OREANDA-NEWS.   Oman Gas Company (OGC), the Sultanate’s gas transportation utility, yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up a world-class Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) processing plant at Salalah Free Zone (SFZ), as well as for establishing related storage and export facilities at the Port of Salalah. The state-of-the-art plant, which is proposed to be designed and built in compliance with strict HSE principles, will allow for the very high recovery of propane, butane and condensates from natural gas flowing through OGC’s southern gas grid. Around 1,000 people will be engaged in the construction of the complex which, when operational, will provide employment to some 170 highly skilled technical staff.

While the free zone will house the LPG extraction plant, LPG and condensate storage facilities, as well as an export jetty, are proposed to be construction at the adjoining port. Also as part of the project, gas and liquid pipeline networks will be built in Salalah. Yousuf al Ojaili, CEO of Oman Gas Company, commented that the project is expected to come on stream by 2018 and will generate employment and industrial growth opportunities in Salalah area. It will also secure supplies of cooking gas to the Dhofar area, instead of current practice of trucking supplies by road from oilfield locations. Al Ojaili thanked the Ministry of Oil and Gas, and the Minister of Oil and Gas in particular, for their continued support in the crystallisation of this strategically vital project.

He voiced hope that similar ventures aimed at adding value to Oman’s natural gas volumes will soon be pursued in other locations around Oman. Awadh Salim al Shanfari, CEO of SFZ, stated: “The MoU to construct this vital project in the Salalah region stems from the strategic goal of exploiting the natural resources of the Sultanate to create projects which will add value, and broaden the horizons for other industries that are located downstream of the LPG value chain. This project will bring with it a lot of advantages, including help in creating employment training opportunities for Omanis in the region. Furthermore, the project will also help in the development of opportunities for SMEs.” Ahmed Akaak, Deputy CEO at the Port Of Salalah said, “Gas has increasingly becoming a critical energy resource for the current as well as future development of the Sultanate and surrounding region.

As a vital supplier and catalyst for new businesses and new job opportunities to come into Salalah Free Zone and the Port, we welcome Oman Gas Company and look forward to having the project’s expansion storage facilities here in the Port of Salalah.” Wholly-owned by Oman Oil Company, OGC is responsible for delivering natural gas to all the major consumers, notably domestic power and water desalination plants, fertilizer, methanol, petrochemical, refineries, steel and cement plants. Since its inception in 2000, Oman Gas Company has grown in stature and reputation into an integrated enterprise harnessing the power of Oman’s natural gas transportation. The utility operates a roughly 2,500 nationwide high-pressure gas transmission network that supplies natural gas as feedstock and fuel to a growing number of domestic industrial consumers.