“Maybe by the first quarter of next year,” he told reporters when asked when Oman would receive gas. “We are waiting for the Dolphin project, I think they have a delay of a few months, I understand,” he said on the sidelines of an oil conference in Riyadh. Dolphin Energy said last week it was on track for the full commercial launch of gas imports from gas-rich Qatar to the UAE in the first week of June. The project is due to extend further south to Oman.

The pipeline, which is already carrying 400mn cu ft per day to Dubai, is the first cross-border gas line in the Gulf region. It will help meet soaring energy demand in the UAE, which is witnessing a construction boom fuelled by record oil revenues. 

PIN/GULFTIMES