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The Tampa Electric Company Polk Power Station is a nominal 250 MW (net) Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plant located to the southeast of Tampa, Florida in Polk County, Florida. This project is being partially funded under the Department of Energy`s Clean Coal Technology Program pursuant to a Round II award. The Polk Power Station uses oxygen-blown, entrained-flow IGCC technology licensed from Texaco Development Corporation to demonstrate significant reductions of SO{sub 2} and NO{sub x} emissions when compared to existing and future conventional coal-fired power plants. In addition, this project demonstrates the technical feasibility of commercial scale IGCC and Hot Gas Clean Up (HGCU) technology. The Polk Power Station achieved ``first fire`` of the gasification system on schedule in mid-July, 1996. Since that time, significant advances have occurred in the operation of the entire IGCC train. This paper addresses the operating experiences which occurred in the start-up and shakedown phase of the plant. Also, with the plant being declared in commercial operation as of September 30, 1996, the paper discusses the challenges encountered in the early phases of commercial operation. Finally, the future plans for improving the reliability and efficiency of the Unit in the first quarter of 1997 and beyond, as well as plans for future alternate fuel test burns, are detailed. The presentation features an up-to-the-minute update on actual performance parameters achieved by the Polk Power Station. These parameters include overall Unit capacity, heat rate, and availability. In addition, the current status of the start-up activities for the HGCU portion of the plant is discussed.

Development of a retrograde condensate reservoir required accurate well productivity predictions for a capital commitment to gas processing facilities. Historically, Fussell identified that liquids condensing in the reservoir will result in a substantial productivity impairment. A single well model, which included a hydraulic fracture as part of the grid system, was developed to perform sensitivities for well test interpretation and to predict long term performance. Interesting results were obtained. The productivity of fractured wells was not impaired to the degree expected. Radial modelling confirmed the results obtained by Fussell. Current simulation technique allows for direct modelling of a hydraulic fracture instead of using an equivalent well bore radius. The distribution of pressure drawdown and condensate dropout around a hydraulic fracture results in limited productivity impairment. The methodology used and the results obtained are described.