Surplus volumes of gas set for export
The plant's initial output will be at 60 metric tonnes per day of gaseous oxygen and 70 metric tonnes per day of liquid oxygen, nitrogen
MUSCAT -- A Qatari company has signed a contract for the establishment of a major industrial gases plant at the Sur Industrial Estate. Buzwair Industrial Gases Corporation, a member of the Buzwair Group of Qatar, will shortly begin work on a cryogenic air separation plant capable of producing oxygen, nitrogen and argon, among other industrial gases.
The plant's output, initially envisaged at 60 metric tonnes per day of gaseous oxygen and 70 metric tonnes per day of liquid oxygen, nitrogen and liquid argon, is primarily earmarked for the steel production operations of an integrated steel mill planned at Sur. "We have signed a contract with Buzwair for the establishment of an industrial gases plant on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis," said P T Sivarajan -- Director (Operations) of Sun Metals, which is investing in a 1.2 million tonnes per annum steel complex at Sur.
"Buzwair's facility will be constructed on the site of the steel mill complex to provide us with a continuous supply of industrial gases," the official said in comments to the Observer. Sivarajan, along with Prabir Chakraborty, Director (Finance), represented Sun Metals at the agreement signing recently. Present on behalf of Buzwair Group were the Chairman and Group CEO.
The new Buzwair facility will supply oxygen and nitrogen in liquid and gaseous forms for use in the Steel Melt Shop that will form the nucleus of the integrated steel mill venture. Surplus volumes will be sold in the domestic market. At the conclusion of the 15-year supply contract, Sun Metals has the option to buy back the industrial gases plant from Buzwair, said Sivarajan. Sur industrial park is home to two of Oman's largest petrochemical schemes -- the three-train gas liquefaction project of Oman LNG and Qalhat LNG, and the world-scale fertiliser plant of Oman-India Fertiliser Company (Omifco).
Recently, memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed for the establishment of an integrated commercial, leisure, shopping and residential development with an estimated investment of RO 120 million at the industrial estate. Even the construction work on a steel mill project planned at Sur in Sharqiyah South Governorate is due to commence around the third quarter of this year.
Oman Daily Observer 2012
