GP Final

PROGRAM: ENERGY SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
ENERGY POLICY IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
A GRADUATION PROJECT
Submitted by
ABDULLAH HOMSI
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
DECEMBER 2016
PROGRAM: Energy Systems Engineering

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Abstract
The production of energy to reach domestic demands has shifted its course to a different path,
and the first takers of this path were the UAE. The UAE stands in a geographical golden mine
for requiring one of the largest oil reserves in the world which makes it the sixth largest
producer of petroleum in the world. Yet the UAE’s future capacity to export might be more
constrained than some may realize. With strong economic growth and increasing in energy
demand the transition towards a renewable energy supply requires some government
intervention to overcome economic distortions which of course favors fossil fuels as the
dominant energy source. The UAE stated that it had listed studies with the aid of IRENA, IEA
and EIA to seek other energy resource development in the region. Four major Nuclear Power
Plants have been undergoing construction and Renewable energy projects have been laid on
the investment table. This thesis will layout each type of Energy production in the UAE
verified and explained including its system’s description and functionality.

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ACKNOWLOEDGMENT
I would like to express my sincere gratitude towards my advisor and instructor Prof. Hamza
Savas Ayberk and also to my professor Prof. Dr. Ramazan Nejat Tuncay for their continuous
support of my study and related research. For Professor Hamza’s patience, guidance and
Professor Doctor Nejat’s remarks and direction. Both professors have shared their knowledge
and expertise in this thesis and I would not have been able to complete it without their
approval.
I would like to thank my family first and foremost for their support even though they are
abroad and to my best friend and Fiancé Diana, for her moral support and love.

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Contents
1.0 Overview................................................................................................................................ 5
1.1 Sector Organization.............................................................................................................. 7
1.2 Imports, Exports and Consumption....................................................................................... 9
2.0 Oil & Gas................................................................................................................................10
2.1 Ruwais Refining Facility and Processing Units .......................................................................11
2.2 Refinery Utilities.................................................................................................................14
3.0 Nuclear Energy.......................................................................................................................15
3.1 Policy.................................................................................................................................15
3.2 Reactors Main Components.................................................................................................19
3.3 Reactor Pressure Vessel...................................................................................................19
3.4 Reactor Core and Fuel Design...........................................................................................19
3.5 Primary Circuits...............................................................................................................20
3.6 Electrical Systems............................................................................................................21
4.0 Renewable Energy.................................................................................................................22
4.1 Solar and CSP......................................................................................................................24
4.2 Wind..................................................................................................................................26
5.0 Conclusion.............................................................................................................................27
6.0 References.............................................................................................................................28
6.1 List Of Abbreviations..........................................................................................................30

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Overview
Since the declaration of independence was established in 1971 the United Arab Emirates has
gained independence from the United Kingdom Rule which led to the establishment of the
Seven Emirates. These seven emirates that consist of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, Al-Fujairah,
Ras-Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al Quwain are now facing challenges regarding their
energy production and extraction from within their land. It will now rely on its vast oil and
natural gas resources to support its own economy with major productions and outsized
investments to replace these fossil fuels.
Geography and Resource
The UAE is a country located at the southeast end of the Arabian Peninsula on the Persian
Gulf, bordering Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the South, as well as sharing maritime
borders with Qatar and Iran. Each emirate is governed by an absolute monarch; together, they
jointly form the Federal Supreme Council. One of the monarchs is selected as the President of
the United Arab Emirates. Sheikh Zayed, ruler of Abu Dhabi and the first President of the
UAE, oversaw the development of the Emirates and steered oil revenues into healthcare,
education and infrastructure.
This natural resource makes the UAE the sixth largest petroleum producer in the world. Also
a well-known member and contributor to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) the UAE joined this organization in 1967 in order to secure fair and stable prices for
its own petroleum production and an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to
its consuming nations; and a fair return on capital to those investing in the industry.
Economy and Production
When it comes to economy the United Arab Emirates is the second largest in the Arab
world (after Saudi Arabia), with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $570 billion (AED2.1
trillion) in 2014. Although the UAE has the most diversified economy in the GCC, UAE's
economy remains extremely reliant on oil. With the exception of Dubai, most of the UAE is
dependent on oil revenues. Petroleum and natural gas continue to play a central role in the
economy, especially in Abu Dhabi. More than 85% of the UAE's economy was based on the
oil exports in 2009. With imports totaling $273.5 billion in 2012, UAE passed Saudi Arabia
as the largest consumer market in the region. Exports totaled $314 billion, which makes UAE
the second largest exporter in the region. The UAE’s proven oil reserves increased up to 978
billion barrels as of 2015.
Abu Dhabi the capital holds the majority of the owned barrels which is around 92.2 billion
barrels followed by Dubai 4 billion, 1.5 billion owned by Sharjah and 500 million goes to Ras
Al Khaymah. Due largely to the great distance that leads to high transportation costs; the
United States imports minimal quantities of oil and gas from the UAE. On the other hand the
export percentage which is an estimate of 62% of the UAE’s crude oil goes to Japan, making
it the UAE’s most favored customer. Other Asian economies, which benefit from the same
geographic proximity, consume the vast majority of the remaining percentage of UAE’s oil
production export. Gas exports are almost entirely to Japan, the world’s largest buyer of
liquefied gas, with the UAE supplying almost one-eighth of Japan’s entire requirements.

