OMAN CONSIDERING CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGY FOR FUTURE

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000269

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP, EEB/ESC/LEC/ENR
ENERGY FOR HOLLY WILLIAMSON, JIM SLUTZ AND KATHARINE
FREDRIKSEN
COMMERCE FOR ITA THOFFMAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ENRG ECON EINV PREL MU
SUBJECT: OMAN CONSIDERING CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGY FOR FUTURE
POWER PLANT



1. (SBU) Judd Swift, Deputy Assistant Secretary for
International Affairs in the Office of Fossil Energy,
Department of Energy (DoE),and Pol-Econ Chief met on March
23 with Mohammed al-Mahrouqi, Chairman of the Public
Authority for Electricity and Water, to discuss Oman's future
power generation needs. Also present were Saleh al-Rashdi,
Acting CEO of the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company,
and John Cunneen, Executive Director of the Authority for
Electricity Regulation. Mahrouqi explained that although
Oman had already tripled the capacity of its public power
grid since 2000, it still needed to substantially boost
electricity generation in order to meet a steady increase in
anticipated energy demand. As a result, the government
planned to add two new power generation facilities to the
public grid by 2015. The first of these power plants,
Mahrouqi stated, would enter service by 2010 or 2011 and have
a capacity of between 700-1,000 MW. Given the need to move
promptly to meet this schedule, the plant would be gas-fired
as there was not sufficient time to explore alternative
sources of fuel.


2. (SBU) Regarding the second proposed power facility, which
would also produce up to 1,000 MW, Mahrouqi and Rashdi said
that the government was very interested in clean coal
technology to generate electricity and asked what the U.S.
could offer in this area. DAS Swift responded by providing a
comprehensive overview of the DoE's efforts to help improve
the use of coal as a power source. He described techniques
to capture carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired plants,
which could be used in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)
operations, and asked Oman to consider joining the Carbon
Sequestration Leadership Forum. Finally, he invited Oman to
send representatives to visit the National Energy Technology
Laboratory (NETL) in Pennsylvania to learn more about coal
technology, as well as tour an integrated gasification
combined cycle (IGCC) power plant in Florida as a possible
model for Oman's next generation of power facilities.
Mahrouqi, Rashdi and Cunneen all expressed considerable
interest in this and stated that they would follow-up with
the Embassy to arrange a trip to the sites DAS Swift
recommended.


3. (SBU) Directly following the meeting described above, DAS
Swift and Pol-Econ Chief met with Khalifa bin Ali al-Hinai,
Technical Advisor to the Minister of Oil and Gas. After
discussing the status of Oman's oil production, DAS Swift
described advances in the use of coal for power generation
and highlighted the use of captured carbon dioxide from clean
coal plants as an alternative to steam or water in EOR
operations. Hinai followed along closely and voiced his
support for further looking into carbon capture as Oman
considered its future electricity generation needs.


4. (U) Comment: Pol-Econ Chief received a letter from John
Cunneen on April 5 officially accepting DAS Swift's
invitation for an Omani delegation to visit the NETL in May.
Post will work with DoE to coordinate and arrange a
productive schedule for the trip. End Comment.
GRAPPO