Award for design of Oman petchem complex soon

Having signed in place agreements for the implementation of the $7 billion Duqm Refinery project, the joint venture partners — Oman Oil Company and Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) — are now preparing the groundwork for the development of Phase 2 of this signature venture, envisioning an equally an ambitious downstream petrochemical complex.

According to a top official of Oman Oil Company, the wholly government owned energy investment vehicle, an award for the design of the multibillion dollar petchem complex is expected to be announced in the coming months.

“The feasibility study covering the scope of the petchem complex has been completed and was recently discussed by the shareholders,” said Hilal Ali al Kharusi (pictured), Executive Managing Director of Oman Oil Duqm Development Company, one of the four verticals of the restructured Oman Oil Group.

“There is common agreement that the proposed design is the best, as it takes into account the technical and commercial aspects of the complex. We are now moving into the design phase with an award for the design due to be announced, hopefully, within the next 2-3 months,” Al Kharusi told the Observer.

As many as 7-8 petrochemical plants, operating downstream of the refinery, are envisioned in the second phase of the development of an anchor refining and petrochemicals cluster in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Duqm, according to the official. Output from these plants will be offered to investors — local and international — as feedstock for valueadding chemical industries.

“The majority of the proposed plants — say 5 or 6 of them — will be implemented by us because the feedstock coming from the steam cracker of the Duqm Refinery project cannot be easily exported and must be consumed locally. The other three plants will however be opened up for investment,” said Al Kharusi.