Oman’s state-owned OQ Gas Networks (OQGN) has awarded the construction of a $272 million gas pipeline project to Egypt’s Petroleum Projects Company Petrojet and Partners.

The 193km pipeline will start from the Fahud field in central Oman and terminate in the northern industrial city of Sohar, OQGN said in a disclosure made in the Muscat Security Market, adding that the project will take 24 months to complete. 

Fahud was one of Oman’s biggest oil and gas fields discovered in 1963, operated by state-controlled Petroleum Development Oman. 

Sohar Freezone is home to Oman’s largest port and industrial complex, with a capacity of handling about 60 million tons of cargo. It boasts well-developed industrial activities in the petrochemicals, metals and energy sectors. 

“The pipeline will meet the increasing gas demand at the Sohar Freezone’s projects,” OQGN said in a statement. 

OQGN owns and operates the Gulf state’s 4,000km long gas pipeline grid. The company is among several subsidiaries indirectly owned by the sovereign Oman Investment Authority, possibly candidates for full or partial privatisation through listings on the Muscat stock exchange.

Listed on the Muscat stock exchange in October 2023, OQGN last year secured $1.2 billion in financing through agreements with 16 local and regional banks to support its operations and refinancing initiatives.

OQGN is trading at around OR0.16 ($0.41) and while its share price has fluctuated due to rising geopolitical tensions in the region as a result of the Israel-Iran conflict, it is still up by about 20 percent year to date.

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