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Other than exports to Japan and its market competition with the other gulf countries, the UAE
is one of the only exceptional countries in the region that has a thriving private sector for oil
and gas. This privatization includes partnerships with US companies and a history of
welcoming other private sector investment into its upstream oil and gas exploration. As well
as the continuation of benefitting from high levels of private sector investment and mainly
consultation from international oil companies from France, Britain and other countries that
continue to hold combined equity stakes of between 40 and 100 percent in Abu Dhabi’s vast
oil concessions. Which include Occidental Petroleum equity stakes in the Dolphin Gas
Pipeline Project which is shared between the US and France for about 24.5%. This Dolphin
Gas Pipeline project aims to assist the demand of oil fields expansion to its domestic
production usage through EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery) techniques which is an advanced
technological method the UAE uses to increase extraction rates of the country’s demand by
developing one of the first cross border refined gas transmission development and the largest
energy related venture ever to undertake in the region.
Figure-1-Dolphin Pipeline

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Figure-2-UAE Nuclear Power Reactors Under Construction and Planned
Energy Dependency
With this Energy distribution whether from exports or projects, the UAE has decided to shift
its energy dependency on Oil and Gas and focus mainly on embarking upon a nuclear power
program with close consultation from the International Atomic Energy Agency, diversifying
its energy chart into more different energy sources and outputs. The public openly supported
this new project to boost the energy supply and build which will bring a steadily growing
supply chain to the region. It accepted a $20 billion bid from a South Korean consortium to
build four commercial nuclear power reactors, total 5.6 GWe, by 2020 at Barakah. All four
units are now under construction with the first unit being around 90% complete and are
expected on line in 2017.
With these entire projects that are undergoing in the UAE one of the most undermined energy
production sectors is the Solar Energy Segment. This has the potential to provide most of the
country’s electrical demands and has not been introduced to the energy sector chart up until
2009 with the country being the 6th top carbon dioxide emitter per capita in the world. Now
however sustainable energy still accounts a small share of energy production in the country
and will increase according to the country’s 2021 blueprint that outlines the need to develop
long term sustainable energy within the UAE.
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Sector Organization
Each and every single one of the seven emirates holds responsibility for regulating the oil
industry within its emirate, creating a mixture of production-sharing arrangements and service
contracts. These emirates are chaired by the capital Abu Dhabi with the assistance of the
Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) holds their related objectives and policies which are
related to its petroleum extraction methods. It is the central player in the UAE’s oil industry,
which uses the SPC as a standpoint between establishing oil policy and initiating objectives
for the oil market.

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One of the most vital oil extraction corporations in the UAE is The Abu Dhabi National Oil
Company (ADNOC) which operates 16 subsidiaries throughout the oil, natural gas, and
petrochemical sectors.
Established on the 27th of November 1971 ADNOC implements in maximizing the value of
Abu Dhabi’s hydrocarbon resources to expand its refining capacities and petrochemical
production to cope with the growing domestic and international customer base it holds. It is
the mother company to 21 fully integrated subsidiaries and institutions, collectively called
ADNOC Group of Companies. This group diversifies its operations to cover all aspects of the
upstream, midstream and downstream petroleum industry, which includes crude oil and
natural gas exploration, production, refining, processing, distribution, global marketing and
the manufacture of petrochemicals. In this present day ADNOC manages and oversees oil
production of more than 3.15 million barrels per day (bpd), ranking it the 12th largest oil and
gas producer in the world.
Dubai sector
Dubai however oversees its own energy-policy development and coordination with its own
Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE). This includes representatives from several key
entities; some are the Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), the Dubai Petroleum
Establishment (DPE) and the Dubai Nuclear Energy Committee (DNEC). The DSCE seeks to
ensure that Dubai’s economy has adequate and sustainable access to its own energy resources.
However in the other emirates the details of their oil, natural gas sectors and structures are
limited.
Natural Gas Production and regulation are the responsibilities of the individual emirates and
are often carried out under the same leadership as their oil sectors. The Abu Dhabi Gas
Industries Limited Company (GASCO) was established as a joint venture among ADNOC,
Shell, Total, and Partex, who oversees processing Abu Dhabi’s onshore natural gas, as well as
the associated gas recovered from onshore oil operations. Another key point company in Abu
Dhabi’s natural gas sector is the Abu Dhabi’s Liquefaction Natural Gas (ADGAS) which
takes control of the production and exports of Abu Dhabi’s Gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG)
and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The third major participant in Abu Dhabi’s natural gas
industry is the Abu Dhabi Gas Development Company Limited (Al Hosn Gas), which is
responsible for the development of the sour-gas reservoirs in the Emirate’s large Shah Field.
Al Hosn Gas is a joint venture between ADNOC and Occidental Petroleum Company.

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Figure-3 Natural Gas Production in OPEC Members (bn standard Cu m)
Figure-4 World and OPEC Members Marketed Production of Natural Gas (bn standard cu m)

