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Dolphin Signs Pact for Purchase of Omani Gas
Dolphin Energy
Ltd. (DEL) has signed one of three key agreements for the purchase of
Omani natural gas which will begin to flow from the fourth quarter of
this year.
The gas will be used by the Fujairah state owned Union Water &
Electricity Company. DEL is currently constructing a 182 kilometer,
24-inch pipeline which will link Al- Ain with Fujairah, on the UAE East
Coast, in the fourth quarter of 2003. Thereafter, OOC will supply the
contracted quantities of gas at the Oman-UAE border near Al Ain-from
where it will flow, through the Dolphin, line to UWEC's new power and
desalination plant in Fujairah.
Dolphin Energy's sales and purchase agreements are for a term of 3.5 to
5 years. Dolphin's own gas supplies from Qatar will start to flow by
undersea line to the UAE in 2006 at a rate of two billion cubic feet a
day, replacing the Omani gas.
The border pipeline connection will then be used to supply Qatari gas to
Oman as and when required. For Dolphin Energy, Al Sayegh commented:
"Further to the Memorandum of Understanding that we had earlier signed
with each company, we were quickly able to finalise gas sales and
purchase agreements with both UWEC and OOC. Dolphin is delighted to have
been able to resolve the detailed issues involved in each case and to
have signed these landmark agreements".
The new Dolphin pipeline will initially provide up to 135 million cubic
feet per day (mcf/d) on average of natural gas to service UWEC's
forthcoming 656 MW power generation plant and its associated 100 million
gallon a day (mg/d), desalination project. Dolphin's contractors are
Dodsal Ltd of India.
Source : Khaleej Times - 7
February, 2003
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Holland - Based Consultancy Firm Sets Up JV in Oman
Tebodin wins PDO engineering services
contract
MUSCAT - The leading
international engineering consultancy group Tebodin has been awarded a
four-year contract to provide engineering design services for Petroleum
Development Oman (PDO). The Holland-based group has tied up with a local
firm to execute the contract, as well as explore opportunities to grow
its business and expand its operations in the Sultanate.
Tebodin & Partner LLC, established as a local Omani company, is a joint
venture between Tebodin Middle Fast LLC and Middle East Engineering
Consultancy LLC, a 100 per cent Omani firm. Senior executives of the
group's Dutch headquarters in The Hague and their local partners were in
the city at the weekend for the official opening of the company's new
local office at Al Athiaiba.
In attendance were Hans. J. Hegger, Managing Director of Tebodin
Consultants & Engineers (the Netherlands), Age S de Vries, Managing
Director of Tebodin Middle East Ltd (UAB), Salim al Kindy, Deputy
Managing Director of Tebodin & Partner, and Nasser A al Rizeiqi,
Managing Director of Middle East Engineering Consultancy LLC.
According to Frits Boonen, Managing Director of the group's Oman
subsidiary, Tebodin led a field of more than 30 international and local
consultants for the prestigious PDO contract. Over the four- year term
of the contract, the company will provide design- engineering services
for various oil and gas facilities and pipeline infrastructure develop-
ment planned by PDO.
As part of the contract, Tebodin will design, among other things, the
key 48-inch diameter gas pipeline that will transport gas as feedstock
for the government's 3rd LNG Train project under development at Qalhat.
The new pipeline will run some 250km from Saih Nihayda in central Oman
to the project site. In addition, Tebodin will handle the engineering
design for the second phase of the Yibal Depletion Compression project,
aimed at boosting gas recovery from this key reservoir within PDO's
concession.
Tebodin, a multidiscipline engineering consultant with expertise in a
variety field, is also keenly eyeing opportunities outside PDO's domain.
"Oman is investing in new gas infrastructure in Qalhat and the Sohar
area for new projects in petrochemicals, energy and various other
industries. The government is considerably cranking up the capacity of
its gas network to serve these objectives, Boonen said.
Echoing this viewpoint, Hegger added: "We axe here for continuity, not
for quick wins. We see great opportunity lot only in PDO, but in
government con tracts, industrial Projects in the Sohar area, and in the
private sector"
In particular, the firm is targeting key organisations, notably Oman
Refinery Company, Oman Oil Company, Shell Oman Marketing, and the
Ministry of Regional Municipalities, Environment & Water Resources (MRME-WR)
for potential business.
