Eric Watkins
OGJ Oil Diplomacy Editor
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 24 -- Dolphin Energy Ltd., which earlier this month refinanced $4.1 billion in debt, reported that work on its planned 244-km, 48-in. Taweelah-Fujairah natural gas pipeline will be completed by third-quarter 2010.
The line will transport gas from Abu Dhabi’s Taweelah, which receives gas from Qatar, to the Qidfa Water and Electricity Station of Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority, now under construction in Fujairah.
“This [pipeline] project plays a vital role in realizing Plan Abu Dhabi 2030 as it constitutes an important source of natural gas for the emirate,” said Dolphin Energy UAE General Manager Ibrahim Ahmed Al Ansari.
Under Plan Abu Dhabi 2030, Abu Dhabi aims to provide the infrastructure needed for the country’s economic development, decreasing its dependency on oil revenue and diversifying its income streams.
Abu Dhabi estimates that the dependency of the government sector on oil could be reduced to 40% by the year 2020 and 35% by the year 2030, down from 59% of the emirate’s GDP in 2005-07.
Earlier this month, Dolphin announced that it had raised $4.1 billion that would be used to repay a $3.45 billion loan secured in 2005, to provide 70% of the construction costs of the Taweelah-Fujairah pipeline, and to pay for fees related to the refinancing (OGJ Online, Aug. 5, 2009).
This announcement by Dolphin coincided with reports that Qatar's natural gas output is expected to reach 23 bcfd by 2014, according to Saad Al Kaabi, manager of projects at Qatar Petroleum.
Qatar's output of condensate will rise to 680,000 b/d by 2014 and liquid petroleum gas production, including propane and butane, will increase to 12 million tonnes/year, Kaabi said.
According to Kaabi, about 13.6 billion cu m of gas will go into the production of LNG, while the remaining gas will be used domestically or exported to the UAE through the Dolphin line.
Mubadala Development Co., run by the Abu Dhabi government, owns 51% of Dolphin, while Total SA and Occidental Petroleum Corp. each hold a 24.5% stake in the project.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
Map from Canada Energy Regulator.
