LNG

The Oman LNG bunkering project for the Port of Sohar has advanced with the signing of a series of agreements for an Omani onshore gas field known as Block 10 and involving French major TotalEnergies, the Oman National Oil Company and Shell.

UK major BP has sold a 20 percent stake for $2.6 ‎billion to Thailand’s national energy company in key tight natural gas fields onshore the Sultanate of Oman that enabled the Arabian Peninsula nation to stabilize then boost LNG exports over the past three years.

Sea-LNG, a global coalition led by energy and shipping companies backing the increased use of liquefied natural gas as a maritime fuel, has signed up a Port in Oman in the Arabian Peninsula aiming to be a main LNG base with its own production plant.

Sempra Energy, the California company operating the Cameron LNG export plant in Louisiana, has signed a fixed-price contract with US engineer Bechtel to construct its second Gulf Coast plant at Port Arthur in Texas to be backed by a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, the largest oil producing company.

General Electric, the US power systems provider, said it was chosen to provide key equipment for the proposed increase in liquefied natural gas production at the Sultanate of Oman liquefaction plant in the Arabian Peninsula.

KBR, the US energy and LNG engineering company, said it was awarded a front-end engineering and design contract by Oman LNG for the debottlenecking of liquefaction facilities at the port of Sur on the Arabian Peninsula.

“This project builds on KBR's extensive track record of developing and implementing LNG projects and providing solutions to complex developments around the world,” said Jay Ibrahim, KBR President for Energy Solution Services.

The Omani facilities export to Japan, South Korea and the spot market and comprise the amalgamated three liquefaction Trains of Oman LNG and Qalhat LNG, now producing more than 10 million tonnes per annum.

The Sultanate has revitalised its LNG production after the Khazzan natural gas discovery by BP and the plants near the port of Sur have been at near nameplate capacity since 2017.

The three Trains had previously suffered from a lack of feed-gas as supplies were diverted to fill domestic gas shortages.

The Omani government allocates Oman LNG feed-gas supplies from various gas fields and the Khazzan field production has ended all resource concerns for the near future.

Houston, Texas-based KBR explained that it would act as an extension to Oman LNG's project team and help manage the overall execution of the debottlenecking efforts, whereby better output can be achieved by fixing inefficiencies, both technical and operational.

“The contract underpins Oman LNG's robust commitment towards knowledge-sharing and boosting staff competency in dealing with such complex projects,” said KBR.

KBR’s Ibrahim said the company was excited to be a part of this important project and to continue to grow and maintain its presence in Oman.

French energy major Total and Oman recently signed an accord for the development of an onshore natural gas block that will provide feed-gas for separate LNG production reserved for LNG fuel for shipping in the Arabian Peninsula.

The deal was signed between Ministry of Oil and Gas of Oman and Total and is linked to the award of exploration licence for onshore Block 12 where there are “significant prospective” gas resources.

Total said it would use its equity gas entitlement as feedstock to develop in Oman a regional hub for LNG bunkering services.

Oman is a major anchorage and stop-over point for tankers and other vessels on trade routes between the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

Total has previously outlined plans for its LNG hub project involving a small-scale modular liquefaction plant to be built near the deepwater port of Sohar in the north on the Gulf of Oman.