Elsewhere in the Gulf region, Tebodin is undertaking several prestigious
consultancy contracts, notably the engineering design for a water
transmission project at Shuweibat in Abu Dhabi involving a capital
investment of around $800 million. The firm also played a consultancy
role in the expansion of the Dubal and Alba aluminum smelters in Dubai
and Bahrain respectively.
With offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, and lately in Muscat, Tebodin
is now looking to expand its presence in the region. "Our, next goal is
to enter Qatar where we already have some projects in hand," Hegger
noted.
Set up in 1945 at the end of the Second World War, Tebodin today boasts
a worldwide presence in some 40 offices located throughout Europe and
the Middle East. A strategic alliance with Lockwood Green provides
global coverage and the combined expertise of a worldwide force of
around 4,500 engineers covering a range of services such as consultancy
(oil and gas, financial, environmental, and pharmaceutical), project
management, design and engineering, procurement services and
construction management.Source : Oman Daily Observer - 1
February, 2003
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Khatami Presses Government on Gas
Pipeline Deal
New Delhi -
Iranian President Mohammed Khatami yesterday urged leaders to join hands
with Tehran to construct a controversial multi-billion-dollar gas
pipeline which would bring fuel to energy-starved India. Speaking to
industrialists, Khatami said the long-delayed pipeline which would cross
India's neighbour Pakistan "can be implementable".
A relatively long time has passed since its preliminary planning,"
Khatami said, but "the project is still in the phase of its feasibility
study". But once research is complete, "this pipeline project will play
a very significant role in providing India with inexpensive and
perennial flow of energy," said Khatami, ending a four-day visit to
India.
Discussions on the $3.5 billion pipeline began in 1994 but a
breakthrough has been elusive due to tensions between Pakistan and India
and the high cost of the project. In the past week alone, a key gas
pipeline in central Pakistan has exploded three times through either
sabotage or stray rockets from warring tribesmen.
The proposed pipeline would run 1,600km from Iran to the southern
Pakistani province of Sindh before travelling another 1,000km to India,
For Iran, which holds the world's largest gas reserves after Russia, the
Indian market is as important as the European market which it hopes to
serve one day through its pipeline across Turkey. India, meanwhile,
imports more than half of its billion-plus population's energy needs. It
is bracing for a jump in oil prices that could be triggered by a US- led
attack on Iraq.
"Iran has gas and we want it," Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said
on Saturday after talks with Khatami.
Vaipayee said India and Iran agreed that a "mutually acceptable and
stable arrangement for the transportation of gas" needed to be found.
"But there are some impediments in the middle which we are trying to
remove. We are working towards a mutually satisfactory agreement which
will be long lasting," Vajpayee said.
Oil Minister Rarn Naik will visit Iran some time this year to discuss
the export of gas, the Press Trust of India (PTI) said yesterday. The
report said Iran's oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh last week
sidestepped the Pakistan issue to offer Indian national oil firms equity
in Iranian oil and gas fields in exchange for New Delhi buying 2.5
million tonnes of gas each year.
The report said India favoured an underwater line to avoid any
disruption in gas supply in Pakistan, which with India has fought three
major wars. "Iran recognised our concern for safe delivery of gas at our
borders," Naik told PTI. "The feasibility study for an underwater line
from Iran to India is going on schedule. No discussions were held on the
onshore pipeline passing through Pakistan."
Khatami yesterday also urged Indian investment, in Iran's gas and oil
industries and called for more co-operations in the tourism, information
technology and software sectors, saying Iran enjoyed "easy access" to
Europe and Central Asia. To boost tourism, Khatami said plans were
underway for direct flights from Tehran to India's capital New Delhi and
financial hub Mumbai.
A.N.S. Khamoushi, president of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry, called on the two countries to diversify their commerce. He
said that of $2 billion in bilateral trade in 2001-2002, 70 per cent
amounted to oil imports by India.
