A contract for the construction of a major gas pipeline that will supply natural gas from central Oman to a new industrial and maritime hub under development at Duqm is expected to be awarded by the end of 2013, according to the Oman Observer.

Oman Gas Company (OGC), the state-owned entity that owns and operates the country’s gas transportation grid, is overseeing the implementation of the 240-km pipeline which will serve as a lifeline for industries and utilities envisioned at Duqm. The total investment in the pipeline project is estimated at $250 million, said the newspaper.

OGC’s chief executive officer Yousuf Al Ojaili said the 36-inch pipeline will supply gas from Saih Nihayda in central Oman to Duqm. He said the company will be awarding the contract for the supply of pipelines for the project in the first quarter of 2013.

“A number of international companies are bidding for this supply contract. Bids are under evaluation. However, an award for the actual construction of the pipeline is scheduled towards the end of 2013,” Al Ojaili stated.

Al Ojaili, who pegged the capacity of the pipeline at 25 million standard cu m of gas per day, said that this capacity is large enough to cater to long-term gas demand growth in the Duqm area.

“If I compare this capacity with Sohar, then it would be sufficient for at least the next 20 years, if not more,” he said.

According to him, gas volumes will initially meet the energy and feedstock needs of a massive refinery planned at Duqm, alongside a petrochemicals complex due to come up at a later stage.

Significantly, the project’s front-end engineering design (Feed) has been done entirely in-house by OGC, Al Ojaili said.
The pipeline is due to be brought into operation in 2016.