Oman Oil Company and LG ink agreement to jointly develop a petrochemical plant at Sohar Port

06-Dec-12

Oman Oil Company (OOC) and LG International (LGI) have signed an agreement to jointly develop a petrochemical plant at the Sohar Port. The joint venture company, which will be owned 70% by OOC and 30% by LGI, will execute the project in accordance with international standards to produce a total of 1.1 mln tons of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and 500,000 tpa of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The project, which is estimated to cost around US$850 mln and will be operational by the end of 2016, will be completed in two phases, as per Oman News Agency. Al Jashmi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Oil and Gas and Chairman of OOC said: “The development of the PTA/PET complex is an important investment project and will help step up downstream projects based on PET. In addition, the project will create more employment opportunities for Omanis. The project highlights the economic importance of setting up diversified industrial projects in Port of Sohar and supports the government’s efforts in diversifying the national economy and attracting foreign direct investments,” he added. The project will also support In-Country Value and contribute to the Omani economy by way of engagement of local contractors and suppliers, use of feedstock produced by the aromatics complex in Sohar owned by Oman Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) and the use of Sohar Port for import of plant equipment and other raw materials.