Source : AFP PTI -
28th January, 2003
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Pact for Pipeline to Carry Gas to Indian
Ocean Ports
Jamali signs $2b deal for trans-Afgan pipeline
ASHKHABAD - The leaders of
Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan yesterday reached a long-awaited
agreement for a pipeline to carry Turkmenistan's natural gas to the
Indian Ocean via Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pakistan's Prime Minister
Zafarullah Jamaii, Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai and Turkmen
President Saparmurat Niyazov signed the ambitious accord to build a
1,500km $2 billion trans-Afghan gas pipeline.
"We are glad that this important agreement has been signed, as this is a
significant step towards the realisation of the project," Niyazov said.
The feasibility study for the link, carried out by the Asian Development
Bank (ADB), will be completed by July 2003, after which international
companies will have the chance to form a consortium to develop the
project, he noted.
A Turkish company, Chalyk Holding, has said it is ready to participate
in the construction of the pipeline, he said.
The pipeline deal to connect Turkmenistan's Dauletabad fields to
seaports in Pakistan across the mountains of Afghanistan brought to an
end 20 years of laborious negotiations mired in regional conflict. The
projected pipeline capacity is for 30 billion cubic metres of gas per
year, to be transited via Kandahar in Afghanistan to the Pakistani city
of Multan.
Analysts have said the pipeline will 'open up Turkmenistan's vast
natural gas reserves to the wider world for the first time and attract
millions of dollars of transit tariffs to Afghanistan's ruined economy.
However, industry experts say the pipeline, which could have a capacity
of 20 billion cubic metres, will only be feasible if it supplies gas to
India as well as Pakistan, but tensions between the two nations are
high.
Niyazov said the three leaders hoped the Indian leadership will join in
the project. "We will be working on this and making every effort," he
said. The three countries are still in talks with the ADB and other
multinational lending agencies on whether the pipeline can be extended
to India, according to an official in Islamabad quoted on Thursday by
the specialist International Oil Daily.
The ADB has agreed to allocate a one million dollar loan for a
feasibility study expect- ed to be completed by next August, the daily
said. Jamali said the signing of the accord would "draw foreign
investors to the project." Karzai for his part said the pipeline project
would serve the energy needs of all three countries and "help improve
the situation in the region and bring economic growth to our states."
An earlier attempt to build the trans-Afghan gas pipeline was contracted
by US energy company Unocal, but its plans were scuppered in 1998 when
US cruise missiles struck Al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan in
response to terrorist attacks on US embassies in Nairobi and Darussalam.
However, since the fall of Afghanistan's Taleban regime last year, the
pipeline project has been catapulted back onto the agenda by regional
leaders hoping it will bring enormous wealth to their impoverished
central Asian region. The project is expected to be completed in four
years, although many observers are sceptical about its prospects given
the political instability in the region. The ADB is acting as strategic
partner for the pipeline's construction and will conduct market research
for the sale of Turkmen gas abroad. The three leaders will meet again in
Kabul in September 2003, Niyazov said. - AFP
Source : Times of Oman - 28th
December, 2002
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Oil Pact
Signed with Iran
A consortium of
state-run oil firms has signed an agreement with Iran to explore for oil
in the Gulf, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said. He said India has
committed to invest $27 million to explore the Farsi area of the Gulf
which was expected to yield 500 million barrels of oil.
State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp.'s (ONGC) overseas arm Videsh holds
40 per cent in the venture, Indian Oil Corp holds another 40 per cent
while the rest is with Oil India Limited.
India has been looking to buy into oilfields overseas to ensure a stable
supply, as the country imports more than 70 per cent of its oil
requirements. The ONGC recently purchased Canadian oil firm Talisman's
25 per cent stake in the Greater Nile Petroleum operating Co. (GNOC),
which accounts for the bulk of Sudan's oil production. Officials have
denied that the move for diversification was linked to fears over a war
in oil-rich Iraq.
India hopes to diversify its oil purchases further by buying from
countries including Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Russia and
Venezuela. It currently buys most of its
oil from the Middle East.
Source : Times of Oman -
28th December, 2002
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PDO to Implement Multi-Billion Projects to
Boost Oil Production
Petroleum
Development Oman the premier oil company in the Sultanate will invest
about $1.5 billion per year for the next five years to enhance the oil
production and arrest the decline in the production and increase
reserves.
