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Wasit Gas Plant

Gas power plant in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Approximate location 27.11, 49.312.

GasEastern ProvinceSaudi ArabiaOCGTCO₂ modelled

Wasit Gas Plant is a 1,412 MW gas power station in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It is operated by Saudi Aramco. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 1.6 million homes (estimated). It ranks #39 of 156 Saudi Arabia power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2016, it is around 10 years old — relatively modern. Its modelled annual emissions are 4,615,600 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 1.1 million cars driven for a year. In context, gas supplies about 63.3% of Saudi Arabia's electricity; the national grid averages 692 gCO₂/kWh (2.2% low-carbon) (2024).

1,412Legacy source-record capacity
1,590,315homes powered (est.)
4,615,600t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
2016commissioned (~10 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1030720.

Data status

Known data

FacilityWasit Gas Plant WRI
CountrySaudi Arabia · Eastern Province WRI
Coordinates27.11, 49.312 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity1,412 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerSaudi Aramco WRI
Commissioned2016 WRI
TechnologyOCGT WRI

Modelled source data

CO₂ emissions4,615,600 t CO₂/yr modelled · Climate TRACE

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#39 of 156 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#27 of 71 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers2.84× · 497 MW median · 71 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent1,590,315 calculated
Climate25.9°C · HDD 173 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC5 · 65/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 856 MW for Wasit Gas power plant, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Capacity claim grade: A3_MAJOR_REVIEW_SCOPE_STATUS - recommended action: manual_scope_status_check - confidence: low_until_scope_verified. This follows a claim-based data model: value + scope + source + confidence, rather than silently overwriting records.

Data provenance

The capacity and fuel fields on this page are source-record values from the upstream open dataset. They are useful for identification and ranking, but they have not been upgraded to a 2026 registry/GEM-location verified value.

capacity: WRI Global Power Plant Database source-record (legacy); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 1,412 MW, Wasit Gas Plant is well above the median gas plant in Saudi Arabia (497 MW). Technically it is described as OCGT. Gas plants burn natural gas either in open-cycle turbines for fast peaking, or in combined-cycle units that recover exhaust heat in an HRSG to reach roughly 55–62% efficiency — the cleanest-burning fossil option.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

~4,615,600 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

1.1 millionpassenger cars driven for a year
602khomes' yearly energy use
77 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest gas plants in Saudi Arabia

Qurayyah Thermal power plant: 6,275 MW6kQurayyah T…GHAZLAN: 4,256 MW4kGHAZLANHajr for Electricity Production Co. Station: 4,098 MW4kHajr for E…QURAYYAH- CC: 4,098 MW4kQURAYYAH- …Jizan IGCC power plant: 3,850 MW4kJizan IGCC…Nairyah IPP Power Plant: 3,600 MW4kNairyah IP…Riyadh 16 power plant: 3,600 MW4kRiyadh 16 …Rumah IPP Power Plant: 3,600 MW4kRumah IPP …

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Saudi Aramco. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 27.1°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

25.9°Cannual mean temp
173heating degree-days (base 18°C)
3,089cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
4 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 15 °CJF: 17 °CFM: 21 °CMA: 26 °CAM: 31 °CMJ: 34 °CJJ: 35 °CJA: 35 °CAS: 32 °CSO: 28 °CON: 22 °CND: 17 °CD35 °C

Heating degree-days here run 93% below the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 16/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

A gas turbine here also runs ~8% below its ISO (15°C) rating at this annual mean (typical CCGT curve, estimate).

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

Site climate & environmental severity

For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C5ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
65/100environmental-severity index
20.7°Cseasonal temperature swing
31 kmdistance to coast

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #27 largest gas power plant of 71 in Saudi Arabia by capacity.

Saudi Arabia has 71 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 89,013 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 27.11, 49.312 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Wasit Gas Plant?

Wasit Gas Plant is a 1,412 MW source-record gas power plant in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, commissioned in 2016.

How many homes can Wasit Gas Plant power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 1,590,315 homes (estimated).

Who operates Wasit Gas Plant?

Wasit Gas Plant is operated by Saudi Aramco.

How much CO₂ does Wasit Gas Plant emit?

Wasit Gas Plant has modelled emissions of about 4,615,600 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).

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