Omani energy company OQ has revealed that it will build a 100 MW solar park at the Block 60 concession area in Oman, which is owned by Oman Oil Corporation Exploration and Production LLC (OOCEP).

The energy giant said in its 2021 sustainability report that preparation for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) tender is ongoing. It aims to launch bidding in 2022.

“The preliminary generation and transmission license exemption for self-generation has also been obtained from Authority for Public Services Regulation (APSR),” it said. “The OQ AE Unit received formal expressions of interest from various potential equity partners to invest in Liwa Solar project and its Final Investment Decision (FID) is expected to be finalized by 2023.”

The Block 60 concession area, also known as the Abu Tubul Block, covers an area of 1,485 square kilometers in west-central Oman, about 100 kilometers west of Saih Rawl. The gas and oil extracted at the site are sent to the Abu Tubul Gas Processing Plant, which is operated by OOCEP.

OQ has already built a 100 MW solar park near Nimr at the Block 6 concession area, which is owned by state-owned oil producer Petroleum Development Oman. Block 6 is Oman's largest and most significant oil and gas site, spanning almost 91,000 square kilometers.

“Petroleum Development Oman’s (PDO) Amin Solar IPP Project was successfully registered with the International Renewable Energy Certificates (IREC) Standard Registry which allows for the plant’s energy to be tracked and traced after it enters the electricity grid,” OQ said in a recent statement. “International Renewable Energy Certificates (IREC) make it possible to link ownership rights of electricity from the place of production to the place of consumption by issuing a certificate for each MWh produced from the power plant.”

The Amin solar project is owned by Amin Renewable Energy Company S.A.O.C. (AREC), which is a joint venture between Japan's Marubeni, Bahwan Renewable Energy Co., Qatar-based Nebras Power QPSC, and OQ.

OQ is a wholly owned subsidiary of the government of Oman, held via the Oman Investment Authority.