Oman’s natural gas production and imports rose by 5.6% to 39.8bn cubic metres (bcm) in 2015, up from 37.68bcm in 2014.
Of this, while non-associated gas and imports showed a growth of 6.2% to 32.8bcm, associated gas production rose by 3.1% to 7bcm, according to the latest statistics released by the country’s National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
A sizeable portion of natural gas in Oman is used by various mega industrial projects, which increased to 22bcm last year from 21.16bcm in 2014.
Natural gas is also used in oilfields, either for producing steam water or for reinjection, with as much as 8.77bcm in natural gas being used in oilfields, against 7.83bcm units consumed in 2014.
Additionally, natural gas consumption grew in line with growth in crude oil production from enhanced oil recovery projects.
Overall crude oil production grew by 4% to 358.10bn barrels in 2015, from 344.37bn barrels in 2014.
Other major consumers of natural gas in Oman include power producers, small-scale industries and liquefied natural gas plants. Natural gas used by power and desalination plants stood 4.1% higher, at 8.32bcm for 2015.
The Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) estimates gas consumption in the electricity and water desalination sector to rise substantially in the next five years, mainly due to a robust growth in capacity to support the growing demand for power and water.
While the national demand for gas will rise sharply over the coming five years, the rate of increase is by no means evenly distributed, with requirements set to spike in some regions, officials noted.
Also, several mega industrial projects are waiting for natural gas commitments from the Omani government, prior to proceeding with their proposed expansion programmes.
In fact, the Sultanate’s Ministry of Oil and Gas is responsible for supplying gas to various consumers and the obligations are set out within the agreements.
