Repairs under way at ORPIC’s Muscat refinery

Dec. 11, 2014
Oman Oil Refineries & Petroleum Industries Co. (ORPIC) said it plans to resume operations at its 106,000-b/d Mina Al Fahal refinery near Muscat, Oman, in mid-December following a Dec. 4 fire at the site.

Oman Oil Refineries & Petroleum Industries Co. (ORPIC) said it plans to resume operations at its 106,000-b/d Mina Al Fahal refinery near Muscat, Oman, in mid-December following a Dec. 4 fire at the site (OGJ Online, Dec. 4, 2014).

ORPIC completed an assessment of damages stemming from the incident earlier this week, and repairs are now under way, the company said.

With the fire resulting in only minor damages at the plant, impacted refinery operations are scheduled to restart on Dec. 18, ORPIC said.

An ongoing investigation into the cause of the fire, which broke out in one of the refinery’s naphtha treatment units, should be finalized within the next 2-3 weeks, the company said.

To prevent fuel supply interruptions in the local Omani market, ORPIC also said it has increased the capacity of fuel truck loadings at its 116,000-b/d Sohar refinery, about 230 km northwest of Muscat.

With the Sohar refinery continuing to maintain planned production levels, product supply to the local market remains uninterrupted to date, the company said.

ORPIC offered no further details regarding either the specific nature of damages at Mina Al Fahal or the refinery’s current rates of production.