01 July 2015
MUSCAT: Non-Opec member Oman is weighing moves to invest in fuel storage capacity in East Africa with the aim of boosting sales in key markets in this rapidly developing continent, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The international news agency quoted the head of Oman Trading International Ltd, the fuel trading arm of the Omani government, as saying that the company plans to invest in facilities to store fuel in Mozambique or Tanzania to cater to potential markets unserved by seaports and marine terminals.
"We've seen fundamental changes in the market," Chief Executive Office Talal al Aufi was quoted as saying in an interview. "Asia as a market is now enjoying a period where there are options with all the growth in oil production."
Oman Trading is seeking storage capacity in Africa for up to 100 million cubic meters (26 billion gallons) of refined products, and it plans to complete a transaction before the end of the year, Al Aufi said. The company also sees an opportunity to expand trading in Iraq, where it supplies gasoline, he said.
Significantly, OTI, which is a joint venture between Oman Oil Company and Vitol Group, the world's largest independent energy trader, is also mulling plans to set up an office in the United States sometime during the first half of 2016.
An office in the US will give Oman Trading a base to buy and sell Latin American crude, said Al Aufi.
Exports from Colombia and Venezuela, among other regional suppliers, have been pushed out of the US market by increased local production, and many of those barrels are now flowing to Asia, where Middle Eastern crudes were traditionally dominant, he said.
Infrastructure investments in Africa and a physical presence in the US are vital for the company to extend its reach beyond traditional markets in Asia, according to the CEO. Oman sells most of its oil to China, where Middle Eastern crude producers face growing competition from suppliers outside Opec.
MUSCAT: Non-Opec member Oman is weighing moves to invest in fuel storage capacity in East Africa with the aim of boosting sales in key markets in this rapidly developing continent, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The international news agency quoted the head of Oman Trading International Ltd, the fuel trading arm of the Omani government, as saying that the company plans to invest in facilities to store fuel in Mozambique or Tanzania to cater to potential markets unserved by seaports and marine terminals.
"We've seen fundamental changes in the market," Chief Executive Office Talal al Aufi was quoted as saying in an interview. "Asia as a market is now enjoying a period where there are options with all the growth in oil production."
Oman Trading is seeking storage capacity in Africa for up to 100 million cubic meters (26 billion gallons) of refined products, and it plans to complete a transaction before the end of the year, Al Aufi said. The company also sees an opportunity to expand trading in Iraq, where it supplies gasoline, he said.
Significantly, OTI, which is a joint venture between Oman Oil Company and Vitol Group, the world's largest independent energy trader, is also mulling plans to set up an office in the United States sometime during the first half of 2016.
An office in the US will give Oman Trading a base to buy and sell Latin American crude, said Al Aufi.
Exports from Colombia and Venezuela, among other regional suppliers, have been pushed out of the US market by increased local production, and many of those barrels are now flowing to Asia, where Middle Eastern crudes were traditionally dominant, he said.
Infrastructure investments in Africa and a physical presence in the US are vital for the company to extend its reach beyond traditional markets in Asia, according to the CEO. Oman sells most of its oil to China, where Middle Eastern crude producers face growing competition from suppliers outside Opec.
© Oman Daily Observer 2015
