30JUL2019 - NEWS - Oman to ramp up LNG output by 10% by 2021

Oman, the biggest oil producer in the Middle East outside OPEC, plans to boost its LNG production by around 10% by 2021 through debottlenecking, an Oman LNG official told S&P Global Platts. “The debottlenecking project starts this year and will be in full swing by 2021,” said Mohammed al-Naseeb, chief marketing officer at Oman LNG. Current production is 10.5 million mt/year, and will reach 11.5 million mt/year after the expansion, he said. The Omani government is the biggest shareholder in Oman LNG at 51%, followed by Shell with a 30% stake, Total with 5.54% and Korea LNG with 5%. Other shareholders include Mitsubishi Corporation, Partex and Mitsui & Co. Around 40% of Oman LNG’s output goes to Japan and the biggest buyer is South Korea’s Kogas, which imports 4.06 million mt/year. In 2018, Oman LNG agreed to sell 1.1 million mt/year to BP over seven years.