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Supporting the company achieve its community-centered strategy
Muscat - GlassPoint Solar, the leading supplier of solar to the oil and gas industry, announced a strategic partnership with local Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability experts, Sustainable Square Oman. Sustainable Square will work with GlassPoint to establish its social investment strategy and launch new programs that best serve the Sultanate and the Omani people.
"We are committed to creating long-term value for Oman that extends well beyond our solar oilfield projects," said GlassPoint President and CEO Rod MacGregor. "It's important our social responsibility strategy aligns with GlassPoint's vision and that of our stakeholders so we can contribute where it's needed most. By partnering with local experts embedded across Oman's CSR landscape, we will be able to maximize our investment and create impactful projects to benefit Oman's society, environment and economy."
Led by CSR expert and rising Omani entrepreneur, Shaima Al Lawati, Sustainable Square will provide GlassPoint with the support and insight needed to enhance the positive impact it brings to the country. Shaima and her team have a successful track record of developing differentiated, results-driven CSR initiatives for global businesses in Oman and the Gulf region.
Al Lawati, who serves as Sustainable Square Oman's Founding Partner and Senior Sustainability & Social Investment Advisor, commented, "We are excited to have this opportunity to work closely with GlassPoint and develop a robust CSR program from the ground-up. As a small Omani enterprise, we appreciate the support we receive from our partners and the growing prominence social investment has in generating business returns. We are committed to developing a niche-localized CSR program that will improve GlassPoint's business operations, optimize their internal processes and enhance the well-being of our communities."
GlassPoint is currently building one of the world's largest solar plants with Petroleum Development Oman (PDO). Named Miraah, which means mirror in Arabic, the project will harness the sun's energy to produce steam used to extract heavy and viscous oil at PDO's Amal field in south Oman. Miraah will save 5.6 trillion British Thermal Units of natural gas each year, resulting in significant energy savings that support economic diversification and job creation.
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About GlassPoint Solar
GlassPoint is the leading provider of solar steam generators to the oil and gas industry for applications such as Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). Oil operators worldwide deploy EOR to boost well productivity by up to 300%. By replacing gas-fired steam generation with solar, GlassPoint can reduce EOR gas consumption by up to 80%. The gas saved can be exported or redirected to higher value uses such as industrial development and power generation. GlassPoint's projects operate in global markets ranging from the Middle East to California.
Unlike solar panels that generate electricity, GlassPoint's enclosed trough technology uses large, curved mirrors to concentrate sunlight on a boiler tube containing water. The concentrated energy boils the water to produce high-pressured steam, which is injected into an oil reservoir to heat heavy oil and boost production. GlassPoint encloses the system inside a glasshouse structure to protect the solar collectors from the wind, sand and dust common in Middle Eastern oilfields. An automated washing system cleans the glasshouse to maintain performance in the dusty desert environment and reduce operation and maintenance costs.
GlassPoint established its regional headquarters in the Sultanate of Oman in early 2012. The company's major shareholders include Royal Dutch Shell and State General Reserve Fund (SGRF), the largest sovereign wealth fund in Oman.
About Sustainable Square:
Sustainable Square is the first and only specialized CSR and sustainability consultancy firm in Oman. Sustainable Square Oman brings together international best practices with deep local expertise to offer think tank consultancy and advisory services in the field of CSR, sustainability and social impact measurement.
Sustainable Square Oman is founded and led by Ms. Shaima Murtadha Al Lawati - who holds a post graduate certificate from Cambridge University UK in Sustainable Business with a decade of expertise in supporting various global and local companies setting up and managing CSR and sustainability strategies as well as deploying community programmes and measuring return on social investments.
Sustainable Square Oman is a subsidiary of the parent UAE-based micro-multinational advisory firm that focuses on developing thought-leadership and strategies for CSR, SROI sustainability practices across the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia. It develops practices supporting the creation of social, economic and environmental sustainable cohesiveness.
GlassPoint Media Contacts
Middle East
Shaza Taher
Office: +968 24 649-099
shaza.taher@traccs.net
Americas & Europe
Antenna Group
Matt Stewart, +1 415-977-1930
glasspoint@antennagroup.com
© Press Release 2016
