A joint venture agreement between Oman Oil Company, the government’s investment arm in the oil and gas sector and energy related projects, and Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) to build the Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Company (DRPIC) will be signed on Monday.

The project, which will have a capacity to refine 230,000 barrels per day, is one of the most important industrial projects in the Duqm Special Economic Zone. The project will transform the zone into one of the key industrial and economic hubs in the Sultanate and a nucleus for petrochemical industries in the future.
Essam bin Saud Al Zadjali, chief executive officer of Oman Oil Company said the work related to leveling the site of the refinery, which stretches over 900 hectares, has been completed. The state-of-the-art refinery is expected to start operation in 2020.
Al Zadjali added that financial closure for the project will be achieved in the third quarter this year.
Duqm Refinery, which is a 50:50 joint venture between Oman and Kuwait, is expected to take four years to complete, Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, undersecretary at the Ministry of Oil and Gas, said last week.
The undersecretary added that the government is now evaluating EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) bids submitted by potential contractors for building the refinery in Duqm.
As much as 65 per cent of crude feedstock for the refinery will be from Kuwait, while the remaining 35 per cent will be supplied by the Sultanate.