Sunday 18 / May / 2025
Muscat: Oman’s 326 megawatt (MW)-capacity Wadi Al Jissi and 405 MW-capacity Ghubra independent power projects will be decommissioned next year.
The natural gas-fired Wadi Jissi power project is owned and operated by the Wadi Al Jissi Power Company—a state-owned entity—and the project will discontinue operation in September 2018. The first phase of the project, which is located in Wadi Jissi in Sohar, started power generation way back in 1982, with various facilities being added over the years.
Likewise, the 405 MW contracted capacity of the Al Ghubra Independent Water and Power Project (IWPP) is also due for retirement next year. “This will reduce to 340 MW when the two steam turbines are retired in April, 2018, and all remaining units will be retired on September 30, 2018,” stated a seven year-outlook report released by Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP). Al Ghubra IWPP is owned and operated by Al Ghubra Power and Desalination Co.
Between 2017 and 2023, the Sultanate’s total contracted capacity of 6,897 MW in 2017 will rise up to 8,944 MW by 2019, before falling back to 7,394 MW by 2022. The expected fall in contracted capacity is due to a number of contract expirations during the seven-year period.
Prospective contract extensions correspond to capacity that is scheduled to fall out of contract, but that may be offered to OPWP by the plant owner for a new contract term. OPWP considers such extensions, along with options to contract for new capacity, added the seven-year outlook report.
Contract extensions
Meanwhile, OPWP has finalised negotiations with Al Kamil IPP and is seeking government approval for a contract extension to December 31, 2021 for a capacity of 280 MW. The plant is expected to be available for further contract extension after 2021.
Similarly, OPWP has finalised negotiations with Barka IWPP and is seeking government approval to extend the contract from April 2018 to December 31, 2021. The new agreement is expected to provide contracted capacity of 388 MW during normal operations without MSF water production. The plant is expected to be available for further contract extension after 2021. OPWP is also currently developing a new capacity procurement methodology that will allow existing generators and those near their contract expiration, to compete for new long-term contracts. The first procurement initiative to use this new methodology is expected in 2022.
The power purchase agreement for the 264 MW-capacity Manah plant will expire in April 2020, at which time ownership of the plant transfers to the government. This is due to the fact that Manah IPP is being developed under a build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) model. “OPWP plans a competitive tender for sale of this asset in order that it may continue to operate under a new PPA.”
New capacity
Several power plants will reach the end of their current contract terms in 2021 and 2022. The owners of these projects will have the opportunity to offer these plants for new long-term PPAs in a competitive tender, which is expected to be issued in 2017.
The Ibri Independent Power Project (IPP), which is under construction, is scheduled to start operation in April 2018, delivering an early power of 940 MW, with the full 1,509 MW power generation starting from April 2019. Similarly, Sohar III is scheduled to deliver full capacity of 1,708 MW from January, 2019.
OPWP also expects to have renewable sources of energy (specifically solar and wind projects) contributing to the power system in the near future.
