Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) said the cost of the Miraah project for generating solar steam has been reduced since the assignment of the project last year. Compared with the experimental project, the total cost of the project has been lowered by 46% due to the adoption of a research & development programme for more innovative and cost-efficient systems. Adel al Busaidi, Acting Director of Miraah and PDO representative on the project, said the project in the Amal Oilfield, south of PDO's concession area, is one of the largest solar power plants in the world and is a collaboration between PDO - the owner and operator of the oilfield - and GlassPoint Solar Co in the use of solar energy in the field of enhanced oil recovery (EOR). He said the first and second stages of the project will produce a total of 2,000 metric tonnes of steam by mid-2018. Output will be launched over several stages, starting from the beginning of 2017. It is planned to produce a total of 6,000 metric tonnes of steam when the third phase goes online in 2022. He pointed out that when the project is launched it will save 6.5tn British thermal units of natural gas annually after dispensing with the traditional ways to produce steam. (Muscat Daily)