PDO opens first solar park at its headquarters in Muscat

Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) officially opened its first solar car park at its headquarters in Muscat on Wednesday. Thousands of solar panels were installed in car parks at Mina al Fahal to provide power for PDO’s office buildings.

The move will save more than 3.1mn m3 of gas a year, enough to provide electricity for almost 1,000 homes. It will also cut CO2 emissions by 6,662 tonnes annually, stated a press release. The six megawatt installed peak (MWp) solar project, which will generate 9,480,000 electrical units (kWh) per year, was officially inaugurated under the auspices of H E Mohammed bin Salim al Toobi, Minister of Environment and Climate Affairs.

The ceremony was attended by Raoul Restucci, managing director, PDO and other prominent officials. H E Toobi said, “No doubt this project will contribute to protecting the environment and reducing harmful emissions and electricity consumption.

It is one of the first projects in the sultanate to utilise solar energy at this scale alongside the Miraah project in the Amal oilfield, which is the biggest in the region. Restucci said, “We are also committed to environmental stewardship across our entire hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon portfolio. “This project is the latest move by PDO into renewables and we believe there is a lot more potential to harness the sun’s energy across our operations and the sultanate generally.”