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Imports, Exports and Consumption
The UAE has one of the highest rates of per capita petroleum consumption in the region and it
is both a major exporter and consumer of petroleum liquids. According to the Administration
of Energy (EIA) the UAE exported more than 2.5 million bbI/d of crude oil in 2014, with
most of it going to markets in the Asian district. In addition to being a major global petroleum
exporter, the UAE domestic market relies heavily on the petroleum product imports to meet
and supply the energy demand. Most of the UAE’s petroleum imports are of residual fuel oil
with limited imports of motor and gasoline and diesel fuel. The UAE has a well-developed
domestic pipeline network that links oil fields with processing plants and export terminals.
The recent export pipeline, the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP), runs 236 miles from
Habshan to Fujairah and started its operations in June 2012. This pipeline gives the UAE a
direct link from the rich oil fields of its western desert all the way to the Gulf of Oman and
from there to global and economic markets. A withstanding capacity of 1.5 million bbI/d and
expectations that this capacity will increase to 1.8 million bbI/d in the near future, this
pipeline will provide and supply the UAE with the ability to export a significant portion of its
daily production without passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most occupied
energy checkpoint which accounts for 30% of all seaborne-traded oil.
Already one of the world’s largest bunkering ports, the export terminal in Fujairah will hold a
capacity of nearly 16 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products by the end of 2016.
Three new subsea loading lines, an intermediate pumping station and three offshore buoys
designed for deep-water tanker loading are part of the strategies to expand this terminal. With
a growing refining and storage capacity that will result in ongoing expansion projects,
Fujairah will become a critical node in a well-developed refining and export network for the
UAE.
Oil & Gas Sector
Figure-5 ADNOC’s subsidiary companies

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The UAE produced a total of 3.5 million barrels in the year of 2014 which counts roughly to
3,000 (bb/d). Of which 2.7 million bb/d was crude oil and the remainder was non crude
liquids (such as condensate, natural gas plant liquid and refinery processing gain), ranking
them the second in petroleum production in OPEC behind Saudi Arabia. The UAE plans to
increase crude oil production by 800,000 bb/d in 2020. With limited prospects for major
discoveries, production increases in the UAE will come almost exclusively by using EOR
techniques in Abu Dhabi’s existing oil fields. However, EOR projects are typically based on
oil prices around $100 per barrel, which may prove these projects uneconomic at current price
levels. One region that may help the UAE boost oil production is the Zakum petroleum
system. ZADCO owned jointly by ADNOC, ExxonMobil, and the Japan Oil Development
Company- manages production from UAE’s Upper Zakum field, which currently produces
about 590,000 bbI/d. In July 2012, ZADCO awarded an $800 million engineering,
procurement and construction contract to Abu Dhabi’s National Petroleum Construction
Company- along with French firm Technip with the goal of expanding oil production at the
Upper Zakum field to 750,000 bbI/d.
According to the Oil and Gas journal estimates as of January 2015, the UAE holds the seventh
largest proved reserves of oil in the world at 97.8 billion barrels, with the most reserves
located in Abu Dhabi (Approximately 94% of the UAE’s total). The other six Emirates
combined account for just 6% of the UAE’s crude oil reserves, led by Dubai with
approximately 4 billion barrels; The UAE holds approximately 6% of the world’s proved oil
reserves. Recent exploration in the UAE has not yielded any significant discoveries of crude
oil. What designed to extend the lifespan of the Emirates existing oil fields. By improving the
recovery rates at the existing fields, such technique helped the UAE to nearly double the
proved reserves in Abu Dhabi over the past decade. The UAE has several crude streams,
including the Murban- a light and sweet (low sulfur) crude that is the country’s primary
export stream. In July 2014, Abu Dhabi began offering a type of crude stream called Das,
which is a blend of two existing streams- the Umm Shaif and Lower Zakum crude streams.
Ruwais Refining Facility and Processing
Units
The UAE has five refining facilities the largest of
which is the Ruwais facility which has a refining
capacity of 817,000bpd. The Ruwais Refinery
produces LPG, premium unleaded gasoline (98
Octane) and special unleaded gasoline (95 Octane). It
also includes the production of naphtha, Jet A1,
kerosene, gas oil and granulated Sulphur. The Ruwais
refinery uses a Unicracking hydrocracking
technology provided by Honeywell UOP.
Figure-6 Al Ruwais Refinery

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As well as the extraction of Sulphur produced from the saturated LPG streams using UOP’s
MeroxTM process.
Figure-8 LPG and Gasoline Treatment Honeywell
UOP
Most of UAE’s petroleum refining uses the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) which is often
referred to as the Atmospheric Distillation Unit. It’s usually the first processing equipment
Figure-7 Overview of the Hydrocracking Process

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through which crude oil is fed. Once in the CDU, crude oil is distilled into various
productions. These are the components produced which follows primary and secondary units;
Crude oil Distillation (120,000 bpd): After desalting, crude oil is distilled to produce full-
range naphtha, kerosene, light gas oil, heavy gas oil and straight run residue, which are further
processed in downstream units.
Graph-1 OPEC Members' Crude Oil Production
Naphtha Hydrodesulphurization (34,350 bpd): The full-range naphtha from the crude oil
unit and heavy naphtha from the Hydro cracker unit is hydro treated to remove the Sulphur
compounds and then LPG is stripped from whole naphtha. After dehydration, the raw LPG is
sent to the GASCO-NGL plant for further processing while the whole naphtha is split into
light naphtha, used for gasoline blending, and heavy naphtha, used as feedstock for the
Catalytic Reformer Unit.
Atalytic Reformer (19,150 bpd): The heavy naphtha is processed to improve its anti-knock
properties by using a bimetallic platinum-based catalyst. The Reformate obtained is used as
the main blend component for gasoline production. The hydrogen-rich gas is used in the
reaction sections of the hydro treaters and the remaining gas goes to Refinery Fuel Gas
system.
Kerosene Hydro treater (20,780 bpd): The unit improves the burning quality of kerosene by
desulphurization and saturation of aromatics required to meet international specifications for
jet fuel.
Gas Oil Hydrodesulphurization (21,850 bpsd): The unit removes Sulphur compounds in
the heavy gas oil from the crude oil unit using a cobalt/molybdenum oxide-based catalyst. The
hydro treated heavy gas oil is used as a blending component to produce different grades of gas
oil.
Vacuum Unit (46,000 bpd): The Vacuum Unit processes atmospheric residue from the crude
oil unit to produce heavy vacuum gas oil as feedstock for the Unibon unit. Ruwais residue is
supplemented by residue from Abu Dhabi Refinery.
Unibon Unit/Hydro cracker (27,000 bpd): The Unibon Unit converts the heavy vacuum gas
oil feed into lighter products in the reactor section by passing the feed, plus hydrogen, over
catalysts under high temperature and pressure. The products from this reaction are then

