Speaking to MEED on 24 February at the Major New Project & Investment Opportunities in Oman conference, executive project manager Maurice Merzian said: 'The PIM [preliminary information memorandum] may come out next month. The debt/equity ratio has not been optimised yet, but once we have finalised the full shareholder structure of the company we should have a clearer understanding of what we need from the market.'

According to Merzian, Qalhat LNG is on the brink of announcing its final shareholding structure with the addition of three more equity partners. The government is still expected to take the majority stake in the company, followed by Oman LNG, which will operate the train, and Spain's Union Fenosa Gas, which has a commitment to take 50 per cent of the gas.