Oman is struggling to fund energy development projects after the financial crisis made it hard to get credit. The project to develop the Iranian gas field had a price tag of up to $ 12bn that Oman had agreed to fund fully.
“The production from the Kish gas field will not happen in 2012 as planned,” the source said. “The uncertainty of the global financial crunch has forced Oman to put the project on hold for a year.” Oman’s oil and gas minister said last year the financial crisis would likely impact the country’s energy projects and cause delays.
An Omani energy official said last year the Kish development was expected to be signed off in December 2008 and the project would be wholly funded by the Gulf Arab state.
A 200km subsea pipeline from the field, mostly underwater, would run from Musandam, near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, to Sohar in Oman.
Phase one of the project would transport gas to Oman at a rate of 1 billion cubic feet per day (cfd), later rising to 3 billion cfd. Iran has the world’s second-biggest gas reserves but has been slow to develop gas exports and has no LNG facilities, which super cool gas so it can be exported by ship.
The Islamic Republic has increasingly turned towards Asia and elsewhere to develop its oil and gas sector as sanctions and US pressure have prevented US and European firms from investing there.
