PROSPECTS OF SOLAR CSP INTEGRATION IN THE OIL GAS INDUSTRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST FOR PROCESS HEATING

摘要

Solar CSP has very high prospects of its integration in the Oil & Gas Industry in the Middle East. These prospects will increase further in the coming years. This integration is technically and economically viable.Oil & Gas Industry, like any other industrial sector, comprises of numerous processes with varying energy consumption. These processes include but not limited to oil stabilization, desalting, demulsification, gas sweetening, dehydration, NGL and LPG recovery, fractionation, sulphur recovery, compression and pumping. Oil & gas industry main product is also energy in the form of oil and natural gas. Therefore, at NOC or IOC level, any energy saved at plants indirectly increases the hydrocarbon yield. It means, economics of energy savings in oil & gas industry may not just depend upon the tariff of saved fuel and power. Economics of energy savings may be more promising in terms of opportunity cost of additional yeild or of avoided import in some cases (like natural gas import by UAE).