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Oman launches RFQ for two gas-based power projects

The two new gas-based projects are slated to be launched over the 2028-29 timeframe
The two new gas-based projects are slated to be launched over the 2028-29 timeframe
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Muscat: A competitive process for the procurement of two gas-based Independent Power Projects (IPPs), boasting an aggregate capacity of 2,400 MW, was formally launched on Thursday, January 23, 2025 by Nama Power and Water Procurement Company (Nama PWP), the sole procurer of new power and water capacity in the Sultanate of Oman.


Sites at Misfah in the Wilayat of Bausher in Muscat Governorate and in the Wilayat of Al Duqm in Al Wusta Governorate have been identified for the establishment of the two IPPs. Based on advanced thermal Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) technology, the two projects will be the first such capacity to be developed in Oman for nearly a decade, when they come into operation during the 2028-29 timeframe.


Nama officials have affirmed that the two gas-based power projects do not signal any pivot away from Oman’s ongoing transition towards renewable energy in line with the country’s Net-Zero commitments. Rather the limited procurement of gas-based capacity is designed to ensure grid capacity in the face of, among other factors, intermittency challenges associated with renewable based generation and old power plants progressively falling out of contract.


Per a Request for Qualifications (RfQ) issued on Thursday, interested developers have been invited to submit their credentials demonstrating their technical capabilities and financial wherewithal in competing for mandates to develop the IPPs on a Build, Own and Operate (BOO) basis.


The new capacity will leverage state-of-art environment-friendly thermal CCGT technology, which combines gas and steam turbines for improved efficiency as well as emissions reduction.


The deadline for the submission of qualifications is March 13. According to project procurement timelines shared earlier by PWP, a tender for the new capacity is expected to be released in Q2 2025, with an award date targeted by Q4 2025. The new capacity is scheduled to be operational by Q2 2029 with early power provision by Q2 2028.


Significantly, the procurement of these gas-based projects, while sizable in capacity, will remain a one-off for the foreseeable future. Just last month, PWP unveiled plans for a swathe of new Solar Independent Power Projects (IPPs) with a capacity aggregating around 4,500 megawatts (MW) and an estimated investment of $2.8 billion.


Taken together with parallel plans for the implementation of a raft of Wind IPPs, investments in the power sector are set to balloon to well over $5 billion over the next six years through to 2030. These investments are key to Oman’s goal to secure at least 30 per cent of total electricity consumption from renewables by this timeframe.


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