OQ Gas Networks (OQGN), the exclusive operator of Oman’s natural gas transmission network, has announced that it is preparing to connect two major gas-fired Independent Power Projects (IPPs), currently under procurement, to the national gas grid.
Nama Power and Water Procurement Company (PWP), the sole buyer of power and water output in the Sultanate, is overseeing the procurement of the two combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) based IPPs planned for development at Al Misfah in Muscat Governorate and at Al Duqm in Al Wusta Governorate. The larger of the two, Misfah IPP, will have a capacity of 1,600 MW, while Al Duqm IPP will be sized at 800 MW.
Three consortiums led by international developers are currently in contention for mandates to build the pair of IPPs, which are targeted for commercial operation by April 1, 2029, with early power planned one year earlier, on April 1, 2028.
Officials at OQGN – a publicly traded subsidiary of OQ Group – revealed that the Final Investment Decision (FID) has been granted for connecting the two power schemes to the national gas grid. Work on the basic engineering phase supporting these gas supply linkages has also commenced, they noted during discussions accompanying the publication of OQGN’s Q3 performance report.
Per the FID granted by the regulator, the Misfah IPP will receive 8.5 million standard cubic metres per day (MMSCMD) of natural gas, while Duqm IPP will be supplied with 4.5 MMSCMD.
Additionally, work is progressing on construction of the Fahud–Suhar Loop Line project, a 193-km gas pipeline initiative designed to boost the country’s gas supply network. Under an award announced in June, Petroleum Projects Company Petrojet and Partners LLC is undertaking the EPC works at a cost of RO 105 million. Pipes for the 42-inch line are being sourced from Jindal Saw Limited of India.
Mansoor Ali Al Abdali, Chief Executive Officer of OQGN, noted that the company is currently sourcing natural gas from six producers to meet the requirements of more than 130 end-users distributed across the Sultanate.
“We run a long network of high-pressure pipelines with an asset length of almost 4,300 kilometers. They extend all the way from the far north in Al Buraimi to Salalah in the south. The total capacity of the network exceeds 70 billion cubic metres of gas in total,” he stated.
He further added: “All of the IOCs operating in the country are connected to our network, including primarily Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), which supplies more than 60% of the gas. We also have BP, Oxy and Shell supplying to our network through pipelines coming from PDO, while our parent company OQ – through its upstream arm OQEP – is connected as well. We are proud that we supplied more than 40 billion cubic metres last year, and in just the first three quarters of this year, supply has already reached almost 36 billion cubic metres of natural gas to various industries.”
