UAE's Dolphin Energy signs gas supply deal with Oman Oil Co.

State-owned Oman Oil Co. will supply the UAE's Dolphin Energy Ltd. with up to 135 MMcfd of natural gas for 3.5-5 years under the terms of a gas purchase and sales agreement announced Thursday.

Feb. 6, 2003

2 min read

By an OGJ correspondent

NICOSIA, Feb.6 -- State-owned Oman Oil Co. (OOC) will supply the UAE's Dolphin Energy Ltd. (DEL) with up to 135 MMcfd of natural gas for 3.5-5 years under the terms of a gas purchase and sales agreement announced Thursday.

Beginning in the fourth quarter, DEL will purchase the gas for Fujairah's state-owned Union Water and Electricity Co. to fuel a 656 MW power generation facility and its associated 100 million gal/day desalination plant.

OOC will deliver the gas at the Oman-UAE border near Al-Ain in Abu Dhabi, following construction of a 48 km pipeline spur, which will join Oman's Fahud-Sohar line at Mahdha and terminate at Buraimi (OGJ Online, Jan. 22). From Al-Ain, Omani gas will flow through a 182 km, 24-in. pipeline to power UWEC's facilities.

Currently under construction, the Al-Ain-Fujairah gas pipeline is DEL's first initiative under the Dolphin Project and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2003.

DEL's Dolphin Project involves the production and processing of natural gas from Qatar's North Field and transportation of the gas to the UAE by subsea pipeline beginning in 2006.

Oman's gas will be replaced in 2006 when DEL's supplies begin flowing from Qatar, and the UAE-Oman border pipeline connection may later be used to supply Qatari gas to Oman.

Omani officials earlier said the bidirectional Mahdha-Buraimi pipeline spur would link the Sultanate's gas network with a regional gas grid planned by DEL, allowing for future imports of gas.

The UAE Offsets Group holds a 51% stake in DEL, while France's TotalFinaElf and Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum each hold a 24.5% share.