As part of the long-term energy strategy, it will raise the total
investment in the gas field to $2 billion, the largest gas investment by
PDO since the Saih Rawl gas field.
While 2003 is going to be a challenging year, signs of recovery will be
visible in 2004 due the new exciting investment plans for Oman's future,
said the company's new Managing Director John Malcolm.
During the last 18 months, PDO has been going through a difficult phase
as it failed to achieve productions and reserve targets. A major
accident in one of the oil rigs also created additional problems.
Addressing the media to outline the company's future plans, Malcolm said
in a presentation on "PDO's Exciting Plans for Future" that PDO has been
going through a rough patch over the last 18 months.
However using a four-pronged strategy - production optimization,
secondary oil recovery, enhanced oil recovery and exploration programmes
- PDO will continue to remain a forward looking oil company by employing
the latest technology to recover hydrocarbon, he said.
"PDO produces 90 percent of the country's oil, natural gas and LNG
supply. Oil production is the backbone of Oman's economy and it
represent 35 percent of the country's GDP", said Salim bin Mohammed bin
Shaban al Ojaily, the Undersecretary, Ministry of Oil and Gas. PDO
employs nearly 4,500 people - 85 per cent of them are Omanis.
Admitting that the company faced a number of problems especially the
declining life cycle of oil fields, the Under-Secretary said that in
consultations with the government and the shareholders, PDO has put in
place a strategy to use new technology either to find more oil or to
arrest decline in the oil life cycle."
At present, the known oil reserves in the country are 50 billion barrels
per day, of which only 23 percent is recoverable using, know
technologies.
"Recovering 73 per of the oil reserves requires new techniques and PDO
is doing everything possible to recover part of this oil. The new
strategy has been put in place to overcome production loss and increase
oil recovery next year," he added.
The target is to reach 800,000 barrels a day by 2007 against the current
PDO production of nearly 770,000 bpd. Even though the multi billion
investments will just add 30,000 bpd to the current production level by
2007, it will be long-term investment of developing the oil and gas
industry.
It is estimated that the combined oil, condensate and gas production
will go up from around 1 million bpd in 2003 to more than1.2 million bpd
in 2007.
In the gas field, a third processing facility will be built at Saih Rawl
and a completely new 48-inch pipeline is planned to be built alongside
the existing 350-km line to Sur. In addition, PDO has been asked to
supply gas to the new aluminum and ammonia plants in Sohar and the
desalination plant in Salalah.
"The scale of this investment should not be underestimated. This
investment will see the newly discovered gas fields of Central Oman
brought on stream earlier than we had previously planned. Our
development plans for the Barik and Saih Rawl fields have also been
brought forward," Malcolm said.
Reacting to reports on the fall in PDO oil production, he said that in
co-ordination with the Omani government and foreign shareholders, the
company has put in place a multi-billion revival strategy to use the
latest and the most appropriate technology.
PDO, which employs 3,470 Omanis is a technologically minded company
which is 80 percent Omanised, he said. PDO may not be able to achieve
100 percent Omanisation by 2005 as projected earlier because the company
requires external expertise to achieve production targets and handle
risky and sophisticated jobs he said in response to queries.
"There will be more opportunities for Omanis to work in the company. We
have top quality Omani staff, 100 of them working outside the country
sourcing suitable technology," he said.
Keeping in mind the larger economic interest of the country and PDO
shareholders, a 100 percent Omanisation target by 2005 may not be
achieved as planned earlier. Still the company is investing $20 million
per year in Omanisation and training.
Malcolm said PDO will employ Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) techniques to
increase production and oil exploration. It is currently looking at
several EOR projects, mainly at Mukhaizana and Harweel. At Mukhaizana,
it will rely on thermal recovery using superheated steam to raise the
reservoir temperature so that the heavy oil there thins and flows better
to the producing wells.
Al Harweel, the company will try gas injection with a view to increasing
the amount of oil recovered out of a cluster of fields. The long-term
EOR projects will yield concrete production results by 2007
"Our plan is to run pilot projects at these and other fields in the run
up to 2007 and then look to scale up the projects to the entire filed
based on the success of the pilots."
