"We are adding 1,500 MW to our current production
capacity which is about 1,000 MW so by 2014-2015 we should have 2,500 MW in
Yanbu," Thamer Al-Sharhan said in an interview at Marafiq's headquarters
in Jubail. 
"Our plant in Yanbu... has been built in such a way
that we can go up to a minimum of 2,800 MW so we are building the 750 (MW)
right now and we will go by phases and we foresee in the next couple of years,
one or two years we will update our forecast and probably launch another
expansion," Al-Sharhan added. 

Marafiq serves the two main industrial hubs in Yanbu and
Jubail, home to petrochemical and refining facilities. 
The Yanbu II project with a capacity of 750 MW of power
and 60,000 cubic meters per day of water is estimated to cost SR6 billion ($1.6
billion). First power will start early 2014, Al-Sharhan said. 
As for the existing Yanbu plant — Yanbu I — which is
undergoing an expansion to increase the plant's capacity to 1,500 MW from 1,000
MW now, the first unit will be operational in April and commercial start-up is
in July 2012. 
A 2,750 MW independent water and power project (IWPP) in
Jubail, on the east coast of Saudi Arabia was fully operational in 2010. The
plant, can also produce 800,000 cubic meters per day of desalinated water. The
off-taker is Tawreed, a fully owned subsidiary of Marafiq, which sells the
entire power output to state-controlled Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC). 
Marafiq which provides potable, treated, processed water
as well as waste water treatment services now has SR16 billion worth of active
projects in the power and water sector. 

"Maybe next year, subject to the approval of certain
key customers we may need to expand by 75,000 cubic meter per day for an
additional Reverse Osmosis (RO) unit in Jubail for desalinated water,"
Al-Sharhan said. 
The firm plans to spend gradually as much as SR2 billion
on water projects, he added. 
"I foresee we have potable old networks we are
trying to replace, total project we may need to spend on network and addition.
We are talking about SR1.5 to SR2 billion for sea water system and for the potable
water in Jubail." 
The leading oil exporter is seeking to diversify its
energy resources, turning to solar and eventually nuclear to reduce its need to
burn fuel oil for electricity and so preserve its oil for lucrative export
markets. 
"I think the challenge will be the energy source,
the availability of fuel to meet the demand for power generation and
desalination. I look forward to see the development of technology of solar or
nuclear that we can use for desalination purposes," said Al-Sharhan. 
Marafiq uses liquid fuels as feedstock in its Yanbu plant
and natural gas in Jubail. Its main shareholders are the Royal Commission for
Jubail and Yanbu, Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), the Public Investment
Fund (PIF) and Saudi Aramco.