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separated in the fractionation section to yield high value finished products ranging from LPG
to gas oil.
Hydrogen Plant (60,000 Nm3/hr): The Hydrogen Unit converts natural gas and steam into
hydrogen with the aid of catalysts. Propane can also be used as an alternative feed.
Two Sulphur Recovery Plants (44/49 tons per day): These units recover sulphur from
hydrogen sulphide-rich gas produced in the Hydrodesulphurization and Unibon units by
converting it into elemental sulphur through a thermal and catalytic reaction. The liquid
sulphur is then sent to the Sulphur Handling Terminal for granulation and export.
Two Condensate Splitters (2x140, 000 bpd): Each splitter is designed to process condensate
from the On-shore Gas Development and Asab Gas Development fields. The splitters
fractionate the condensate into unstabilized light naphtha, medium naphtha, heavy naphtha,
kerosene, light gas oil (LGO), heavy gas oil (HGO), and atmospheric residue, which are
further processed in downstream units.
Two Naphtha Stabilizers (2x27, 500 bpd): Each Stabilizer is designed to process 27,500
bpd of unstabilized light naphtha from the condensate splitters. LPG after treatment is sent to
GASCO while stabilized light naphtha is routed to storage and blending.
Two Kerosene Sweetening Units (2x52, 000 bpd): Kerosene produced in the Condensate
Distillation Units contains mercaptans and naphthenic acids. The Merichem Sweetening units
reduce the mercaptans by converting them into disulphide. The sweetened kerosene from each
unit is routed to storage and blending.
Refinery Utilities
The refinery generates all the utilities, which are required by the process units. Equipment and
systems include steam boilers, seawater cooling systems, a closed-loop fresh water cooling
system, instrument and plant air, fuel oil and fuel gas systems
Tank Farm & Offsite
The Refinery has 91 tanks with a total nominal storage capacity of over three million cubic
meters. Of these 12 are feedstock tanks, 34 are for intermediate products and 45 for finished
products. Off sites include ballast reception facilities, CPI separator system, four flares,
blending and shipping facilities with LPG truck loading.
Marine Terminal
The Refinery's Marine Terminal provides for the loading and unloading of tankers ranging
from 2,000 to 330,000 dwt. It has four cabotage berths to accommodate tankers from 2,000 to
7,000 dwt, and three large tanker berths for vessels from 7,000 to 330,000 dwt.
Sulphur Handling & Granulation Plant

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The Sulphur Handling and Granulation Plant have nine granulators with a total capacity of
7,650 tons per day and covered storage for 145,000 tons of granulated product. Multiple bays
for receiving liquid Sulphur trucks from the on-shore gas processing facilities and a jetty to
handle liquid imports from ADGAS have been recently upgraded. The jetty is capable of
handling vessels up to 45,000 dwt for granulated Sulphur exports.
General Utilities Plant
Ruwais Refinery Division operates the GUP to provide reliable power and water not only for
its needs but the industrial area and community at large. Power is generated by seven gas
turbines and two steam turbines with an installed capacity of over 650 MW. Water production
capacity is over 60,000 m3/day from five desalinators. Interconnection of GUP with ADWEA
grid and synchronization enabled TAKREER to acquire the capability and flexibility to
import and export power, along with the stability of supply of electrical power to consumers.
Nuclear Power:
Policy
According to recent analysis conducted by the Official UAE entities they have valued that the
national annual peak demand for electricity power is likely to increase to more than 40,000
MW’s bt in the beginning of 2020, which will reflect a cumulative annual growth rate of
roughly 9% from 2007 onward. The UAE will finally pursue in the production of a clean
nuclear energy to meet its domestic demands and one of the project is about to be complete as
we speak.
In 2008 the UAE independently published its comprehensive policy on Nuclear Energy. It
projected demand escalated from 15.5 GWe in 2008 to over 40,000 GWe in 2020, with
natural gas supplies sufficient for only half the amount. Imported coal was dismissed as an
optional usage due to the environmental issues, outbreaks of pollution, energy security
implications and policies. So the UAE established a nuclear energy program implementation
organization which set up the Emirates Nuclear Energy Program Energy Corporation (ENEC)
as an Abu Dhabi public entity, initially funded with $100 million, to evaluate and conduct
studies on implementing nuclear power plans within the UAE.
Graph-2 Total UAE's committed capacity vs Projected Demand

