Oman LNG announced today a historic milestone as it successfully loads the 3000th Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) cargo lifted from its world-class facilities at Qalhat in Sur, destined for Japan.

The milestone comes to highlight the company’s uninterrupted supply of LNG, marking the Sultanate of Oman as a committed source of safe and reliable energy supply.

The milestone recognises the company’s operational excellence over its 22-year operational life – a success story where the company managed to sustain and thrive through a tailor-made plant rejuvenation programme that bolsters its production outputs, increases its production efficiency and uploads its environmental performance.

Including the loading of the 3000th cargo, Oman LNG lifted 191.2 million metric tons of LNG. This milestone underscores Oman LNG’s careful application of rigorous health, safety, and environmental standards to all its activities, which enabled a remarkable achievement of 35 million man-hours without a Lost Time Injury (LTI) at the end of 2019, before it’s voluntarily reset.

In addition, the company’s sustainability efforts and on-going projects are well positioned to reduce its carbon footprint and foster its GHG management, which align with Oman’s 2050 net-zero emission target.

Oman LNG loaded its 3000th cargo of LNG to Osaka Gas, carrying 135,000 cubic metres of LNG cargo sailing on the Jamal LNG vessel, was loaded at Oman LNG’s plant at Qalhat, in the eastern region of the Sultanate of Oman, and made its way to Japan.

His Excellency, Abdulsalam Al Murshidi, President of Oman Investment Authority (OIA), commented on this milestone by OIA Subsidiary Oman LNG, saying that “we are happy to witness the delivery of Oman LNG’s 3000th LNG cargo, destined for Japan. Since Oman LNG’s inception in 2000, the gas industry has made a substantial contribution to both attempts at economic diversification as well as addressing the world’s energy demands. The gas value chain has not only ensured efficient energy supplies for the country but also created new markets and contributed to the local community, not to mention the positive reputation Oman LNG has built as a trusted and reliable supplier of LNG”.

The current energy landscape worldwide is ever-challenging, requiring mutual and intense efforts to be taken by energy companies and the adoption of the most efficient practises to remain reliable and agile suppliers to customers. This milestone comes timely considering the growth of demand for gas, which has become an important commodity.

The company’s continued success is attributed primarily to its ability to stay competitive in a constantly changing energy landscape as well as its long-standing commitment to delivering LNG safely, efficiently, and reliably. LNG consignments from the Qalhat complex have been shipped to markets as far afield as Puerto Rico, one of 22 countries that have lifted Omani LNG since shipments began in 2000.

Speaking on this milestone, Talal Al Awfi Oman LNG’s Chairman stated “Today, we are delighted to see the successful loading of our 3,000 LNG cargos from our world-class facilities in Sur. We take this opportunity to thank the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Oman Investment Authority, shareholders, our upstream partners, the Board of Directors, our business partners, staff, and management of Oman LNG for this milestone.

This gives us another opportunity to celebrate National Day with yet another achievement. For us, the 3000th cargo is more than just a number; it is a tale of success throughout our entire gas value chain and reflects our strong and enduring relationship with our buyers and our customers, with whom our success story began”.

Through a landmark Royal Decree issued in 1994, the groundwork for developing the country’s potential for gas was established to kick-start efforts geared towards utilising the nation’s gas resources. This would earn for the country a new kind of revenue, supplementing the income from oil and spur far-reaching initiatives to grow the nation’s economy.

The LNG industry is a significant contributor to a steadily increasing quality of life for citizens and residents in the Sultanate through its execution of a wide swath of social investment programs through the Oman LNG Development Foundation that addresses many economic and social needs.

The export of Oman’s first cargo was in 2000 and since then, proceeds from the blossoming trade have supported, what some observers have described as an ambitious diversification program that has spurred growth in other important sectors of the economy, including tourism, agriculture and the spread of vital infrastructure that supports business and daily life.