The Qarn Alam steam project – one of the cornerstones of Petroleum Development Oman's (PDO) Enhanced Oil Recovery programme – has been given the green light to proceed with the Front End Design.

This is the world's largest scale development for steam injection in fractured carbonate using this complex and innovative mechanism, sources said.
In early May, the design work on the plant began in earnest with the award of the contract to produce the Front End Design (FED), which went to the Calgary-based firm MEG Worley.
A substantial Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract to construct the plant is expected to be awarded during 2006, with the tenders due to be announced early next year.
In simple terms, the project involves heating up the entire fractured carbonate reservoir by injecting steam into the formation.
This in turn reduces the viscosity of the oil in the matrix and enhances Gas Oil Gravity Drainage (GOGD), the sources added.
Project manager Sami Baqi commented: "There is still a lot of work to be done as we head towards the opening of the tender for the EPC contract, but with construction of the plant due to start late next year or early 2007, we can truly say that it is full steam ahead for Qarn Alam."