Saturday 19th, December 2015
Orpic (Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company SAOC) celebrated the signing of more than 15 agreements to build, operate and finance the Liwa Plastic Industries Complex on Thursday. Present at the signing ceremony of one of Oman's largest projects financed in the downstream oil and gas industry were government ministers, under-secretaries, members of the Majlis Addawla and Majlis Ash'shura, Orpic's Board of Directors, other high ranking officials and several members of the local community of Sohar and Liwa.
The formal agreements were signed by Sultan bin Salim al Habsi, Chairman and Musab al Mahrouqi, CEO, of Orpic respectively, with senior officials of awarded companies. Moreover, more than 20 local and international bank and financial institutions and export credit agency committed to provide $3.8 billion. In attendance were senior executives of leading export Credit Agencies, banking institutions and contractors.
Orpic awarded the following four contracts for Engineering, Procurement and Contracting (EPC) packages worth $4.5 billion linked to the Liwa Plastics Industries Complex (LPIC) Project:
EPC 1 (Steam Cracker and Utilities): CB&I and CTCI Corporation Joint Venture
EPC 2 (Plastics units): Technimont SpA
EPC 3 (NGL Extraction): GS Engineering and Construction and Mitsui & Co Ltd Joint Venture
EPC 4 (NGL Pipeline): Punj Lloyd Ltd
In his opening speech, Sultan bin Salim al Habsi, Chairman, Orpic, stated, "This project will enhance the In-Country Value of products and will provide the necessary materials to grow a downstream sector in the Sultanate, with a focus on the plastics industry. LPIC will also enhance the contribution of the industrial sector towards domestic production to 9 per cent by 2020 and will create more than 13,000 new employment opportunities for Omanis."
Musab al Mahrouqi, CEO, Orpic, explained that the successful proponents were selected due to the strength of their technical and financial bids. He said, "Today marks an important milestone in the history for Orpic and LPIC with the signing of the EPC contracts and finance agreements to cover majority of the finance required for this project.
We are confident that once plant commissioning is completed in 2019, LPIC will change Orpic's product mix by extracting more value from natural gas and crude oil. Being located in Sohar as part of an integrated complex that houses also Sohar Refinery, Aromatics Plant, Polypropylene and Steam Cracker Unit for LPIC, Orpic operations will be one of the most integrated refinery and petrochemical operations in the world and will enable the company to extract the maximum value from Oman's oil and gas."
Al Mahrouqi further added, "Market support and confidence in LPIC has been overwhelming -- from the investment support we have received from financial institutions, to the interest we received from EPC contractors which reflects the trust that different stakeholders put on this project and the solid reputation that Orpic enjoys."
LPIC plays a strategically important role in the integration of Orpic's refinery and petrochemical operations. LPIC will enable Orpic to utilise the existing products of the refineries and Aromatic plant which are currently being exported as feedstock for LPIC in addition to Natural Gas Liquids leading to producing high value products that will help Orpic double its profits," Al Mahrouqi concluded.
LPIC is one of three strategic growth projects being delivered by Orpic namely Sohar Refinery Improvement Project (SRIP), Muscat-Sohar Pipeline (MSPP) and Al Jifnain Terminal. These projects will cement Orpic's position as a market leader in Oman, the Middle East and the international oil and gas sector.
© Oman Daily Observer 2015
