Page 10 - MEOG Week 46 2021

MEOG FINANCE & INVESTMENT MEOG

OQ planning to monetise certain assets

OMAN STATE-OWNED Omani oil firm OQ is consid- upstream oil industry. The firm was created in
ering following in the footsteps of several of the 2006 and owns 13 land rigs.
region’s top oil producers by carrying out local Following the path now trodden by both
listings of some up- and downstream assets but ADNOC and Aramco, al-Kharusi said that OQ
has no plans for a full company float. could consider various arrangements for its gas
Speaking to Reuters this week, OQ’s acting network including stake sales, local listings or
CEO of Commercial, Hilal al-Kharusi said that leasing. OQ Gas Network (OQGN) is the exclu-
the company is carrying out a review of its sub- sive operator and owner of Oman’s gas transpor-
sidiaries ahead of choosing which to list. “We are tation system and has the exclusive concession to
considering listing some of our assets in the local own and operate a system of pipelines, metering,
market,” he said. compressor and gas supply stations.
“We are reviewing at the moment … some in Gas is sourced from Blocks 60 and 61 and
the downstream and some in the upstream espe- sold to 59 connected government-owned indus-
cially on the service part of it,” al-Kharusi added. trial facilities mainly located in around Sohar,
The comments come as Abu Dhabi National Muscat, Sur, Mukhaizna and Salalah including
Oil Co. (ADNOC), and more recently Saudi refineries, petrochemical plants, power plants,
Aramco, have raised billions of dollars listing desalination plants, fertiliser plants, cement
or leasing out minority stakes in infrastructure plants and manufacturing facilities.
and companies associated with oil and gas pro- The gas agreements for both blocks include a
duction, transportation, refining, fuels and real fixed escalating price for supplies. The reference
estate. price for Block 60 commenced in 2011 at $2.50-
“Certainly by 2022, we will have a more con- 2.80 per million Btu escalating at 2% per annum
crete view of the whole portfolio. Now which while that for Block 61 started in 2014 at $3.30
one to go first? That would depend on how the per mmBtu and escalates at the same rate.
market reacts,” he said. OQ’s flagship downstream assets comprise
Reports had previously suggested that the the ammonia, LPG and methanol facilities in
Omani government was considering an initial Salalah, integrated refining and petrochemi-
public offering (IPO) of a 20-25% stake in OQ, cals facilities at Sohar and a 50% stake alongside
but al-Khrusi said there were no current plans Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) in the
to do so. 230,000 barrel per day (bpd) Duqm refinery
Upstream, OQ has participating interests which is on course for commissioning in early
in four producing blocks, one non-producing 2023.
block and five exploration blocks both onshore OQ has 10 subsidiaries throughout the oil
and offshore Oman. and gas value chain with notable examples
In July, OQ was reported to be considering including Duqm’s developer OQ8, OQ Chem-
the sale of its Abraj Energy Services drilling unit icals, OQEP and OQ Trading.
as part of broader divestment plans. The company has plans to invest nearly $8bn
Sources said that plans were in their infancy over the next five years and having already raised
with one source saying that OQ – formerly $750mn in April via seven-year bonds priced at
Oman Oil Co. (OOC) – may decide to carry out 5.125%, al-Kharusi said the company would
only a partial divestment by floating the com- likely return to the bond market in 2022.
pany on the local stock exchange. “We align our debt raising along with the gov-
The partial or complete sale of Abraj has been ernment of Oman … Probably next year we will
mooted by Muscat since 2015 and has been consider issuing a bond,” noting that it would
repeatedly postponed pending an upturn in the likely be on a par with the previous bond.™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 46 17•November•2021