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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Petronas eyes enhanced energy ties with Oman

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BP Oman khazzan3
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Muscat: Malaysian integrated oil and gas multinational Petronas is exploring investment and partnership prospects in key areas of Oman’s energy industry, according to a high-level executive. The state-owned energy giant seeks to build on its maiden investment in the Sultanate – a 10 per cent stake that it acquired last year in the Khazzan gas field in Block 61 in central Oman.


, Head of LNG Marketing and Trading (East of Suez and Africa), Petronas.

“(Our interest) is not necessarily limited to LNG, but also petrochemicals – those discussions are still ongoing, but upstream is definitely an area of interest for us to grow in Oman,” the official stated.


Muhammed was in the city last week as one of the keynote speakers at the 2nd Gas & LNG Middle East Summit, which was organised by London-based Wisdom Events. The two-day forum was sponsored by Oman LNG and Petronas.


Ranked as a Fortune Global 500 corporation, Petronas is a heavyweight in the international LNG business with output topping 34 million tonnes per year. The company also owns 130 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas reserves around the world, and has stakes in a number of gas liquefaction plants globally.


Late last year, PC Oman Ventures – a subsidiary of Petronas – bought a 10 per cent stake in Block 61 from Oman Oil Company Exploration & Production LLC (OOCEP), the exploration arm of Oman Oil and Orpic Group. BP owns a 60 per cent stake in the Block and is the operator of the license. The balance 30 per cent is held by Makarim Gas Development LLC, a subsidiary of OOCEP. Block 61, which with a current output of around 1 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas per day, contributes a significant share of Oman’s daily gas production. This output is projected to rise to 1.5 bcf/day in 2020.


Speaking to the Observer, Muhammed said that Petronas’ President had recently met with Dr Mohammed bin Hamed al Rumhy, Oman’s Minister of Oil and Gas, as part of “ongoing discussion on how we are going to grow in Oman”.


“We believe there are a lot of prospects in this country and we want to be part of the journey here in Oman,” he said. “(In this regard) we are currently working with the Ministry of Oil and Gas, and Oman LNG has been our partner as well. We are having a lot of discussions with them.”


Also in Petronas’ sights are opportunities for investment in Oman’s nascent, but ambitious, renewable energy development programme, said the official, citing the Malaysian energy firm’s recent foray into renewables following the acquisition of a company that owns around 400 MW of solar PV capacity, he said.


“We want to explore opportunities with partners around the globe, including in Oman, in trying to venture into renewable energy,” said Muhammed. “Through renewables, we are looking to reduce our carbon footprint and move towards being a much more efficient company.”


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