July 26, 2024 [LNG Prime]- State-owned Oman LNG plans to add a new liquefaction train at its three-train Qalhat complex by 2029.

Oman’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals said in a statement on Saturday the new train will have a capacity of 3.8 million metric tonnes per year.

“The strategic expansion will boost Oman’s production of LNG to 15.2 mtpa, optimize the utilization of the country’s available discovered volumes of natural gas resources, while enhancing its LNG export capabilities,” it said.

According to the statement, Oman’s government is now progressing with finalizing the front-end engineering design (FEED) study for this new LNG train project.

This “critical step” is expected to pave the way for the project’s final investment decision (FID), it said.

The project is expected to be completed and operational by 2029, helping to meet the growing global demand for LNG, the statement said.

173 LNG cargoes in 2023

Oman LNG delivered 173 cargoes of LNG from its Qalhat complex in 2023, down by three cargoes compared to the year before, while its revenue decreased by 15.5 percent year-on-year to $4.9 billion.

Oman LNG delivered 176 cargoes in 2022, 163 in 2021, 155 in 2020, and 166 in 2019.

According to Oman LNG’s 2023 annual report, out of the 173 LNG cargoes delivered last year 94 percent were contracted cargoes and 6 percent were spot supplies.

Oman produced 11.5 mtpa of LNG, exceeding the enhanced nameplate capacity. This compares to 11.5 mtpa in 2022, 10.6 mtpa in 2021, 10.2 mtpa in 2020, and 10.7 mtpa in 2019.

Oman LNG operates three liquefaction trains at its site in Qalhat near Sur and the trains maintained an “exceptionally high level”, standing at 95 percent, alongside a plant utilization rate of 92 percent last year, Oman LNG previously said.

Shareholders and supply deals

Last year, Oman LNG signed shareholding deals with international companies, including Shell and TotalEnergies.

Besides Oman LNG and Qalhat LNG shareholding agreements, Oman LNG, in which the government of Oman holds 51 percent, also signed a gas supply agreement with state-owned Integrated Gas Company (IGC) to extend the gas supplies beyond 2024.

Oman LNG in collaboration with its shareholders, approved the extension of the company’s operations beyond 2024 that linked these key agreements for a period of 10 years from 2025 to 2034 for Oman LNG and 2026 to 2029 for Qalhat LNG.

As a result of these deals, Oman LNG secured sales term commitments up to 10.4 mtpa through the execution of term sheet agreements with several buyers and shareholders, expanding the company’s footprint into new regions across Asian and European markets.

Earlier this year, Oman LNG signed a 10-year SPA with its shareholder TotalEnergies for 0.8 mtpa of LNG from 2025, and a 10-year SPA with Botas for 1 mtpa of LNG.

Oman LNG also signed a 10-year SPA for 1.6 mtpa of LNG with its shareholder Shell and it also signed a 10-year SPA for 0.8 mtpa of LNG with Japan’s Jera,

The LNG producer and German gas importer Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE) also finalized their previously announced LNG deal for 0.4 mtpa of LNG between 2026 and 2029.

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