Dolphin's gas supplies from Oman reach Al Ain

The first supplies of natural gas from Oman under the ambitious Dolphin Gas Project reached Al Ain yesterday, heralding the first cross-border gas transmission in the history of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

The gas was received at the control station in Al Ain through a pipeline from Oman, Dolphin Energy Ltd (DEL) announced.

Dolphin will transport the gas through its recently completed 24-inch, 182-kilometre gas pipeline to a new power and desalination plant in Fujairah. Some 135 million cubic feet of gas per day will be supplied by Dolphin once the pipeline commissioning process is complete.

The gas will serve as initial feedstock for the Union Water and Electricity Co's (UWECs) 656 MW power station and 100 million gallons a day desalination plant.

"Dolphin is now in business. This is a historic moment, since it marks our first gas supplies to a customer, as well as the first gas transmission across GCC national borders," said Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, the chief executiveof DEL.

"Dolphin is proud to have contributed to this occasion and we are particularly grateful to the Oman government for their encouragement and support. We could not have undertaken this strategic engery initiative without them," he added.

Saeed Al Mazrooei, Dolphin's deputy vice presidentof projects said: "The Omani authorities and Oman Oil Co (OOC) have helped us at every turn, to ensure that we received our gas on time, of the right quality and at the right place. We look forward to a long working relationship."

On February 6, 2003, DEL signed a sales agreement with OOC to provide it with gas for Fujairah for a term of between three and a half to five years. On the following day, Dolphin signed a sales agreement to supply UWEC for the same period.

Dolphin's gas supplies from Oman to UWEC will subsequently be replaced by Dolphin gas from Qatar. The border connection will thereafter be used to supply Qatari gas to Oman, as and when required.

The benefits of the Dolphin pipeline for UWEC and thus for the UAE are expected to be considerable. UWEC will supply the much-needed water to the northern Emirates, to Dhaid in Sharjah and to Sweihan in Abu Dhabi, as well as providing up to 500 MW of power to the Federal Water and Electricity Authority (FEWA).

The Dolphin Gas Project involves the production and processing of natural gas from Qatar's North Field and transportation of the dry gas by pipeline to the UAE beginning in 2006.

Dolphin Energy is owned 51 per cent by Mubadala Investment Company, on behalf of the Government of Abu Dhabi and 24.5 per cent by France's Total and the US Occidental Petroleum.