A joint venture between two leading global entities in the oil and gas sector, OQ8 forms the bedrock of the relationship between OQ and Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) as they forage into newer horizons in the Sultanate.

This strategic partnership between OQ and KPI will spawn a mega refinery that will be based in Duqm, which is located 600kms south of Muscat in the South East Al Wusta Governorate of the Sultanate of Oman.

The location gives the project a strategic maritime location and a competitive advantage being in the path of international shipping lines in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea, thus easing the process of transport in and out of the region.

Once commissioned, the mega refinery – which was known as Duqm Refinery – will have the capacity to process around 230,000 barrels of crude oil per day. S&P Global Platts reports that the refinery is worth US$8bn.

Diesel, jet fuel, naphtha, and LPG are expected to be the brand’s primary products. As per S&P Global Platts, OQ8 will receive 65 per cent of its crude volume from Kuwait, and the remaining 35 per cent will be Omani crude, with both grades stored at Ras Markaz Oil Storage Park in the Duqm Special Economic Zone.

The Storage Park is reportedly in its final stages of completion, as per a Tweet published on Aug 15, 2021, by the Duqm Special Economic Zone.

Ras Markaz Oil Storage Park will have an initial capacity to hold 25mn barrels starting in Q1 2022. The storage park will be connected to Duqm refinery through an 80-km long pipeline and eight tanks built to store the facility’s oil.

At the time of publishing this story, OQ8 has reportedly completed 84.3 per cent of construction and worked a total of 117,891,344 Man-Hours.

OQ Brand Logo

Christiaan Vanderwouden, the Chief Executive Officer of OQ8, said: “OQ8 forms a key part of the Government of Oman’s overall vision for strong and sustainable economic growth.”

The three characters ‘O’, ‘Q’, and ‘8’ represent a business, a special zone, and a deep and lasting friendship between Oman and Kuwait. It is worth noting that Q8 also forms the acronym of KPI on official channels of media.

Kuwait Petroleum International (Q8) Brand Logo

Oman’s relationship with Kuwait traces back centuries. The two GCC countries have shared a long history of maritime trade. From small, early sailing vessels, OERLive learns that the two enjoyed their earliest cooperation exchanging goods and getting to know each other across the seas.

It is believed that as trust between the two nations grew, they were able to venture into deeper waters, to seek larger, more diverse markets.

“The names and logos of two existing companies, OQ and Q8, dovetail perfectly to create a new brand for their equal joint venture, OQ8,” reads an excerpt from the website.

The logo’s two-tone colour scheme retains the shades of the two founding companies, the turquoise of OQ and the dark blue of Q8, while the gentle transition between the three letters represents the harmonious and cooperative relationship between the two companies and their home countries.