Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
broken clouds
weather
OMAN
23°C / 23°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Algal bloom hits Barka desalination plant

1411638
1411638
minus
plus

MUSCAT, AUG 5 - ACWA Power Barka, which owns and operates the Barka 1 Independent Water and Power Project (IWPP) in South Al Batinah Governorate, has announced that two of its reverse osmosis (RO) units installed as part of its expansion project have been hit by algal blooms — also known as Red Tide. The company said in a filing to the Capital Market Authority (CMA) that water production from its RO 1 and RO 2 plants has been impacted since the third week of July following the outbreak in the Sea of Oman. The estimated financial impact to date amounts to RO 140K, the company said.


Explaining the impact caused by the phenomenon, ACWA Power Barka stated: “During this algal bloom period, the pollutant level in the seawater was elevated outside the technical limits as defined in the Water Purchase Agreements (WPA) of the two RO expansion plants. The company and its operator are continuously monitoring these levels closely and have increased chemical dosing to the maximum in order to keep the two plants in partial operation until the seawater quality falls within the acceptable limits and full production is restored.”


The situation, the company said, is defined as Seawater Quality Failure under the WPAs signed with the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), the sole buyer of all water output from the plants. Once established as Seawater Quality Failure, force majeure results under which the company will get relief from any liability for any consequent failure to perform its obligations, it noted.


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon