‫سلطنة عمان‬
‫تقارير البلدان واملناطق‬
Oman
Seawater desalination in Oman
By Dr. Hamdi Al-Barwani*
The Sultanate of Oman has been using desalinated water since 1976 when the Al-Ghubrah power and seawater desalination
plant was first commissioned in Muscat, the capital of Oman. To meet continuously growing water demand due to population
growth and economic development and reduce the reliance on groundwater resources, by 1999 the Al-Ghubrah plant had
seven multistage flash (MSF) desalination units installed. The first desalination unit installed had a capacity of 22,750 cubic
meters per day, and the other six MSF units each have a capacity of 27,000 cubic meters per day. Desalinated water usage in
Oman is expected to increase further in the future, due to new industrial and tourism-related developments.
seawater desalination plant is located
The constructed treatment system
50 km north-west of Muscat. It was the
in Al Jabal Al Akhdar, Oman
first plant to be built, operated in 2003
and owned by the private sector, AES
Barka. The Barka I plant has three
MSF desalination units installed, each
with a capacity of 30,300 cubic meters
per day. Due to proximity to demand,
availability of land and infrastructure,
both Al-Ghubrah and Barka are the
preferred locations for additional power
and desalination capacity. The current
independent water and power project,
Barka II plant, is located adjacent to
the existing Barka I plant. The addition
of the Barka II seawater desalination
plant in 2009 with a capacity of 120,000
cubic meters per day produced through
reverse osmosis (RO) technology will
bring the total desalination capacities
for Muscat to 393,000 cubic meters per
day.
To secure the production of desalinated
water in conjunction with electricity to
meet the growing demands in Oman,
and to meet the requirements for new
desalination capacity to be built, owned,
and operated by local and foreign investors, the government of the Sultanate of Oman established in 2003 and
licensed in 2005 the Oman Power and
Water Procurement company (OPWP).
Subsequently in 2007, OPWP issued a
report on the outlook covering the period from 2008 to 2014 on the demands
for the desalinated water in Oman, and
the power generation and water desalination resources required to meet those
demands in the regions covered by the
main interconnected system (MIS) and
the Salalah system. It stated that the
total demand for the desalinated water in the regions covered by the MIS
is expected to increase from 88 million
cubic meters in 2007 to 236 million by
2014, an average annual increase of
15% per year. OPWP has forecasted
also that the peak demand for water in
regions covered by the MIS is projectvisit us at: www.awwmag.com
ed to reach 711,000 cubic meters per
day by 2014, and thus at least 133,000
cubic meters per day of additional water desalination capacity is needed.
The peak demand is calculated as the
average daily demand during the peak
month of the year, and the overall planning philosophy used by OPWP is to
match the installed desalination capacity with the peak demand and to rely
on storage capacity and groundwater
resources to cover contingencies.
The desalinated water in the capital
Muscat is supplied by Al-Ghubrah and
Barka plants. The Barka power and
Regions covered by the MIS
Peak demand for water
(thousand cubic meters per day)
Al-Ghubrah (MSF) plant
Barka I (MSF) plant
Barka II (RO) plant
Sohar (MSF) plant
Sur (RO) plant
New Sur (RO) plant
Total desalination capacity
(thousand cubic meters per day)
Sohar power and seawater desalination plant was the second plant to be
built, operated in 2007 and owned by
the private sector. Sohar Power company supplies drinking water in the Batinah northern region due to the economic growth of the Sohar industrial
port area. It has four MSF desalination
units installed each with a capacity of
37,500 cubic meters per day. The port
of Sohar is situated 240 km northwest
of Muscat just outside the strait of Hormuz.
In 2009, the new RO seawater desalination plant at Sur will also bring an ad-
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
476
582
623
630
650
667
711
182
91
182
91
120
150
12
68
156
91
120
150
12
68
156
91
120
150
12
68
156
91
120
150
12
68
138
91
120
150
12
68
138
91
120
150
12
68
623
597
597
597
579
579
150
12
435
12 ‫ عدد‬- 32 ‫ مجلد‬/ 2008 )‫كانون األول (ديسمبر‬
‫عالم املياه العربي‬
41
Oman
country / regional reports
ditional desalination capacity of 68,000
cubic meters per day to satisfy the increasing demand of water in the Sharqiyah regions, on the north east front of
Oman. Sur is an ancient port and trading town situated at the northern part
of the Sharqiyah coast 300 km from
Muscat. The new Sur independent water project is located alongside the existing RO plant commissioned in 1993
with a capacity of 12,000 cubic meters
per day. Neither of the RO desalination
plants at Sur are co-generation plants.
From 2010 onward, without additional
new desalination plants, the reduction
in desalination capacity due to the retirement of two of the seven MSF units
at Al-Ghubrah plant will result in shortfalls of between 26,000 to 132,000 cubic meters per day from 2010 to 2014.
In order to meet the future water de-
‫سلطنة عمان‬
mands, OPWP has identified a need
for a new power and water desalination
plant (possibly, Barka III) with a capacity of 55,000 cubic meters per day to
be built and operated by a private sector by 2012. OPWP has also proposed
a new scheme to upgrade Al-Ghubrah
plant by splitting the existing plant into
two parts. The existing plant will be
called Al-Ghubrah East, and the new
independent water and power project
Al-Ghubrah West with a total desalination capacity of 110,000 cubic meters
per day will be built and operated by a
private sector by 2013.
Presently, there is no desalination capacity in the Salalah system, as local
groundwater resources have been
used to meet the water demands. The
projected demand for desalinated water in the regions covered by the Sala-
lah system is 23.4 million cubic meters
in 2009, rising to 26.8 million by 2012,
at an average annual growth of 5%. At
this growth rate, the demand may be
expected to reach 29.5 million by 2014.
OPWP has estimated the peak demand for water will increase from
70,000 cubic meters per day in 2009
to 89,000 in 2014, and identified a
need for a new seawater desalination
plant by 2011 with a capacity of 68,000
cubic meters per day. The Salalah independent water and power project is
to be located at Taqah in the south of
Oman about 1,000 km from Muscat.
*Dr. Hamdi Al-Barwani
Assistant Professor
College of Science
Mathematics and Statistics Department
Sultanate of Oman
[email protected]
‫ وحدات حتلية بالوميض‬7 ‫ كان في احملطة‬1999 ‫ ومع حلول العام‬.‫محطة الغبرة للطاقة وحتلية املياه في العاصمة مسقط‬
ّ ‫ عندما إف ُتتحت‬1976 ‫تستعمل سلطنة ُعمان املياه احملالّة منذ العام‬
‫ بلغت قدرة‬.‫ وذلك يساعد بتخفيض إستثمار وإستهالك موارد املياه اجلوفية‬،‫البرقي املتع ّدد املراحل ملالقاة الطلب املتواصل على املياه الذي يتسبب به النمو املتزايد للسكّان والتط ّور اإلقتصادي‬
‫ و ُيتوقّع تزايد إستعمال املياه احملالّة في السلطنة في املستقبل‬.ً‫ متر مك ّعب يوميا‬27,000 ‫ مترًا مك ّعبًا يوميًا ّأما الوحدات الست املتبقية فبلغت قدرة كل منها‬22,750 ‫أ ّول وحدة حتلية نحو‬
.‫ يلقي هذا املقال نظرة شاملة على التط ّورات واملشاريع املستقبلية التي س ُتقام في ُعمان في مجال حتلية املياه‬.‫نظرًا للتط ّورات الصناعية اجلديدة والتط ّورات في قطاع السياحة‬
Refer to RIN 44 on page 90
Agreement to develop new desalination plant in Oman;
Gibraltar plant produces first fresh water
Modern Water plc, the owner of leading water technologies,
is delighted to announce that it has agreed to install a new
Manipulated Osmosis Desalination proving plant in Oman, at
the heart of the company’s target market of the Middle East.
The Al Khaluf proving plant will be installed alongside an existing desalination plant, allowing Modern Water to demonstrate its enhanced, cost-saving technology next to traditional
methods. Modern Water’s Manipulated Osmosis process
is targeted at the fast-growing global desalination industry,
where capital expenditure worldwide is expected to total US$
56.4 billion by the end of 2015, according to Global Water Intelligence. The Manipulated Osmosis process is expected to
produce fresh water in challenging conditions, whilst reducing
power, chemical, and other operating costs. The technology
provides a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional desalination methods by significantly reducing energy
consumption and salt brine discharge.
In addition, Modern Water is also pleased to announce that it
has produced the first fresh water from its desalination proving plant in Gibraltar. The plant, which is the first of its kind in
the world, is located next to an existing desalination plant and
also uses the Manipulated Osmosis process.
Commenting on the announcement, Modern Water Executive Chairman Neil McDougall said: “We are delighted to have
agreed a project within the heart of our key market, the Middle
East, which is well-known for both its water scarcity issues
and its appetite for new technology. We believe that this contract, as well as the opening of our new office in Oman, have
positioned Modern Water well to take advantage of additional
opportunities in the growing Gulf region.
“The Oman agreement, together with the start-up of the Gibraltar proving plant, are also evidence of the continuing successful roll-out and commercialization of our technologies.”
‫احملطة بالقرب من محطة حتلية قدمية تساعد في املقارنة بني أداء‬
ّ ‫ وس ُتقام هذه‬،‫محطة حتلية مياه بتقنية التناضح العكسي املُع ّدلة في سلطنة ُعمان‬
ّ ‫ عن إنشاء‬Modern Water ‫أعلنت شركة‬
.‫( في إنتاج املياه احملالّة في جميع األحوال املتطلّبة مع تخفيض نسبة إستعمال الطاقة وتكاليف التشغيل واملواد الكيماو ّية‬Manipulated Osmosis) ‫ ُيساعد هذا النظام اجلديد‬.‫احملطتني‬
ّ
Refer to RIN 45 on page 90
42
Arab Water World (AWW)
December 2008 / Vol. XXXII Issue 12
visit us at: www.awwmag.com