Oman and Petroleum Development Oman (PDO)-a combine of Royal Dutch/Shell, Total SA, and local company Partex-have agreed on a $1.4 billion gas field development project.
Much of the gas will be earmarked for Oman's proposed liquefied natural gas export project, which just clinched the world's biggest LNG supply contract.
Shell said the development project will involve Saih Rawl, Barik, and Saih Nihayda gas fields in Central Oman and construction of a gas processing plant at Saih Rawl, a gathering station at Barik, and a 356 km pipeline to the coast.
Construction work is expected to start in mid-1997 and be completed in April 1999. Funding will be provided by PDO, in which Shell has an 85% shareholding.
LNG supply deal
Oman's LNG project, with capacity to export 6.6 million metric tons/year of LNG, landed an accord with Korean Gas Corp. that sets a world record.
Shell, a 34% equity interest owner in the LNG project, said the deal calls for 4.1 million metric tons/year of LNG to be delivered to South Korea for 25 years beginning in 2000.
Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) said the Omani government has allocated about 7 tcf of proven gas reserves to the South Korean LNG contract.
MEES described the contract as a major advance in the sultanate's efforts to diversify its revenue sources away from its current reliance on crude oil.
MEES said Oman LNG is nearing completion of a second LNG sales contract with Petroleum Authority of Thailand.
That deal is likely to involve 1 million metric tons/year to be exported to Thailand beginning in 2003, rising to 1.7-2.5 million metric tons/year in 2005.
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