Nearly 22 per cent of Petroleum Development Oman's (PDO) oil production will be from enhanced oil recovery (EOR) by 2020, according to the head of new technology implementation at the company.
Speaking at the Solar Oil Fields conference on Monday, Dr Syham Bentouati said the successful commissioning of the thermal enhanced oil recovery (EOR) plant in West Amal defines PDO's changing portfolio.
"Currently, EOR applications account for a significant portion of Oman's gas consumption. Since 2011, our portfolio has been changing quite rapidly. By 2020, about 22 per cent, i.e. almost a quarter of our production will be from EOR. We are also currently evaluating options for various solar energy techniques for other applications like power generation, desalination and water pre-heating," said Dr Syham.
PDO and GlassPoint Solar had recently announced the successful commissioning of the Middle East's first solar EOR project at PDO's Amal West field, in southern Oman.
The main purpose of the solar project is to reduce the amount of natural gas burned for thermal EOR, releasing gas for higher value applications, including power generation, water desalination and industrial development in the country.
Speaking at the seminar, Rod MacGregor, CEO of GlassPoint, said, "The solar project will reduce natural gas usage for an EOR project by up to 80 per cent. All the significant parts of the solar installation as part of the project is manufactured in Oman. This will help create 1,500 direct and indirect jobs in the oil and gas sector."
The conference, organised by IQPC, integrated the solar and oil industry for the very first time in the GCC region with the aim of increasing oil recovery, reducing gas consumption for oil infrastructure to enable utilisation for other applications and export.