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The reason why the UAE supports the nuclear development program is because it has
emerged as a proven environmentally promising and commercially competitive option which
would make a significant change on the base load to the UAE’s economy and future energy
security. This led to the establishment of a regulatory framework and selection of a site
between Abu Dhabi city, Ruwais, in Al Baraka or Al Fujairah on the Indian Ocean Coast.
With the UAE being equipped in the adoption of all required international agreements and
strict abidance of the resulting obligations to build a nuclear power plant the UAE has
announced that it would offer joint venture arrangements to foreign investors for the
construction and operation of future nuclear power plants similar to existing independent
Water and Power Producers structures which have 60% owned by the government and 40%
by JV partner(s). The UAE set up a model of managing its nuclear power program based on
contractor services rather than slowly establishing indigenous expertise. These agreements are
very important in the terms of building a trust bridge between the UAE and IEA, which
include:
1-Security and Non-proliferation
2-Nuclear Safety
3-Nuclear Liability
4-Committing to pursue high standards of non-proliferation
5-Commitment of the highest standards of safety and security
The UAE government invited expression of interest from nine companies for construction of
its first nuclear power plant such as Areva, with Suez and Total, proposing its EPR, GE-
Hitachi proposing ABWR, and the Korean consortium proposing the APR-1400 PWR
technology. The last group is led by Korea Electric Power Co. (KEPCO), and involves
Samsung, Hyundai and Doosan, as well as Westinghouse, whose System 80+ design (certified
in the USA) has been developed into the APR-1400.
In December 2009 ENEC (Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation) declared that it had selected
a bid from the KEPCO-led consortium for four APR-1400 reactors, to be built at one site. The
value of the contract for the construction, commissioning and fuel loads for four units was
about US$20.4 billion, with a high percentage of the contract being offered under a fixed-
price arrangement. The consortium also expects to earn another $20 billion by jointly
operating the reactors for 60 years. In March 2010 KEPCO awarded a $5.59 billion
construction contract to Hyundai and Samsung for the first plants. KEPCO claimed later that
the reason for their selection in the face of strong competition from France, USA, and Japan
was their demonstrable highest capacity factor, lowest construction cost and shortest
construction time among the bidders.
The UAE hopes in 2020 to have four of the 1400 MWe nuclear units running and producing
electricity at a quarter the cost of that from gas. It plans to export electricity to Gulf neighbors
via the regional power grid. (The first APR-1400 units, Shin-Kori 3&4, were under
construction in South Korea, and one is now operating.)An operating company, Nawah
Energy Company, is to be set up about 2017 to run the four Barakah units, with 82% ENEC
equity and 18% KEPCO.

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Figure-10 APR1400 Design
Requirements for Safety and
Performance Goals
APR-1400
The reason why the UAE selected Korean Consortium to build the APR-1400 PWR
technology is because of low cost and short construction time among the nine companies that
were interested in giving their technological and constructional planning for a PWR plant to
the UAE through ENEC. However the APR-1400 is currently being marketed for export by
KEPCO. Which was based upon the predecessor OPR1000 reactor and has been designed to
utilize the proven technology of the earlier model while offering more in terms of safety,
performance, construction period, operation and of course, economics.
Figure-9 The APR-1400
APR1400 has several advanced features such as the direct vessel injection from the safety
injection system, passive flow regulation device in the safety injection tank, in-containment
refueling water supply system, advanced safety depressurization system and systems for
severe accident mitigation and management. The advanced main control room, designed with
the consideration of human factors engineering, with full-digital instrumentation and control
(I&C) systems is another example of the design improvement.
The APR1400 aims at both enhanced safety and economic competitiveness. The economic
goal of APR1400 is considered achievable by high performance in operation and cost savings
in construction.

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The primary loop configuration of APR1400 is similar to that of the OPR1000, which has two
reactor coolant loops. The nuclear steam supply system is designed to operate at a rated
thermal output of 4000 MWt to produce an electric power output of around 1450 MWe in the
turbine/generator system. The major components of the primary circuit are the reactor vessel,
two reactor coolant loops, each containing one hot leg, two cold legs, one steam generator
(SG), and two reactor coolant pumps (RCPs), and a pressurizer (PZR) connected to one of the
hot legs. The two steam generators (SGs) and the four RCPs are arranged symmetrically. The
steam generators are located at a higher elevation than the reactor vessel for natural
circulation purpose. For vent and drain, the elevation of the PZR and the surge line is higher
than that of reactor coolant piping. A schematic diagram of arrangements and locations of the
primary components and safety-related systems are shown in Figure 2. In the reactor pressure
vessel (RPV) design, four direct vessel injection (DVI) lines are connected to supply core
cooling water from the in-containment refueling water storage tank (IRWST). Level probes
are added in the hot leg to monitor the water level during mid-loop operation. The design
temperature in the hot leg is reduced from 327o C at the normal operating pressure, 15.5 MPa,
of the currently operating nuclear plants to 324o C in order to reduce the possibility of stress
corrosion cracking (SCC) in SG tubes. Conventional spring loaded safety valves mounted at
the top of the PZR is replaced by the pilot operated safety relief valves (POSRVs). Functions
of the RCS overpressure protection during the design bases accidents and the manual
depressurization in such a cases of beyond design bases accident of a total loss of feed water
(TLOFW) event are designed to be performed by POSRVs. Also, POSRVs provide a rapid
depressurization during severe accidents to prevent direct containment heating (DCH). On the
secondary side of the SGs, two main steam lines are arranged on each SG, and each steam line
has five non-isolable safety valves, one main steam relief valve, and one isolation valve.
Figure-11 Tri-dimensional DesignVerification Systems (TDVS)

