SPEARHEADING GROWTH

Ahmed Saleh Al Jahdhami, CEO, Orpic talks about the growth plan of Orpic since the beginning of the Grow Projects Journey in 2015, which will see its asset base increase by over $9bn and its product portfolio grow by over four million tonnes/year of Fuels

Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic), one of the largest organisations in the Sultanate of Oman and among the most rapidly growing businesses in the Middle East Downstream Oil and Gas industry, has embarked on a bold and ambitious strategic growth plan with a key focus to position the company as a globally competitive downstream business.

The company’s Refineries in Suhar and Muscat, as well as the integrated Aromatics and Polypropylene Plants in Suhar, provide Fuels, Chemicals, Polymers, and other Petroleum products to the Sultanate and to the World. Orpic has charted an ambitious growth plan which will increase its asset base by over $9bn and its product portfolio by over four million tonnes/year of Fuels and Polymers.

To meet the needs of Oman and the international markets, Orpic has undertaken three strategic growth projects – Suhar Refinery Improvement Project (SRIP), Muscat Suhar Product Pipeline (MSPP) and Liwa Plastics Industries Complex (LPIC), in line with the company’s strategy to add value to the Oil and Gas resources of Oman. Two of these Projects – SRIP and MSPP – are completed, and the third, LPIC, will be completed in 2020. Orpic is also establishing offices in China, Singapore and India as part of its plan increase its global footprint.

Orpic’s investments impact Oman’s economy in various ways. Orpic’s operations and strategic growth projects support GDP growth, increase Oman’s exports, and create job opportunities for Oman’s growing workforce through direct, indirect and induced employment.

SUHAR REFINERY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (SRIP)

SRIP, a $2.7bn investment, started commercial operations in February 2018. It has upgraded the company’s Refining

capability in order to further maximise the value of Omani Crude Oil, by adding refining capacity and supporting more complex refining that produces higher value products.

“With SRIP, the Suhar Refinery will add 82,000 barrels per day (bpd) to its existing capacity of 116,000bpd – taking the total capacity to 198,000bpd. This represents 70 per cent growth in Fuel production, and includes more than 40 per cent Propylene growth and the tripling of Naphtha production,” says Al Jahdhami.

“This will enable Orpic to meet domestic demand for Oil and Refined products, supporting the economic development of the Sultanate. In addition, the increased Naphtha production will reduce Orpic’s reliance on Naphtha purchases from 75 per cent of its total requirement to 25 per cent. Orpic currently imports Naphtha in support of the feedstock needs for its Aromatics and Polypropylene plants.”

MUSCAT SUHAR PRODUCT PIPELINE (MSPP)

This $336mn investment, which developed state-of-the-art storage and transportation facilities, was recently inaugurated. These facilities will not only improve costs in the downstream primary logistics sector, they will also consolidate the wholesale Fuel distribution and enable Orpic to increase its margin from Fuel sales.

More than 70 per cent of Oman’s Fuel needs will be served by the Al Jifnain Terminal, the new hub for Fuel supply to local marketing companies. The terminal also started to supply Aviation Fuel through a direct pipeline to support the requirements of Muscat International Airport. “This is a first of its kind project to be constructed in Oman – removing the need for Orpic to ship Refined products between Muscat and Suhar, bringing a new level of efficiency, and reducing cost to its business. The project is equipped with loading facilities designed to cater to the loading of more than 500 trucks per day.”

“In addition to meeting the domestic demand for Fuels, MSPP’s increased Fuel storage capacity at Al Jifnain will help to reduce pollution as a result of a significant reduction of Fuel truck movement in Muscat city centre,” Al Jahdhami avers.

LIWA PLASTICS INDUSTRIES COMPLEX

The commissioning of the $6.4bn LPIC project in 2020 will transform Orpic’s product mix and business model, double the company’s revenue and supporting the development of a downstream plastics industry in Oman. LPIC consists of a Gas Extraction Plant in Fahud, a 300km Fahud-Suhar Pipeline, and the Steam Cracker and Polymer Plants at the Suhar Industrial Area.

The Steam Cracker Plant will process light-ends produced in Orpic’s plants in Suhar as well as the rich gas received from the Fahud plant. Its concept lies in rerouting high-value elements of existing production streams, in combination with additional, purchased feedstocks to deliver high value Polymer products for the local and international markets.

LPIC is the largest transformational project undertaken in Oman which will contribute to the GDP of the Sultanate by 2 per cent and support creating a wide ranging downstream industry. It will link the Fahud Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) via a pipeline with the project’s main plants in Suhar as part of an integrated complex that houses also Suhar Refinery, Aromatics and Polypropylene plants. With LPIC Commissioned in 2020,

Orpic will become one of the most integrated Refinery and Petrochemical operations in the world, which will enable the company to extract the maximum value from Oman’s Oil and Gas.

With the global market for plastics growing, Orpic’s Polymer Marketing division was established in 2017 to strengthen the company’s position in Oman and internationally.

The marketing division aims to contribute to the development of the local Oman economy and the global Polyolefin industry. Through this marketing division, Orpic’s Polymers will competitively offer innovative and differentiated Polypropylene Products and Solutions to its customers worldwide.

FUTURE FOCUS

“To achieve our vision of becoming a globally competitive downstream business that Oman is proud of, we are focusing on Business Excellence, primarily through Digitization, Innovation, and R&D. We will continue to drive the organisation to achieve excellence in all activities starting with building a strong customer focus mindset, elimination of non-value adding activities and by embedding continuous improvement culture.”

Orpic is setting up offices in China, Singapore and India to establish its footprint worldwide and to provide excellent services to its business partners.