PDO will also use secondary recovery methods to boost oil production
using water flooding technology - injecting massive quantities of water
into the reservoirs to maintain pressure and drive the oil to the
producing wells.
This will be a key strategy to increase black oil production in the
medium term. By these methods, PDO will optimize the reservoirs and
wells on stream.
In addition, the company will continue to explore new oil discoveries.
Source : Oman
Daily Observer - 17th December, 2002
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Oman LNG Signs Major Gas Deal with
Union Fenosa
Tractabel to buy 0.8 MT LOF LNG
MUSCAT - Oman LNG has clinched a
deal to sell 1.8 billion cubic metres (approximately 1.35 million tonnes)
of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the Spanish utility Union Fenosa Gas
for delivery during 2004-2005.
An agreement to this effect was signed by Dr Agnus Cassens, General
Manager and Chief Executive of Oman LNG, and Juan Varela, Executive Vice
President of Union Fenosa Gas, at a ceremony held at the Muscat
Intercontinental Hotel yesterday. The deal is the latest in a series of
LNG marketing successes claimed by Oman LNG.
Earlier this month, the company inked an agreement with TotalFinaElf Gas
& Power Limited covering the sale of 0.6 million tonnes of LNG for
delivery to the European and American markets during 2003. It also sold
two spot cargoes to Tokyo Electric, and is scheduled to sign a, major
supply agreement with the energy firm Tractabel in the coming weeks. Dr
Cassens hailed yesterday's agreement as a major step towards further
consolidating the strong business relations between Oman LNG and Union
Fenosa Gas.
He also voiced hope that it would spur further growth in the company's
activities and develop its share in the Spanish market. "As a dynamic
company and strategically well located to supply all major LNG markets,
Oman LNG is particularly interested in Asia, Europe and America. Within
Europe, Spain is expanding its LNG supply extensively and Union Fenosa
Gas is at the forefront of this drive. We are proud to be part of this
endeavour. This is in line with our business objective to expand and
diversify our marketing portfolio."
In fact, the agreement with Union Fenosa Gas marks a significant
milestone in a blossoming relationship between Oman and Spain covering
energy supply and joint investment. In May this year, the Spanish
utility signed a long-term agreement with the Omani government to buy 50
per cent of the output of the 3rd LNG Train project for a 20-year
period. It will also be a partner in the development of the new LNG
train.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Union Fenosa' Varela said the
agreement would help reinforce the excellent relations between Oman and
Spain. "We are willing to collaborate to the highest extent with Oman
LNG in the new joint venture company that will be created to build and
manage the new LNG train. We hope to help make this state-of-the-art
project become a reality," he remarked.
Varela described the latest agreement as a "bridge" that would enable
the Spanish firm to cover the requirements of its actual and future
customers during 2004-2005 before supplies from the 3rd LNG train
commence in January 2006. The LNG (deal we are signing) today will help
Union Fenosa Gas improve the quality and diversification of our gas
procurement portfolio," he added. Oman LNG's Marketing & Shipping
Manager, Harib al Kitani, praised the deal as the "biggest short-term
agreement"clinched by Oman LNG date. It also marked the start a greater
phase of cooperate between the two companies, added in remarks to the
Observer. Of the 1.8 billion cubic metres (bcm) of LNG committed to
Union Fenosa Gas roughly I bcm (approx. 0. 75 million tonnes) will be
delivered during 2004, while t remainder 0.8 bcm (approx. million tonnes)
will be shipped during 2005.
Significantly, Oman LNG also poised to sell 0.8 milliion tonnes of LNG
to the energy, giant Tractabel during 2003 said Al Kitani. An agreement
to this effect is expected to be signed next January. A number of
government dignitaries attended yesterday's ceremony. Representing the
Ministry of Oil and Gas was Khalifa bin Mubarak al Hinai, Technical
Adviser to the Minister of Oil and Gas. Also present was Dr Mariano
Capdevila, Spain's Honorary Consul in the Sultanate.Source : Oman Daily Observer -
26th November, 2002
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