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Reactors Main Components
Reactor Pressure Vessel
The reactor pressure vessel is a vertically mounted cylindrical vessel with a hemispherical
lower head welded to the vessel and a removable hemispherical closure. The reactor pressure
vessel contains internal structures, core support structures, fuel assemblies, control rod
assemblies, and control and instrumentation components.
The life time of the reactor pressure vessel is extended to 60 years by the use of low carbon
steel, which has lower contents of Cu, Ni, P, S as compared to the current design, resulting in
an increase of brittle fracture toughness. The inner surface of the reactor vessel is clad with
austenitic stainless steel or Ni-Cr-Fe alloy. The reactor vessel is designed to have an end-of-
life RTNDT of 21.1o C (70o F)
Reactor Core and Fuel Design
The reactor core of APR1400 is designed to generate 3,987 MW thermal powers with an
average volumetric power density of 100.9 W/cm3. The reactor core consists of 241 fuel
assemblies made of fuel rods containing uranium dioxide (UO2) fuel. The number of control
element assemblies (CEAs) used in the core is 93 in which 76 CEAs are full-strength
reactivity control assemblies and the rest are part-strength CEAs. The absorber materials used
for full-strength control rods are boron carbide (B4C) pellets, while Inconel alloy 625 is used
as the absorber material for the part-strength control rods.
Figure-12 Components of The Reactors Pressure Vessel

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The advanced fuel assembly, named as PLUS7, provides enhanced thermal hydraulic and
nuclear performance and the structural integrity. The mixing vanes with high thermal
performance, which induce a relatively small pressure loss, are adopted in all mid-grids to
increase thermal margin above 10% that has been confirmed in the Critical Heat Flux (CHF)
test.
Primary Circuits
The nuclear steam supply system is designed to operate at rated thermal output of 4000 MW
to produce an
Electric power output of around 1450 MWe. The major components of the primary circuit are
a reactor
vessel, two coolant loops, each containing one hot leg, two cold legs, one steam generator
(SG), and two
reactor coolant pumps (RCPs), and one pressurizer (PZR) connected to one of the hot legs.
Two SGs
and four RCPs are arranged symmetrically.
Figure-13 Cross-Sectional view of the Reactors Building

21
Figure-14 RCS Arrangements of APR1400
Electrical Systems
The main features of the electrical system configuration are:
-Two Independent off site power sources of 345kV
-One main transformer consisting of three single-phase step down transformers and two three
winding unit auxiliary transformers for power delivery and supply during normal operation
mode
-Two class IE emergency diesel generators (DGs) to provide on-site stand by power for the
Class IE loads
-An alternate AC (AAC) source to provide power for equipment necessary to cope with
station blackout at least for 8 hours. For the diversity of emergency electrical power sources,
the gas turbine type is selected for AAC.
-Automatic transfer of power source from unit auxiliary transformers to standby auxiliary
transformers in the event of loss of power supply through the unit auxiliary transformers
-Four independent Class 1E 125V DC systems for each RPS channel
-Two non-class 1E 125V DC systems and one non-class 1E 250V DC system

22
Figure-16 Renewable Energy Deployment by Technology in 2030: Reference Case and REmap 2030
Figure-15 APR1400 One Line Diagram
History
The APR1400 design development started in 1992. The basic design was completed in 1999.
Since then the Korean Consortium performed a design operation to enhance economics. And
with this project being accepted by the UAE government due to its Construction cost and
completion time it concludes that this project will give a huge leap towards the domestic
energy demand that the UAE will need in the next upcoming years. The APR1400 has been
developed to meet 43 basic design requirements. Examples are 4000 MWth rated thermal
power, 60 year life time, 10 times lower probabilities of core damage and accidental radiation
release than the current nuclear power plant.
The four APR1400 named Al Barakah Plants will be completed at the end of 2020 with the
first one being completed in 2017 each producing 1400 MWe and in total 5600MWe.
Renewable Energy

23
Renewable energy is on an upward trajectory in the UAE. Best-known as a hydrocarbon-
exporter, the country has emerged as a significant investor in renewable energy globally and a
political advocate for these technologies. In 2013 the UAE commissioned the region’s largest
clean energy project to date, the 100 MW Shams 1 CSP plant. At the same time, renewable
energy is relatively exotic in the local market, and policy frameworks are under development.
But power has been the main focus of activity, led by solar, waste-to-energy, and wind,
although there are pilot projects in thermal cooling and transport fuels.
The momentum for renewable energy began in 2008- 09, when Abu Dhabi, in a first for the
region, set a target to achieve 7% renewable energy power generation capacity (approximately
1 500 MW) by 2020. Dubai then also announced a target of 5% renewable energy power
consumption (approximately 1 000 MW) by 2030. Despite doubt regionally and
internationally about the odds for renewable energy in hydrocarbon-exporting countries, the
UAE’s deployment and promotion of renewable energy has had a significant normalizing
effect for it. The UAE, however, lacks some of the urgent financial case seen in neighboring
GCC countries. Many of them burn petroleum for power, cutting into their export potential.
Renewables free up petroleum and therefore enable the countries to generate significant new
export revenues. Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) has estimated that Saudi Arabia
could generate returns around 20% on solar PV plants based just on liberated oil exports. For
countries like Kuwait, that both import LNG and burn petroleum for power, the value of
renewables is even higher. The UAE’s commercial case for renewable energy largely owes to
avoidance of using high cost natural gas for electricity production.
According to the IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) the UAE has the
potential to provide most of the country’s electricity’s demand. It has taken steps to introduce
solar power on a large scale, but unfortunately still accounts as a small share in the Energy
Production chart. In 2009 the UAE was accounted as the 6th top carbon dioxide emitter per
capita with 4.31 tonnes and has been planning to generate the vast majority of its electricity
on Nuclear and Solar Energy. There would be major opportunity costs, as well as health
environmental costs, if renewables are not deployed. For instance, domestic consumption of
oil – which cuts into lucrative exports – could be reduced by up to 8.5% and gas by up to
15.6%. Avoided national carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions could total 29 megatons (Mt) per
year, and avoided health and environmental costs could reach USD 1 billion to USD 3.7
billion annually by 2030. Such benefits, although not financially accounted for in the analysis,
suggest significant implications for energy policy, even based simply on a net view of the
economy. But with The potential for renewable energy deployment in industry is large – and
renewable energy penetration could be higher if industries were encouraged to make
investment decisions based on actual, and not subsidized, gas prices. Geothermal and solar
thermal energy for industry could all be economically viable between USD 8 and USD 14 per
MBtu, depending on the application. Solar PV could even be competitive as low as USD 4.5/
MBtu if the Dubai bid results are considered.

