Oman Gas Company reshapes gas sector
The Restated Concession Agreement grants OGC the concession to own and operate Oman’s gas transmission system of pipelines, metering, compressor and gas supply stations under a new revenue framework.
Times News Service
MUSCAT: Oman Gas Company (OGC), a subsidiary of Oman Oil Company and the Sultanate’s gas transporter, has signed a 50-year Restated Concession Agreement (RCA) with the Government of Oman.
The RCA grants OGC the concession to own and operate Oman’s gas transmission system of pipelines, metering, compressor and gas supply stations under a new revenue framework.
The new framework reshapes the gas transmission sector by implementing a cost-reflective tariff to transport gas across the system and new (market) processes that guide the interaction between OGC, the Ministry of Oil & Gas (as the shipper), gas producers and final gas consumers. The framework is based on a Regulatory Asset Base (RAB) method consistent with international best practices and will be regulated by the Authority for Electricity Regulation.
The signing of the RCA represents a major milestone in OGC’s transformation into Oman’s sole, leading and independent gas transmission system owner and operator (commonly referred to as the “gas TSO”).
The Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council first instructed OGC to establish an appropriate business model to allow the acquisition of selected government-owned gas assets. Since then, OGC and the government have been working closely over selecting, designing and implementing the appropriate framework. In November 2018, OGC secured $1.1 billion in bank financing with seven international and local banks. The commitment of these international investors underscores the success of OGC’s RAB framework. The funds will be used to acquire the government-owned assets, as well as finance significant pipeline network expansion.
OGC expects significant network growth, working on adding 500 to 600 kilometres of pipelines to the existing 2,500-kilometre national gas transmission network in the coming years.
Major projects include connecting Duqm and addressing the growing demand in the Sohar region.
“OGC has the technical knowhow and has proven itself as a reliable operator of the gas network in the country. It knows the system and customers very well and is extremely competent in managing relations between seller and buyers. This major milestone is to transform the gas market model in Oman,” said Salim Al Aufi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil and Gas.
“The implementation of RAB has not only changed OGC but has positioned the entire Omani gas transportation sector such that it can further evolve to create maximum value to the Sultanate’s gas sector and contribute to the security of gas supply in the long-run,” said Sultan Al Burtmani, Acting Executive Managing Director of OGC.
“OGC is currently in the process of acquiring gas transportation assets operated by PDO in order to establish itself as the sole gas TSO in Oman, creating significant operational efficiencies and improvements. With the introduction of RAB, new gas customers will be required to have separate connection agreements and gas supply agreements, and both will be standardised as much as possible,” he further added.