Oman Gas Company (OGC), the wholly government-owned gas transportation utility, has studied a range of important initiatives to expand its countrywide network and contribute to the maximisation of the value of the Sultanate’s gas resources, said a report.
The initiatives include a major oil pipeline to Ras Markaz were the company intends to build a 200-million barrel capacity crude oil storage park on Wusta coast, said the Oman Daily Observer report.
A proposed tie-in of DNO Oman’s export gas to the North Gas Grid, additional gas supply to Salalah Methanol Company and a gas supply to the Carmeuse/Majan plant in Salalah Free Zone, is also being similarly studied.
Other ventures planned by OGC, that have progressed through to the front end engineering design (FEED) stage, include proposals for a Muscat City Piped Gas Scheme, additional gas supply to Salalah-based Raysut Cement, a leading cement producer in the Sultanate, gas supply to the Technical Research Centre, design engineering work linked to a planned pipeline supplying gas to Associated Industries.
Another important project that OGC is looking to support is a natural gas liquids (NGL) extraction plant planned at Fahud within proximity of OGC’s northern gas transportation system.
The project aims at extracting the ethane component from natural gas and send it by pipeline for further processing at the $3.6 billion Liwa Plastic project planned by Orpic at Sohar Port.
“The Salalah LPG project was progressed to the pre-FEED stage which is crucial for OGC to progress from providing gas infrastructure, which of course we will continue to upgrade, into gas value chain projects as well,” Yousuf bin Mohammed Al Ojaili, CEO, Oman Gas, was quoted as saying in the newly released 2013 Annual Report.
“We have very successfully progressed the Salalah LPG concept study work and the project looks technically and economically solid. While taking this project forward, OGC will also evaluate other similar opportunities in different locations in Oman, where LPG or NGL extraction is based,” he added.
Abraaj acquires majority stake in Tunisian hospital
The Abraaj Group, a leading investor operating in global growth markets, has acquired a majority stake in Polyclinique Taoufik, a leading private hospital in Tunisia, through its funds.
Based in Tunis, Clinique Taoufik was one of the first private healthcare institutions established as part of efforts to modernise Tunisia’s healthcare system, said a statement.
The hospital currently treats 75,000 in- and out-patients per year, offering services such as general surgery, heart surgery, neurosurgery and obstetrics. It also has an emergency service, a radiology centre and laboratory, it said.
It is the second largest hospital in terms of bed capacity, with 164 beds.
With Abraaj’s financial and operational support, it aims to consolidate this position by further increasing patient capacity and adding new services, upgrading and renovating the hospital, and investing in human resources and training.
Ahmed Badreldin, partner and head of Mena at The Abraaj Group, said: “Our investment in Clinique Taoufik marks our sixth investment in Tunisia and enables us to execute our wider strategy of acquiring robust and innovative businesses in critical sectors such as healthcare.
“We are backing a company with strong growth potential as the North African population is expected to reach 190 million by 2020, with life expectancy also on the rise, contributing to increasing demand for quality healthcare services.”
Leila Kefi, chief executive officer of Clinique Taoufik, said: “We are excited to partner with the Abraaj team, who will help to accelerate Clinique Taoufik’s growth, and further build on our leading position in the healthcare delivery sector. We are confident that Abraaj’s strong experience in the healthcare industry and wider region make them the ideal investor for us.”