24
Solar and CSP
Figure-18 LevelizedCosts of Electricity: Indicative current estimates for solar and Gas Fired Power
The UAE receives over 10 hours of daily sunlight on average – highly significant considering
that on average the country has roughly 350 sunny days per year. Total solar energy received
is about 6.5 kWh/m2/day and direct normal solar radiation is 4-6 kWh/m2/day, depending on
location and time of the year (Alnaser and Alnaser, 2011).
Figure-17 Power Capacity Breakdown in 203

25
The main challenges in deploying large-scale solar in the region is the dust particles/haze and
humidity that cause (1) a significant reduction in the direct normal irradiance (DNI), afflicting
CSP operations primarily, and (2) soiling of panels and mirrors, necessitating frequent
cleaning. Most plant operators, including Shams I, have found ways to address soiling
through cleaning. Research is ongoing to improve both cleaning processes and the actual
surface-resistance to dust accumulation. This is done in collaboration with real-time weather
and dust data monitoring by Masdar Institute’s Research Center for Renewable Energy
Mapping and Assessment. As the existing plants gather operational experience, more
conclusive information on the impact of soiling in the region will be obtained.
Currently, CSP technologies for power generation are at a cost disadvantage vs. solar PV and
require sophisticated operations. Relying on dry cooling for the power cycle heat exchangers
is possible, thus alleviating pressure on scarce water resources. However, this comes at a
capital cost and reduced plant efficiency. CSP’s primary advantage lies in the ability to
provide energy storage via thermal media options (from molten salts to concrete and sand).
Given this, CSP will remain a valuable renewable energy generation option, though it is not
expected to scale up as quickly as solar PV.
While some of the challenges facing CSP exist for solar PV, solar PV’s modular scalability,
operating simplicity, and ability to utilize diffuse light make it better for providing the largest
contribution of renewable energy in the Gulf region. PV has a proven track record in the
operation of the 10 MW facility at Masdar City (both crystalline and thin film Cd-Te), and,
although high temperatures reduce performance (this effect is reflected in our performance
assumptions), it adequately matches the daily profile of demand peaks, providing valuable
reduction in demand for low-utilization peaking plants that run on expensive fossil fuels.
Actual practice from the 10 MW solar PV installation at Masdar City shows that for solar PV,
1 700 full-load hours (FLH) can be achieved, and higher values should be expected in loca-
tions further inland due to the lower atmospheric dust concentrations.
A portfolio of solar PV and CSP with thermal energy storage installations provides good
integration opportunities to meet daytime and evening demand requirements. A study
simulating the hourly demand and expected solar energy generation based on the measured
irradiance of an actual year shows that even on “bad” solar days (low DNI), solar PV and CSP
with thermal energy storage can eliminate the diurnal mid-day and evening peak seen by the
electricity system

26
Figure-19 solar Graph of the UAE
Wind
The UAE has commercial-quality wind resources along its Indian Ocean coastline in the
emirate of Fujairah, although land use issues have prevented development to date. In Abu
Dhabi, Masdar has also explored resources on Sir Bani Yas Island and identified potential for
roughly 30 MW, though the project has not yet been greenlighted.

27
Figure-20 UAE Wind and solar Map
Conclusion
Economic growth across the UAE has led to massive increases in the demand for electricity
and current estimates indicate that the domestic demand for power will more than double by
2020, even given the global economic slowdown. With limitations on how much and how fast
traditional energy resources, like natural gas, can be brought to market, as well as concerns
about climate change is pushing the UAE to seek other energy sources to meet these demands.
To understand which type of energy would be more suitable for the UAE, and by weighing
out all the other options whether from Enhanced Oil Recovery System, APR1400 Nuclear
Plant or the CSP, it has come to my conclusion from this report that the energy production
should be towards Nuclear Production and Solar CSP and the reason is because the UAE’s
national security outweighs most of the GCC countries around the Gulf Peninsula Region as
well as the other countries in the Middle East. As well as it’s ambition towards pursuing a
clean, renewable energy sources that could give other neighboring nations around its region to
pursue the same goals. The historic low production costs and domestic pricing of oil and gas
has furthermore resulted in very high per capita energy consumption.
While great efforts have been taken to provide accurate and complete information in the pages
of this report, the modifications and changes presented here are solely the interpretation of
this writer. Many of the assumptions made in calculations or estimations may not be entirely
accurate and should be confirmed if these systems are investigated further. The changes and
discrepancies in no way imply that the original design contained errors or was flawed.

