Said to be the one of the world’s largest solar plants, the Miraah plant will feature GlassPoint Solar concentrating solar power (CSP) technology, which is designed to produce steam from solar energy.
The solar thermal facility is expected to produce an average of 6,000 tons of steam a day that will be used in thermal enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to extract oil at the Amal field. It will feature 36 glasshouse modules which will be installed in four phases.
The project is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by over 300,000 tons annually.
PDO managing director Raoul Restucci said: "The project will provide a significant portion of the steam demand at Amal and is an important part of PDO’s production plans.
"The use of solar for oil recovery is a long-term strategic solution to develop PDO’s viscous oil portfolio and reduce consumption of valuable natural gas, which is needed elsewhere to diversify Oman’s economy and create economic growth.
"It also will displace diesel and higher carbon intensive power generation and oil burning in future thermal projects."
The company expects to break ground on the Miraah project this year with plans to start steam generation in 2017.
PDO and GlassPoint have already developed a 7MW pilot scheme to at Amal. The project, which produces 50 tons of steam a day, will continue to operate at Amal alongside the full-scale development.
