An ambitious plan for the adoption of renewable energy sources, chiefly solar and wind, combined with the ongoing installation of modern, energy-efficient gas turbines across the Sultanate, will cut gas utilisation for power generation by a remarkable 61 per cent by 2021.

The projection, provided by Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) the nations sole power and water offtaker, is based on comparative gas consumption trends in 2005 when the power sector was restructured and substantially privatised.

After 2021, with the introduction of solar, wind, waste-to-energy, and possibly clean coal or solar CSP (Concentrated Solar Power) plants, as well as improved dispatch control technology, OPWP expects that the gas requirements for electricity generation will fall to around 144 Sm3/MWh (standard cubic metres /megawatt-hour) or 61 per cent less than that required in 2005, said OPWP in its newly published 7-Year Outlook Statement spanning the 2019-2025 timeframe.

Following the adoption of a Fuel Diversification Policy approved by the Omani government, OPWP has set for itself a number of objectives to help wean the power sector away from predominantly gas-based electricity generation. Notable is a strategy to target a minimum 10 per cent share of electricity generation from renewable resources by 2025.

Additionally, OPWP member of Nama Group sees the potential for using clean coal technology for the generation of up to 3,000 MW by the year 2030. The range depends on whether the Duqm Clean Coal is approved to proceed, or instead OPWP develops a 600 MW Solar CSP (Concentrated Solar Power) project, said the power procurer.

Much of the savings in gas consumption will accrue as a result of Omans rapid transition to renewables. OPWP has outlined plans to procure 2,400-3,000 WW of solar and wind based projects by 2025, which is well above the government-mandated target of 10 per cent. By 2025, 16 per cent of generation will be provided by fuels other than gas, primarily solar energy, OPWP noted.

Significantly, improvements in gas utilization for power generation have delivered cumulative savings amounting to RO 220 million over the past 13-odd years, according to the state-run utility.

Since 2005, through the introduction of progressively more efficient generation plants, OPWP has achieved a 39 per cent reduction in the gas required per unit of electricity production, from 374 Sm3/MWh in 2005 to 227 Sm3/MWh in 2018. In 2018 alone, improvements in gas utilization (when compared against gas utilization rates in 2005), suggests savings in excess of RO 220 million, OPWP said.

OPWPs procurement of new state-of-the-art Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGT) plants in 2019, and new water desalination plants that shift water production from energy intensive multi-stage flash (MSF) technology to efficient reverse osmosis (RO) technology, will enable further improvements in gas utilisation. By 2020, we expect a further 21 per cent improvement in gas utilization against 2018, it further stated.

Omans new fuel diversification policy is designed to achieve sizable reductions in the use of valuable natural gas for power generation and divert saved volumes towards value-adding industrial and manufacturing investments.

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