Duqm– The Centralized Utilities Company (Marafiq) – a joint venture owned by OQ, a subsidiary of the Oman Investment Authority (OIA) and the Gulf Energy Development Corporation of Thailand – has announced the partial commissioning of an integrated power and water plant in the Special Economic Zone in Duqm (SEZAD) will supply electricity and desalinated water to Duqm Refinery (OQ 8) and Oman Tank Terminal Company (OTTCO).
This outstanding achievement is part of the company’s efforts to develop the utility sector in Duqm under the central utility agreement with the Duqm Special Economic Zone.
As a result, Marafiq established the subsidiary – Duqm Power Company – to develop the Duqm Integrated Power and Water Project and a 132 kV high voltage line project to transmit power from the plant to the oil reservoirs of Ras Markaz, located about 80 km.
In this regard, Eng Abdullah bin Mohammed al Hashmi, Executive Director of Marafiq Company, pointed out, “The potential capacity of the integrated power and water plant is 326 MW of electricity and 36,000 cubic meters of water per day. The plant includes a seawater intake facility with a supply capacity of 1.5 million cubic meters per day, in addition to a water intake pipe with a capacity of up to 1 million cubic meters per day.
“This project has boosted the company’s contribution to local value in the country (LCI) with over $56 million invested in local products and services. In addition, nearly 60 training opportunities were offered to Omanis and another 5 employment training opportunities were offered to the Duqm community. Therefore, the number of overall job opportunities provided by the company to Omanis has reached 34 direct jobs, with more than 360 other indirect jobs, marking Omanization at 71%,” he revealed. .
Eng Hashmi pointed out that the integrated power and water plant marks one of the significant investments for OQ Group and Oman Investment Authority (OIA) in Duqm Special Economic Zone. It is one of a number of other investments aimed at improving the investment environment in the Zone.
The plant completed major commissioning tests this year and began supplying electricity and water to the Duqm refinery (OQ8).