Kuwait Petroleum Corp. subsidiary Kuwait Petroleum International Ltd. (KPI) has finalized an agreement with Oman Oil Co. (OOC) to jointly develop Duqm Refinery & Petrochemical Industries Co. LLC's (DRPIC) grassroots 230,000-b/d refinery and petrochemical complex to be built in the Duqm Special Economic Zone (SEZAD) in Duqm, Al Wusta Governate, Oman (OGJ Online, Nov. 14, 2016).
As part of the Apr. 10 agreement, KPI will invest an undisclosed amount in the proposed refining and petrochemical project that, once completed, will produce transportation fuels and petrochemicals to meet rising demand in Oman and abroad, the companies said.
The agreement follows DRPIC’s goal of attracting investors to help complete the proposed complex following IPIC’s conclusion in early 2016 that the new direction of project to include petrochemicals did not fit its investment strategy.
In 2015, DRPIC said it planned to award a total of two EPC contracts for the project by yearend 2016, including a larger package for all equipment and structures required for main crude oil processing units, as well as a second package to cover all supporting installations, utilities, tankage, and buildings (OGJ Online, Jan. 25, 2016).
According to OOC’s website, the project is still awaiting award of the EPC tender before construction begins.
The company previously awarded a contract to Galfar Engineering & Contracting SAOG, Muscat, to provide site preparation work for the project, for which leveling and laying of foundations for refinery construction has now been completed, OOC said.
Detailed timelines for construction and ultimate startup of the integrated refining complex, however, have yet to be revealed.
Primarily designed to produce and recover naphtha, jet fuel, diesel, and LPG, the refinery will include units for hydrocracking, hydrotreating, delayed coking, sulfur recovery, hydrogen generation, and Merox treating.
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].