Worley will provide engineering and advisory services to ENOWA for the water supply infrastructure that will deliver up to two million cubic meters of desalinated water per day to NEOM, located in the North-West of Saudi Arabia. The project scopes relate to water production, brine beneficiation, management, and storage.
“NEOM intends to deliver a sustainable circular water economy, and we are pleased to be able to use our global expertise to deliver ‘first of a kind’ water solutions that minimize impacts on the natural environment and align with our purpose of delivering a more sustainable world,” said Jim Lenton, Group Senior Vice President, Worley
These water infrastructure projects will be powered by renewable electricity, and the desalination process will not discharge any brine into the sea. This will help reduce negative environmental impacts on the Red Sea’s fragile ecosystem.
“This agreement provides the initial steps to revolutionize the water industry towards a truly sustainable and circular solution,” said Gavin van Tonder, Executive Director of ENOWA Water
The innovative approach will see Worley provide services for implementing commercially viable solutions for brine beneficiation – a by-product of seawater desalination – into saleable products such as gypsum, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), salt, potassium-based fertilizers, and magnesium. These facilities will help create a water circular economy from unavoidable brine production from the desalination plant. Aligned to the production of low carbon footprint of potable water, the beneficiated brine products will be sustainably produced and thus valuable in their respective markets.
The services will be executed by both Advisian, Worley’s global consulting business, and Worley staff from 17 countries around the globe. Advisian will generally focus on advisory, consulting and pre-FEED activities, whilst Worley will deliver FEED, detailed engineering, procurement, and project management services.
This award extends Advisian and Worley’s relationship with ENOWA, which has grown over the last two years from feasibility and advisory studies to include six portfolios encompassing the satellite zero liquid discharge desalination plants, demonstration testing facility, research and development, large-scale desalination plant, brine processing and technical/commercial advisory support.
Advisian has a growing global portfolio of water projects which includes various desalination and brine beneficiation projects. Advisian has been working with various customers in China, Indonesia, Latin America, and the USA on various desalination and brine beneficiation projects to monetize brine streams into commercially viable products such as fertilizers, salts, chemicals, and extracting metals such as magnesium and lithium.
Worley has delivered and participated in several water desalination facilities across the globe and has significant capability in the mining and minerals extraction and chemicals industries, including projects relevant to ENOWA’s brine beneficiation processes.
“Water is at the core of sustainable development. It’s critical for healthy ecosystems, for socio-economic progress and to support life itself,” said Steven Whittall, Senior Vice President – Advisian.
