 Oman’s natural gas production and imports grew by 8.3% to 10.2bn cubic meters (bcm) for the first quarter of 2016, compared to 9.42bcm for the same period last year.
Of this, while non-associated gas showed a growth of 8.1% at 8.45bcm, associated gas production surged ahead by 9% to 1.74bcm, according to latest statistics released by the Sultanate’s National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
A sizeable portion of the natural gas in Oman is used by various mega industrial projects, which stood at 6.16bcm in Q1 2016, against 5.69bcm for the same period last year.
Natural gas is also used in oilfields either as fuel or for re-injection.
For instance, in Q1 2016, as much as 2.27bcm of natural gas was used in oilfields, against 1.96bcm units consumed for the same period in 2015.
Other major consumers of natural gas in the country include power producers, small-scale industries and liquefied natural gas plants.
Natural gas used by power and desalination plants stood 0.8% higher at 1.62bcm for Q1 2016.
The Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) estimates gas consumption in the electricity and water desalination sector to rise in the next few years, mainly due to new power plants that need natural gas feedstocks.
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.
In fact, the country’s Ministry of Oil and Gas is responsible for supplying gas to various consumers and the obligations are set out in within the agreements.
