Oman, Korea sign gas storage pact

Korea Gas Corp., the world’s top buyer of liquefied natural gas, LNG, will form a venture with the Sultanate of Oman to trade and store the gas.
The two partners will hold equal stakes in the venture, which will share capital of $10 million, the Korea-based company said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. It didn’t say where the storage facility will be built. An LNG storage plant will help Asia’s third-largest economy secure supplies during the winter months when demand for heating accounts for about two-thirds of the country’s gas use. The company’s gas imports rose 10 percent last year to 24.6 million metric tons, according to its Web site.
“In current markets, where oil prices are soaring and global competition to secure energy resources is becoming more severe, this joint venture will help to balance supply and demand in Korea,” Korea Gas said in the statement.
The two countries plan to build two storage facilities with a capacity of 200,000 kiloliters each. Construction may begin at the end of this year, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said May 9. Oman and Dubai are being discussed as locations for the plant, an official at the ministry had said.
Oman expects gas output to rise 14 percent to 72.9 million cubic meters a day this year from 63.9 million cubic meters last year, the Oman Observer reported yesterday.