MUSCAT, Sept 8 (Reuters) - An Omani sovereign wealth fundand other investors are injecting $53 million into GlassPointSolar, a California-based company which makes solar steamgenerators used to boost the productivity of oil wells.
Oman is an oil exporter but lacks the ample reserves of itsGulf neighbours, so it is eager to get more from its oilfieldsby pumping high-pressure steam into ageing wells.
At the same time, its ambitious industrial development planspromise to siphon off supplies of natural gas that wouldtraditionally be used to generate the steam. It therefore plansto use solar power to produce steam.
Oman's State General Reserve Fund (SGRF), Royal Dutch Shell and existing investors in GlassPoint will inject themoney, which will be used to accelerate the deployment of solarsteam generators, the U.S. company said in a statement.
"By diverting natural gas from oil production to power newindustries, we believe this investment will have profoundimplications on the economy beyond the direct impact it bringsto the oil and gas sector," said the SGRF's executive presidentAbdulsalam Al Murshidi.
GlassPoint quoted official Omani data as showing thecountry's natural gas consumption rose to 39.1 billion cubicmetres last year, with its oil fields accounting for 23 percentof that amount.
The company estimated "enhanced oil recovery" operationswould contribute nearly a third of Oman's crude oil productionin the next five years, and said its solar steam generatorscould reduce an oilfield's natural gas consumption by as much as80 percent.
GlassPoint, which has had a pilot steam generating projectunderway in Oman since late 2012, said it aimed to develop asolar manufacturing capability and local supply chain in Oman.
The company did not reveal the size of the stakes whichinvestors were obtaining with the $53 million injection. Theexisting investors taking part in the deal are Chrysalix EnergyVenture Capital, Nth Power and RockPort Capital. (Reporting by Fatma Al Arimi; Writing by Andrew Torchia;Editing by Olzhas Auyezov)