28
References
 Alnaser W.E., and Alnaser, N.W. (2011), “The status of renewable energy in the GCC
countries,” Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 3074–3098.
 BP (British Petroleum) (2012), “BP Statistical Review of World Energy,” June 2012.
BP, London.
 Energy in the UAE, “Oil and Natural Gas” http://www.uae-embassy.org/about-
uae/energy-uae
 Fact Sheet Barakah UAE, “APR1400” http://uae-
mission.ae/Editor/Fact_Sheet_Barakah%20NPP.pdf
 Final Reports for Research and Development on Next Generation Reactor (Phase III),
Korea Electric Power Corporation, December 2001.
 IEA (International Energy Agency) (2013), “United Arab Emirates Balance for 2011”.
OECD/IEA, Paris. http:// www.iea.org/statistics/statisticssearch/report/?&countr
y=UAE&year=2011&product=Balances.
 IIASA (2014), “GAINS GLOBAL (Greenhouse Gas – Air Pollution Interactions and
Synergies)”, IIASA, Laxenburg.
 International Monetary Fund, IMF Country Report No. 14/187, July 2014,page 29.
 International Monetary Fund, IMF Country Report No. 14/187, July 2014, page 28.
 IRENA, Abu Dhabi. http://www.irena.org/remap/ REmap_Report_June_2014.pdf.
 MOENR (United Arab Emirates Ministry of Energy) (2013), “Statistical Annual
Report Electricity and Water 2008-2012”. MOENR, Abu Dhabi.
http://www.moenr.gov. ae/assets/ce34dc91/annual-report-2013.aspx.
 Middle East Economic Survey, "Abu Dhabi's Oil Production Capacity Target Slips,"
volume 57, issue 15 (April 11, 2014).
 Nuclear Power Plant UAE, http://www.fosroc.com/assets/caseStudyPDFs/Nuclear-
Power-Plant-UAE.pdf
 OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin 2016,Figures, “GAS IMPORTS TABLE”
http://www.opec.org/opec_web/static_files_project/media/downloads/publications/AS
B2016.pdf
 OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin 2016,Figures, “GAS EXPORTS TABLE”
B2016.pdf
 OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin 2016,Figures, “OIL PRODUCTION TABLE”
B2016.pdf
 REmap 2030, Renewable Energy Prospects: United Arab Emirates,
http://www.irena.org/remap/irena_remap_uae_report_2015.pdf
 The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation 2014, “Al Barakah PWR”
https://www.iaea.org/NuclearPower/Downloadable/Meetings/2014/2014-08-26-08-29-
TM-NIDS-NPE/5_UAE_Corporate_Presentation_-_FQchanges.pdf
 Reiche, D. (2010), “A well-known contributor of the OPEC and GCC,” Energy Policy,
vol. 38, no. 5, pp. 2395–2403.

29
 Standard Safety Analysis Report for APR1400, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power
Company, May 2002.
 UAENBS (United Arab Emirates National Bureau of Statistics) (2012), “Energy
Background,” UAENBS, Abu Dhabi.
 US EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) (2012), “UAE Country Analysis
Brief,” US EIA, Washington, DC. http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-data.
cfm?fips=TC&trk=p1.
 US EIA (2014), “International Energy Outlook 2014”. US EIA, Washington, DC.
http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/ieo.
 US EIA (2013), “United Arab Emirates”. US EIA, Washington, DC.
http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=tc

30
List of Abbreviations
ADGAS Abu Dhabi Gas Liquidification Company Limited
ADMA-OPCO Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company
ADNATCO Abu Dhabi National Tanker Company
ADNOC Abu Dhabi National Oil Company
ADWEA Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority
ADWEC Abu Dhabi’s Water and Electricity Company
AED Arab Emirates Dirham
APR Advanced Power Reactor
bpd, bbi/d Barrels Per Day
bpsd Barrels Per Stream Day
bscf/d Billion standard cubic feet per day
CNG Compressed natural gas
CO2 Carbon dioxide
COP Coefficient of performance
CPI Corrugated Plate Interceptor
CSP Concentrated solar power
DEWA Dubai Electricity and Water Authority
EIA Administration Of Energy
ENEC Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation
ENOC Emirates National Oil Company
EOR Enhanced oil recovery
EPC Engineering, procurement and construction
EU European Union
GASCO Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Limited

31
GCC Gulf Cooperation Council
GDP Gross domestic product
GE General Electrics
GECF Gas exporting countries forum
GJ Gigajoule
GW Gigawatt
GWe Gigawatt Electric
GWh Gigawatt-hour
GUP Group Update Provider
HGO Heavy Gas Oil
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency
IEA International Energy Agency
IRENA International Renewable Energy Agency
IMF International Monetary Fund
KEPCO Korea Electric Power Corporation
Km Kilometer kW kilowatt
KWh Kilowatt-hour
LGO Light Gas Oil
LNG Liquefied natural gas
LPG Liquid Petroleum Gas
MBtu Million British thermal units
Mt Megatonne
Mtoe Million tonnes of oil equivalent
MW Megawatt
MWh Megawatt-hour

32
NGL Natural Gas Liquid
NGSCO National Gas Shipping Company
NM3/hr Normal Flow/ Normal Cubic Meters/ Hour
OPEC Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
PJ Petajoule
PV Photovoltaic
PWR Power-to-heat ratio
SPC Supreme Petroleum Council
TWh Terawatt-hour
UAE United Arab Emirates
USD US Dollars
US United States
ZADCO Zakum Development Company

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