GlassPoint Solar, a leading supplier of solar energy to the oil and gas industry, demonstrated its innovative solar steam technology at the ongoing 11th edition of Oman’s Oil and Gas Exhibition (OGWA), which was held in Muscat, Oman.

The event which opened on March 25 will conclude on March 28, at the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre.

GlassPoint Solar’s innovative solar steam technology is being deployed on oilfields around the world to reduce operating costs and save natural gas consumed in the production of heavy oil, said a statement.

GlassPoint launched its latest 360° virtual reality video tour of Miraah, its landmark project with Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) that began operating last year. The virtual reality experience allows visitors to immerse themselves within one of the world’s largest solar projects, experiencing the company’s technology first-hand, it said.

GlassPoint also released a new technical paper on the integration of Miraah with conventional steam facilities. The first 100 MWt of the gigawatt-scale project were commissioned safely, on time and in line with budget, and is meeting all targets for steam output required by the Amal oilfield, it added.

Marwan Chaar, vice president of project development, GlassPoint Solar, said: “Our proven technology delivers the lowest-cost solar steam for thermal enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations, freeing valuable natural gas typically used in the process.”

“We’re continuing to come down the cost curve as we execute on additional Miraah blocks and plan for future projects. In the first four blocks alone, we’ve already achieved over 55 per cent cost savings compared to the pilot we built back in 2012,” he added.

Chaar took part in the panel session “Effective Resource Management and Capability Development,” where he discussed how large-scale deployment of solar on Oman’s oilfields can develop local talent and create a local manufacturing base.

Miraah is putting Oman on the global solar energy map, creating jobs and developing expertise in solar technology innovation, project deployment and manufacturing. This local expertise will be exported around the world as GlassPoint scales its operations and deploys its technology in new markets, including its project in California, US, with oil and gas producer Aera Energy.

OGWA is held alongside the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) EOR Conference, where GlassPoint’s project development senior analyst Siddiqa Al Lawati presented the SPE paper “Integration of Solar Steam Facilities with Existing Steam Generation Systems".

The technical paper details the first few months of Miraah’s performance and integration with the Amal oilfield, including its novel automated control system developed in the Sultanate.

Al Lawati said: “The study showed that large-scale solar steam generation facilities, like Miraah, can be integrated and operated in parallel with conventional steam systems with no adverse impact on existing surface facilities.”

“Miraah is in daily operations, producing steam to PDO’s specifications. PDO and GlassPoint have been carefully monitoring the results as solar steam flow to the Amal oilfield increases and have been very satisfied with performance to date,” Al Lawati added. – TradeArabia News Service