Oman Oil Company to partner with KPI for Duqm refinery
Project to turn area into world’s energy hub: KPC chief
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) for Oman’s Al-Duqm port project has been signed between Oman Oil Company (OOC) and Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI), Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh announced yesterday.
Saleh, who is also Acting Oil Minister, said that the endeavor is part of efforts to bolster economic ties between Kuwait and the Sultanate. Moreover, he noted that this project represents a Kuwaiti foray into international oil markets, as he underscored the Al-Duqm port project as a significant and lucrative one.
On the project, with an expected energy capacity of 230,000 barrels, he said that it also includes oil products with competitive prices that meet international standards. He also pointed out that this project would be instrumental to the development of the economies of both nations. “This strategic partnership is a success story for Kuwait and Oman,” he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) Nizar Al-Adsani said the Duqm Refinery project would help turn the Omani area into a world hub for energy industries. Adsani’s press statement came after OOC and KPI signed the MoU to cooperate in the development of Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Complex in the Duqm Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Oman’s Al Wusta Governorate.
He hoped that the project would be the catalyst and ignition towards the start of similar ones in the energy field between GCC countries, where this mega project will ultimately lead towards transforming the Duqm area into one of the most important hubs for energy related industries regionally as well as internationally, eventually leading to a move from classical competition between GCC countries towards integrating and complimenting each other.
This opportunity offers an example of the spirit of economic cooperation between Kuwait and Oman and helps achieve two major goals, satisfying KPCs strategy of investing in strategic markets, in regions that strengthen and consolidate KPC’s current markets and building strong economic ties with a sister GCC country, he added.
In the meantime, CEO of Kuwait Petroleum International Ltd (KPI) Bakheet Al-Rashidi said that besides the local Omani rich experience in the oil related industries, KPI’s ample international experience in mega refinery and petrochemical projects, which KPI will cross fertilize and bring about to the Duqm Project from its European and Asian operations, will further support and guarantee the success of the project and will create a pool of regionally trained work force for this project and future projects in the oil industry.
Rashidi added that the opportunity has attracted vast local and international attention due to its unique nature, as well as the benefits it will bring about to the region and two countries, in addition to paving the road for further cooperation between both countries.
The Duqm refinery project is situated in the special economic zone in Al-Duqm, in the South East Al Wusta Governorate of the Sultanate of Oman. Once accomplished, the refinery will have the capacity to process 230,000 barrels of crude oil daily that will serve both local and international markets. The Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Company was founded in 2012 as a joint venture between Oman Oil Company (OOC) and the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).—KUNA