RO 7m for new power projects

Oman Gas Company has added two new gas-operated power plants in the wilayats of Barka and Sohar to boost capacity MUSCAT — Oman Gas Company (OGC) has added two new power plants to its chain of power generation and water desalination facilities. The company will open two gas-operated power plants in the wilayats of Barka and Sohar.

The company, which runs the gas network in the Sultanate, has added Al Sawadi Power Company in the Wilayat of Barka and Al Batinah Power Company, which is based at Sohar Industrial Port. By opening these two facilities, OGC is enhancing its supplies to customers. Hamoud bin Yahya al Shabibi, OGC’s representative, said that work on the RO 7 million expansion project began in 2010 and was completed in December 2011.

To ensure regular supply and good management, OGC opened new, hi-tech tracks for monitoring the pressure of gas. A new supply line has been added to the third Barka power plant in the Wilayat of Barka (Sawadi Power) alongside existing power supply lines, in addition to another supply line for the other power plant in Sohar (Batinah Power) along the previous supply line of the first power plant, he added.

OGC has been successfully supplying gas to end-users in accordance with an agreement signed with the Ministry of Oil and Gas and the consumers operating the power plants. OGC took the lead in operating the main gas plant at Sohar Industrial Port in 2005, thereby becoming the main supplier for consumers, and expansions followed.

Once the third power-generation station in Barka is in full operation, it will become the biggest gas depot and a major power generation and water desalination in the Sultanate. Recently, OGC has announced that it has transported 14 billion cubic metres of gas during 2011, an increase of 12 per cent over the previous year’s tally.

The electricity generation and water desalination sector was the largest beneficiary, consuming 53 per cent of the total volume, followed by industry (31 per cent) and oil operations (16 per cent). Gas availability during the year was pegged at an impressive 99.997 per cent, meaning that all 37 major consumers enjoyed near uninterrupted supply.