Siemens Lands Second Panama Contract

Siemens said November 14 it has been awarded a long-term service contract for the power plant in Panama for which it won an order to supply six gas turbines and generators earlier this year.

The latest maintenance agreement, like the turbines contract announced in May, was signed with Chinese independent power producer Shanghai Gorgeous Group's subsidiary Sinolam Smarter Energy (SSE). Siemens said the plant is expected to be commissioned in autumn 2020. It will operate with regasified LNG to be supplied by Shell to a floating receiving terminal to be built by Shanghai Gorgeous.

Shanghai Gorgeous is investing $1.8bn in the country according to local media reports two months ago: $900mn in a massive new container port in the city of Colon, and $900mn in the combined LNG terminal and 440-MW flexible combined cycle (CCGT) gas-fired plant in the nearby village of Puerto Pilon.

Panama's first LNG/power venture, built by US-based AES with Panamanian partner Inversiones Bahia, imported its first LNG cargo this June and the overall $1.15bn project was inaugurated in August. France's Engie is supplying its LNG cargoes.

(Banner photo credit shows fires in Panama, credit: NASA/GSFC, Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team)