Change in shareholding of Oman’s state-owned petrochemical companies

28-Feb-11

The ownership profile of Oman Refineries and Petrochemicals Company, Oman Polypropylene and Aromatics Oman is set to undergo a major change in the next few weeks, as reported by Platts. This follows the formation of a new government-owned company - Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries (ORPI) announced earlier this week. It is believed that the shares of the three petrochemical and refining entities are to be distributed equally between the government, Oman Oil Company, or OOC, and a private company. All the three companies will function under the umbrella of ORPI under one central management. The rationale behind this step could be to ensure similar decisions for all the petrochemical entities depending on the market conditions. The three companies currently have a complex, interwoven shareholding pattern. OOC, a fully owned government subsidiary owns 79% of Aromatics Oman, whereas ORPC holds a 20% stake in the company, and 1% is held by South Korea's LGI Corporation. Oman's Ministry of Finance owns 40% of Oman Polypropylene while OOC and LGI hold 40% and 20% respectively. The government of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Finance, owns 75% of ORPC's shares, while the OOC owns 25%.