Enclosed solar steam generation industrial applications: Overview of world’s first commercial-scale hybrid system

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) or tertiary oil recovery (TOR) is a process used in the oil industry to extract remaining crude oil from partially-exploited reservoirs by changing the characteristics of this underground crude oil (particularly for heavy viscous oil grades with an API gravity degree below about 20°) to improve its mobility. In the current study, we present a case study comprising innovative solar thermal projects in Oman at the Amal West offshore oil field in Concession Block 6 (in the southern Omani governorate of Dhofar, about 640 km south of Muscat). This oil field is fully owned and operated by Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), a leading oil and gas exploration and production company in Oman. In these three projects, glasshouse-enclosed parabolic troughs are used to generate steam for thermal enhanced oil recovery (steam flooding), using solar heat for industrial processes (SHIP). These three enclosed solar enhanced oil recovery (ESEOR) projects are: Amal I pilot project (8 MWth peak capacity), Amal II pilot project (8 MWth), and Miraah flagship project (330 MWth). If combined, these three ESEOR projects can supply annually about 1.992 trillion Btu of heat (1.992 million MMBtu or 19.92 million therms), which is about 2.05 PJ (petajoules) or 570.0 GWh. This is approximately equivalent to 1.992 billion standard cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas or 56.92 million normal cubic meters (MNm3) of natural gas. If combined, these three ESEOR projects can produce daily up to 2100 tonnes of steam. The conventional heating method of burning natural gas may release annually more than 100 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2). We discuss these EOR projects as examples of successful sustainable practices.