Oman estimates that its gas reseves presently stand at 23-24 trillion cubic feet (tcf), and new finding in the region may raise this figure up to 34 tcf by the end of the year, according to AFP news agency.
In the past year, the sultanate, a non-OPEC small producer of oil, made two new gas discoveries in the desert interior and central mountains of the country. The Petroleum Development Oman company expressed great potential with regards to the two discoveries, and stated that they may even be the biggest reserves within the country.
Oman is to decide by year-end whether to further develop its liquefied natrual gas (LNG) plant with the expansion of a third train. The multi-million dollar project would increase production capacity in the Qalhat plant on the Arabian Sea, from 6.6 million tons to 9.9 million tons a year. The development project, however, may be delayed.
Due to a dispute between the main shareholder of India's Dabhol Power Company (DPC) and India’s Maharashtra State Electricty Board, the delivery of Oman’s LNG to India, scheduled to begin in November, is now in doubt. The contract is the third long-term agreement between the two countries, where 1.6 million tons of LNG was to be transferred to India annually.
The main owner of Oman LGN remains the sultanate government with 51 percent, followed by the Anglo-Dutch giant Royal Dutch Shell with 30 percent, the Franco-Belgian TotalFinaElf with 5.54 percent, Korea LNG holding a five-percent stake, Partex of Portugal two percent, and the remaining 6.46 percent is held by Japan's Mitsui, Mitsubishi and Itochu. — (MENA Report)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
