Miraah solar thermal plant sends first steam for EOR
The 1 GW Miraah solar thermal park in Oman has begun sending steam to the Amal West oilfield for enhanced oil recovery. The steam is generated from the first of 36 greenhouse-enclosed parabolic solar troughs due to be built. When complete, Miraah will generate 1,021 MWp of thermal energy, producing 6,000 tonnes of steam daily. GlassPoint’s greenhouse blocks use mirrors to focus sunlight on a tube containing water, yielding high-pressure steam.

GlassPoint Solar Inc and partner Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), together building the 1-GW Miraah solar thermal park in Oman, announced today that the plant’s first block has successfully delivered steam to the Amal West oilfield.

The project developers said in a joint statement that the first out of 36 standard greenhouse blocks housing parabolic trough collectors was completed safely on schedule and on budget. Upon completion of the remaining blocks, they will make up a complex with the capacity to deliver 1,021 MWp of thermal energy to produce 6,000 tonnes of steam per day.

Using mirrors that concentrate sunlight on a pipe filled with oilfield-grade water, the Miraah plant will generate steam for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Its 36 greenhouses will act as foundations and structures, while also providing protection.

GlassPoint built a 7-MW pilot solar plant for PDO in 2013 and commenced construction work on the Miraah project at the same oilfield in south Oman in November 2015.

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