Delayed: Kish field development off Oman
Credit crunch delays Kish plans
Oman will delay by at least a year a joint venture with Iran to develop the Kish gas field due to tight finances, an Omani industry source involved in the project said today.
Oman is struggling to fund energy development projects after the financial crisis made it hard to get credit.
The project to develop the Iranian gas field had a price tag of up to $12 billion that Oman had agreed to fund fully.
"The production from the Kish gas field will not happen in 2012 as planned," the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
"The uncertainty of the global financial crunch has forced Oman to put the project on hold for a year."
Oman had earlier said that the financial crisis would likely delay a number of the country's energy projects.
Last year, an Omani energy official said the Kish development was expected to be signed off in December 2008 and the project would be wholly funded by the Gulf Arab state.
A 200 kilometre subsea pipeline from the field would run from Musandam, near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, to Sohar in Oman.
Phase one will see gas flowing to Oman at a rate of 1 billion cubic feet per day, later rising to 3 Bcfd.