Spanish solar power plant developer Gestamp Solar has won a $28m contract in Kuwait to construct a solar power plant for enhanced oil recovery in Kuwait.

It was picked by the Kuwait Oil Company to build the Umm Gudair solar power plant despite submitting the highest bid. Other bidders included Tata Power Solar, which submitted a price of $18.7m. Australian Consultancy Engineers Group and Phoenix Solar submitted bids of $22.7m and $27m respectively.

The 5MW plant will be built at the Umm Gudair oil field in west Kuwait and used to supply energy to facilitate the removal of crude, heating water and creating steam that will be injected into the wells, reducing the oil’s viscosity.

Historically, steam injection techniques have used natural gas as fuel. The project has been tendered amid a natural gas shortage in Kuwait and as the country seeks to produce 15 per cent of its energy from renewables by 2030.

In 2013, Kuwait consumed 2.2 billion cubic metres of natural gas more than it produced, according the annual BP statistical review.