In the vast desert hinterland of Oman, a profound transformation of the energy value chain is accelerating. Recently, Oman OQ Group officially released a front-end engineering design tender for the Saih Nihayda natural gas liquid extraction unit project. This is not only a simple engineering tender, but also a key milestone in Oman's transformation into a major natural gas processing and export country.

As a super factory with a daily processing capacity of up to 48 million cubic meters is put on the agenda, Oman is attempting to transform underground natural gas resources into the golden blood driving the country's industrial upgrading through a 230 kilometer long energy artery.

230 kilometers of energy artery connected upstream and downstream

As the core puzzle of building an integrated value chain in Oman, the scale of the Saih Nihayda project is remarkable. According to the plan, the project will construct a dedicated gas pipeline with a total length of 230 kilometers and a diameter of 16 inches, like a steel dragon, to transport natural gas from the inland Saih Nihayda gas field directly to the coastline of the Dukum Economic Zone.

At the downstream end, an advanced fractionation complex will finely refine natural gas - separating ethane, propane, butane, and C5+condensate, with an initial annual separation capacity of about 1 million tons. These high value-added products will be directly delivered to the liquid terminal of Dukum Port through dedicated export pipelines, not only supplying the local market but also radiating globally.

20 years to lock in raw materials

The ambition of this project goes far beyond selling gas. OQ Group has signed a 20-year natural gas supply agreement with Integrated Gas Company, securing stable rations for the project. More importantly, the ethane extracted here will become the core raw material for the proposed petrochemical complex in Dukum. This means that the Saih Nihayda project is actually a pacemaker for Oman's future petrochemical industry. Through the wholly-owned promotion of OQ Group, Oman is attempting to break away from the path dependence of simply exporting raw materials, transform resource advantages into industrial advantages, and build Dukum into a regional energy product distribution center and high-end manufacturing base. Keywords: Middle East news, Oman, natural gas

With the launch of front-end engineering design bidding, Oman's energy strategy blueprint is moving from paper to reality. The Saih Nihayda project is not only a strong response from OQ Group to the government's economic diversification policy, but also Oman's ambitious goal of using traditional energy to drive future industries in the context of global energy transition.Editor/Cheng Liting