesside's power output to four regional English utility companies that own a combined 50% interest in the cogeneration project. Teesside also is to provide all the process steam required by ICI's Wilton plant.

Teesside Power is a joint venture of Enron Europe, a subsidiary of Enron Corp., Houston, with a 50% interest; and the British companies Midlands Electricity 19%, Northern Electric 15%, and South Western Electricity and South Wales Electricity 8% each.

ICI has an option to buy a 10% interest from Enron.

Because of Teesside's integral involvement with Wilton plant's energy systems, ICI has representation of Teesside Power's board of directors.

The integrated Teesside project includes the 1,875,000 kw cogeneration plant, a 300 MMcfd gas processing plant, and more than 20 miles of pipelines.

Enron Power Construction Ltd. (EPC), another Enron subsidiary, built the $1.2 billion Teesside complex in just 29 months after starting construction in November 1990.

TEESSIDE OPERATIONS

Gas to fuel the Teesside cogeneration plant is supplied under a 15 year contract from Everest and Lomond fields on Blocks 22/9, 22/10a, 22/14a, and 23/21 in the U. K. North Sea through the 240 mile, 1.5 bcfd gas pipeline included in the Central Area Transmission System (CATS) joint venture of Amoco (U.K.) Exploration Co., Amerada Hess Ltd., and British Gas plc.

CATS gas is to flow first to the Teesside gas processing plant, owned and operated by Enron subsidiary Teesside Gas Processing Ltd. (TGPL), north of the Tees River at Seal Sands. Teesside processing facilities are expected to recover from Everest and Lomond gas about 7,500 b/d of propane, butane, and natural gasoline.

Until CATS gas is available in sufficient volume, British Gas is providing the 300 MMcfd needed to operate the Teesside cogeneration plant, about 2 miles south of the Tees River near the village of Eston.

Enron Europe also agreed to buy gas and gas liquids from Phillips Petroleum Co. U.K. Ltd. beginning in 1996 from Joanne and Judy fields on Blocks 30/7a and 30/12a in the U.K. North Sea. Adding Joanne and Judy gas more than doubles liquids production of Teesside processing.

ENRON'S POWER MOVE

Enron secured planning consents, designed and managed the construction of facilities, and led Teesside Power's effort to arrange a $1.12 billion project loan. Enron personnel also trained the staff of the new power and gas processing plants and will manage and operate the Teesside Power joint venture company.

In addition to Teesside, Enron has commissioned a power plant in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, is commissioning a power plant at Milford, Mass., and has two power plants under construction at Batangas and Subic Bay, Philippines.

The company has other gas and ,power projects under development in western Europe, Turkey, the former Soviet Union, India, the Middle East, Asia, and North, Central, and South America.