MUSCAT: State-owned Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) said that its $6.5 billion Liwa Plastics Industries Complex (LPIC) project has reached the stage of a detailed engineering phase. The ground breaking ceremony for the Sohar, part of the LPIC project, is scheduled on October 10, according to a company release. The employees working on the project have been deployed at the engineering procurement and construction contractors’ offices in Seoul, Milan, The Hague and New Delhi and the overall project is on track.
The $6.5 billion project is the largest of the three strategic growth projects undertaken by Orpic to fulfil its vision of building an Omani integrated refining and petrochemical business. This project will be the first-of-its-kind in the Sultanate and upon commissioning in 2020, will transform Orpic’s product mix and business model, double company’s profit, create new business opportunities, generate significant employment opportunities and support the development of a downstream plastics industry in Oman.
“We are confident that once our plants are commissioned and completed in 2020, LPIC will change Orpic’s product mix by extracting more value from natural gas and crude oil. Being located in Sohar as part of an integrated complex that also houses the Sohar Refinery, aromatics plant, polypropylene and steam cracker unit for LPIC, Orpic’s operations will be one of the most integrated refinery and petrochemical operations in the region and will enable the company to extract the maximum value from Oman’s oil and gas,” said Musab Al Mahruqi, chief executive officer of Orpic.
Last year, Orpic awarded four contracts for engineering, procurement and contracting (EPC) packages worth $4.5 billion for Liwa Plastics Industries Complex Project to CB&I and CTCI Corporation joint venture (steam cracker and utilities), Tecnimont (Plastics unit), NGL Extraction GS Engineering and Construction and Mitsui joint venture (NGL Extraction) and Punj Lloyd (NGL pipeline)
LPIC is one of three strategic growth projects being delivered by Orpic namely Sohar Refinery Improvement Project, Muscat-Sohar Pipeline and Al Jifnain Terminal. These projects will cement Orpic’s position as a market leader in Oman, the Middle East and the international oil and gas sector.
