Abstract : The Oman Gas Company (OGC) announced Saturday that it signed a 50-year Restated Concession Agreement (RCA) with the Omani government.

MUSCAT, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Oman Gas Company (OGC) announced Saturday that it signed a 50-year Restated Concession Agreement (RCA) with the Omani government.

The RCA grants the OGC the concession to own and operate Oman's gas transmission system of pipelines, meters, compressor and gas supply stations under a new revenue framework.

The new framework implements a tariff on gas transportation that will reflect cost, and it is based on a Regulatory Asset Base (RAB) method consistent with international practice and will be regulated by the Authority for Electricity Regulation.

In November 2018, the OGC secured 1.1 billion U.S. dollars of bank financing from seven international and local banks. These international investors underscores the success of the OGC's RAB framework. The funds will be used to acquire the government-owned assets as well as finance significant pipeline network expansion.

The OGC is working on adding 500 to 600 km of pipelines to the existing 2,500-km national gas transmission network in the coming years. Major projects include connecting Duqm and addressing growing demand in the Suhar region.

"This major milestone is to transform the gas market model in Oman," said Salim al-Aufi, the undersecretary of Omani Ministry of Oil and Gas.