Oman will gain from Duqm power project, asserts PAEW

By V L Srinivasan

Muscat, Jan 26: Defending the move to set up a 1,000MW coal-fired power project in Duqm, Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) said on Monday, that the proposal would help in reducing the forecasted gas demand by 50bn standard cubic feet (SCF) every year which can be allotted to other industries.

Besides low operational and maintenance costs, the cost per unit will come down reducing the government subsidy which stood at RO63mn in 2008 and is likely to go up due to large scale industrialisation in the coming years. The plant will also create between 1,000-25,000 jobs during the four year construction period.

Listing out the benefits that would accrue to Oman, at a seminar on ‘Using Coal For Power Generation in the Sultanate of Oman,’ PAEW Director (Privatisation & Restructuring) Ahmed Saleh al Jahdhami said that the demand for power was growing rapidly and the government was looking at various options as relying on a single source was risky.

The Duqm power project is considered to be one of the major projects in the country and providing a reliable and secure source of electricity and water was of paramount importance in realising its goal. Stockpiling coal for several weeks will also ensure power generation without any disruption, said Jahdhami.

Globally, coal reserves are expected to last for over 100 years but gas may not be available after 40 years.

Jahdhami added that Oman has a long coast and power generation from tidal waves was also possible. “However, our main focus is on solar and wind power which has very good potential in the country. Even a study commissioned in 2008 said the same,” he said. Besides these, the government is also considering nuclear power as an option.