Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the $5 billion Liwa Plastic Industries Complex will be signed by the Oman Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) on December 17 at Inter-Continental Hotels.
Dr. Hilal bin Abdullah Al Hinai, Director General of the Supportive Services at Orpic, said in a statement to Oman News Agency (ONA) that the company will sign more than 30 agreements on December 17 that will include engineering, predicament and construction of LPIC, as well as the finance agreements with the export guarantee agencies and banks, in addition to the gas supply agreements with the Ministry of Oil and Gas and the land agreements with Sohar Industrial Port, Sohar Free Zone and the Ministry of Housing.
He pointed out that Orpic seeks to get more than $4 billion worth finance to set up the project.
This amount represents about 80 per cent of the cost of the project ($5.2 billion). He added that Orpic will sign the main EPC contracts for the project with CBA of United States to build the steam cracker unit and its associated facilities in Sohar at a total cost of $2.8 billion, Tecnimont of Italy for the construction of plastic production units, GS Engineering and Construction of Korea and Mitsui of Japan for the construction of NGL extraction plant in Fahud and Punj Lloyd will construct the Fahud-Sohar NGL 300 km long pipeline.
He added that when LPIC is completed by 2019, it will not only ensure higher returns for Orpic shareholders but will diversify Orpic product mix and develop the downstream manufacturing industries for the plastic products.
It will also create many business and job opportunities and enhance Orpic position at the petrochemical markets.
It will also help in getting experience and modern technology.
He pointed out that the project is expected to contribute by 2 per cent of the Sultanate’s GDP.
‘After the operation of the project, which is the biggest manufacturing project in oil and gas industry in the Sultanate, the production of plastic is expected to increase by more than one million ton.
This will raise Orpic production to 1.4 million tons of polyethylene and polypropylene and will make it more capable of achieving bigger added value to the oil and gas produced by the Sultanate, he added.
It should be noted that during the upcoming 9th five-year plan and through LPIC, the Sultanate seeks to enhance its presence at the international petrochemical market and diversify the sources of national income.