Oman's OQ Gas Networks sets up $1 billion sukuk programme

Summary

• OQ Gas Networks has established a sukuk issuance programme worth up to $1 billion.
• The Muscat-listed gas transport firm is majority owned by Oman Investment Authority.
• The programme gives OQGN a standing channel to raise Islamic debt.

The latest

Muscat-listed OQ Gas Networks has established a $1 billion sukuk issuance programme, according to Zawya. The company, which operates Oman's gas transportation network, is majority owned by Oman Investment Authority, the sultanate's sovereign wealth fund. The announcement set the programme's ceiling without detailing when, or in how many tranches, the company intends to draw on it.

Details

• The move: OQ Gas Networks has put in place a sukuk issuance programme with a size of $1 billion, Zawya reported. A programme of this type functions as a standing framework rather than a single sale, allowing an issuer to come to market repeatedly under pre-agreed documentation once it is established.
• The issuer: OQGN is listed in Muscat and is majority owned by Oman Investment Authority, the sultanate's sovereign wealth fund. That ownership structure places the company among the state-linked entities that dominate large-ticket corporate borrowing in the Gulf, where sovereign funds hold controlling stakes in listed infrastructure assets.
• The instrument: Sukuk are Islamic debt instruments structured around asset ownership and profit-sharing rather than conventional interest payments, which widens the investor base to institutions mandated to buy only Sharia-compliant paper. Gulf issuers routinely run sukuk programmes in parallel with conventional bond facilities.
• Not disclosed: The announcement carried no breakdown of tranche sizes, no tenor for any planned issuance, and no stated use of proceeds. OQGN also did not set out a timetable for a first drawdown under the programme.
• The scale: At $1 billion, the programme ceiling is sizeable relative to a single national gas transmission operator, though the figure is an upper limit on cumulative issuance rather than an amount the company has committed to raise.
• The timing: Zawya published the item on 2 October 2026, with the report last updated at 10:19 GMT+4. The outlet described the programme as established, placing the framework in effect rather than under consideration.
• Also: A sovereign-linked issuer tapping sukuk markets signals Oman's wider funding approach.

Background

OQ Gas Networks runs Oman's gas transportation grid and was floated on the Muscat bourse as part of a state programme to list stakes in energy assets held through Oman Investment Authority, while the fund retained majority control of the company.

Between the lines

A standing programme rather than a one-off sale points to repeat market access as the objective. Because OQGN is majority owned by the sovereign wealth fund and operates national gas transmission infrastructure, investors typically price its paper with reference to the state's own credit standing, which is what makes a billion-dollar ceiling workable for a single utility-scale issuer.

What's next

Watch for OQGN's first drawdown under the programme and the tranche size, tenor and pricing it carries, along with any filing to the Muscat bourse setting out the intended use of proceeds.

Source: Zawya