Gas consumption in Oman rose by 3.2 per cent in 2013 driven by increased use of gas in oil recovery and higher demand from the industrial sector.

Consumption increased year on year to 39.1 billion cubic metres (bcm) compared with 37.9 bcm in 2012, data released by National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI) shows.

“There is a lot of demand for gas in the country. Industrial areas such as Duqm are demanding more gas, as a number of new industries that are coming up,” said undersecretary at the Ministry of Oil and Gas Salim al-Aufi speaking to reporters in Muscat, according to news site Al-Bawaba.

“There is also an increase in power demand and power producers are asking for more gas. For the oil and gas industry, gas is mostly used in enhanced oil recovery projects for re-injection,” he added.

According to Al-Aufi, Oman produces on average 85 million cubic metres of gas a day, while importing 5-7 million through the Dolphin pipeline from Qatar.

Oman is entering the construction phase of its largest ever gas project at the Khazzan tight gas field in the centre of the country, which will boost the sultanate’s output by a third. Project operator BP recently awarded the first major engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) package for $1.2bn.