DUBAL supports first Dubai Global Energy Forum

Demonstrating solid support for the Dubai government’s efforts to conserve energy in the interests of sustainable urban development, Dubai Aluminium Company Limited “DUBAL” is an Official Sponsor of the Dubai Global Energy Forum “DGEF”2011, which takes place at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, located at the Dubai World Trade Centre, from 17 to 19 April this year. 

Organised by Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, of which DUBAL is a member, DGEF 2011 is the first of its kind in Dubai and is being held under the patronage of H H Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The over-arching theme, “Energy Challenges and Opportunities for a Sustainable Future”, will be interpreted through discussions on the same energy-related issues as dominate the global energy agenda, notably security of supply; predicting and managing growth in energy demand; and sustainable governance in the energy sector. Expert opinion will also be heard on emerging regional and global issues relating to energy policies, programmes, technologies and investment opportunities; and discussions will be held on the environmental and sustainability issues affecting both the region and the world with the aim of highlighting the urgent need both to explore alternative energy sources and devise new technologies for energy conservation. Key players in the sector will also share policies and best practices in oil, gas, renewable energy and the peaceful use of nuclear energy. 

Having a captive power plant within its 480-hectare smelter complex at Jebel Ali, with a generation capability of 2,350 MW (at 30°C), DUBAL is one of the UAE’s major energy stakeholders. Accordingly, two of the DGEF’s eight seminar sessions will be chaired by DUBAL executives. Tayeb Awadhi, Vice President: Power & Desalination, will chair a session entitled “Energy management opportunities in Industry” on Day 2; Abdunasser Kalban, General Manager: Power & Desalination Maintenance, will head-up a session entitled “Role of NGOs in promoting sustainable development” on Day 3. 

Commenting on the company’s commitment to sustainability and its expertise in the energy sector, Awadhi says: “Conserving energy is a top priority at DUBAL. We constantly innovate to identify new opportunities in this area. In recent years, this has included introducing new preventative maintenance procedures; alternative anode sizes; and new controls to anticipate and prevent anode effects. We’ve also installed evaporative cooling systems on several gas turbines; replaced conventional burners with regenerative see burners in one of our furnaces; and commissioned a new combined cycle turbine. Together, these initiatives have increased the overall energy efficiency of our operations while optimizing our energy consumption levels.” 

Abdunasser Kalban, General Manager: Power & Desalination Maintenance, said: “We at DUBAL are proud of our 2010 achievements at the Power Operations Maintenance Department listed below.” 

- Optimisation of outages, whereby the programme to reduce outage savings amounted to US$3.4 million.

- Completion of the rehabilitation projects on Potlines 43 and 21, which contributed savings of US$20 million/year.

- Fulfilment of the Frame 9B Rehabilitation Programme (i.e. gas turbine 12) which resulted in fuel savings valued at US$1.6 million.

- World-class availability since 2006, notably 97.5 per cent on 13E2 MXL and 94.2 per cent on the 9E units.

- World-class reliability since 2006, notably 89 per cent on 13E2 MXL and 89.4 per cent on the 9E units.