24. Case 20: Dolphin Gas Project

The Dolphin Gas project is one of the largest trans border energy projects in the GCC region. Dolphin Gas project is the only international gas network in the GCC region which connects three countries Qatar, UAE and Oman. The project involved the transportation of natural gas via pipeline from Qatar to the neighboring countries of United Arab Emirates and Oman. This was the first major regional energy network created in the GCC region. The value of the project was estimated to be $7 billion. The project was completed in two phases. The construction of the project was started in the year 2002. The first phase witnessed the development of two platforms in Qatar’s North field, two multi-phase offshore sealines to the processing facilities and the gas treatment and compression plants at Ras Laffan in Qatar. The second phase involved the construction of 364 km subsea pipeline to transport gas to UAE coast. The cost of the second phase was $3.5 billion. The second phase of the project was completed in the year 2006. The pipeline became operational in the year 2007. The pipeline has the capacity to carry up to 3.2 billion cubic feet of Qatar natural gas a day to UAE for a period of 25 years. Dolphin Energy meets approximately 30% of the UAE’s energy requirements. The total investment in the Dolphin gas project is estimated to be US$6.2 billion. In the year 2005, Dolphin entered into an Islamic financing agreement with 14 financial institutions to provide $1 billion to partially fund the construction expenditures. At that time, this Islamic financing was the largest ever Sharia compliant oil and gas transaction.