Published: 10:02 PM, May 03, 2021
MUSCAT, MAY 3 – Oman’s first liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) extraction plant has commenced trial production at Salalah Free Zone in Dhofar Governorate.
OQ LPG, a subsidiary OQ Gas Networks (part of OQ Group – the Sultanate’s integrated global energy group) was set up with an investment of around $826 million. The strategically important venture has been designed to further unlock the economic and commercial potential of the Sultanate’s hydrocarbon resources.
The centerpiece of the project is an extraction and fractionation plant designed to process up to 8.8 million standard cubic metres/day of natural gas. While the rich gas elements, comprising a mix of propane, butane and condensates, are stripped from natural gas to produce LPG, the ‘lean gas’ is pumped back into the grid. Total output of LPG is estimated at about 304 kilotons per year, consisting of 155 kilotons per year of propane, 111 kilotons of butane and 38 kilotons of condensate.