NEWS

Turkey’s Aksa Enerji has confirmed that it expects the 50MW Djéno gas-to-power (GTP) plant, which it is refurbishing, to achieve commercial operations in July or August. Aksa is carrying out the work under a May 2021 contract with the government; it will then operate the open cycle gas turbine (OCGT) plant under a 30-year concession.

Aksa vice chairman Serdar Nişli told African Energy that Djéno would be expanded to 100MW capacity within one year of commissioning. A decision on the type of turbine to be procured has yet to be made; two 25MW GE TM2500 units are installed at present.

Djéno was built by the government, Eni and ChevronTexaco (now Chevron Corporation) at Tchiamba Nzassi, 20km south of Pointe Noire. First commissioned in 2002, its capacity was increased to 50MW with a 2008 upgrade. Djéno uses some 25 mcf/d of gas supplied from Eni’s M’Boundi field.

A transmission and offtake agreement for the rehabilitated Djéno plant was signed in May between Aksa and state utility Energie Electrique du Congo (E2C). Indicative of its political importance, the contract was witnessed by energy minister Honoré Sayi and Turkish ambassador Serhan Yigit.

The government has made bold and well-publicised moves to increase GTP capacity so as to meet domestic demand, which has risen sharply (AE 431/9).

‘Energy friendship’ with DRC

Some of Djéno’s output will also be sold directly to offtakers in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) under bilateral export contracts, wheeled by E2C’s network.

These bilateral exports are part of wider moves to increase cross-border co-operation. Brazzaville and Kinshasa have signed an ‘energy friendship loop’ agreement to build or rehabilitate 400kV transmission lines so as to interconnect the Eni-operated Centrale Electrique du Congo (CEC) 484MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant in Pointe Noire (AE 452/14). CEC also took over the management of Djéno in 2015.

Hydrocarbons minister Bruno Jean Richard Itoua has said the CEC Pointe Noire plant would be expanded to 700MW and eventually to 1,000MW as the country’s gas resources are used to drive development. Funding for the previous Pointe Noire plant expansion was structured and mobilised by Africa50 (AE 387/13).

More potential GTP plays in Congo and beyond for Aksa

In March it was gazetted that Aksa Enerji had also been awarded a four-year provisional independent power producer licence by the Republic of Congo government, which may indicate that the Turkish firm will develop its own IPPs too.

In May 2021 then-energy minister Serge Blaise Zoniaba announced that the Istanbul-headquartered firm would be awarded contracts for a 240MW plant in Pointe-Noire and a 115MW plant in Brazzaville, although no further details have been publicly confirmed.

Aksa has installed 570MW of gas and heavy fuel oil (HFO) capacity across Africa. This includes its 370MW Tema gas and HFO plant in Ghana and the 60MW Bamako HFO plant in Mali.

Other African projects are under early-stage development, Aksa vice chairman Serdar Nişli told African Energy. The firm sees future opportunities in African gas-to-power (GTP) markets for the conversion of open cycle gas turbine (OCGT) plants to combined cycle (CCGT) as part of its offering. Aksa last year signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Angola’s Ministry of Energy and Water to develop projects (AE 448/17).

A large player in genset manufacturing, Aksa has also developed its African rental power business over the last seven years, Nişli said. The firm has provided containerised thermal gensets of 1-3MW capacity per unit to countries in need of emergency or temporary power in recent years. These markets include Malawi.