Pact inked for operation of new Duqm Port bunkering terminal

OQ owned Oman Tank Terminal Company (OTTCO) and Oman Oil Marketing Company (OOMCO) signed an agreement regarding the operations and maintenance for OOMCO’s bunker terminal facility in the Port of Duqm. The agreement was signed on Sunday at OQ’s head office in Muscat by Ard Van Hoof, CEO, OTTCO, and Hussain Jama Bait Ishaq, Acting CEO, OOMCO.

The agreement represents the strong effort of the two companies to offer a cost-effective proposition to their customers both for the storage of liquid products and marine fuel delivery in the port, as well as the contribution to the competitiveness of Duqm as a regional port.

OOMCO, which OQ has a 49 per cent shareholding, is currently pre-commissioning a greenfield bunker terminal at the Port of Duqm.

This full-fledged terminal will consist of 30,000 m3 storage capacity and is capable of storing and handling both heavy fuel oils as well as lighter distillate products such as marine gas oil.

Through the agreement, OTTCO will provide operation and maintenance storage and marine services, making this development a next step in strengthening OTTCO’s strategy of owning and operating a widespread independent terminal network across Oman.

Ard Van Hoof, CEO OTTCO, said: “We are delighted to formalise this collaboration with OOMCO. Due to OTTCO’s presence in the Port of Duqm, we are able, through the optimisation of operational resources and capabilities, to offer a cost-effective storage proposition to its customers in combination with a high level of quality of services”.

Hussain bin Jama Bait Ishaq, OOMCO Acting CEO said “Supporting OTTCO’s presence at the Port of Duqm falls in line with our long-term strategy to transform Oman’s fuel industry. The Port of Duqm has become a preferred trade and shipping destination, which has helped us in providing our services to broaden our global footprint.”

OTTCO, part of OQ group of companies, is Oman’s independent tank storage company. It was set up in 2014 with the objective to develop Oman’s Crude Oil Hub in Ras Markaz, 70 km south of Duqm, with a potential total storage capacity of up to 200 million barrels.

The first phase of the development, with a designed capacity of 25 million barrels, is partly used to accommodate for the crude oil supply to OQ8 refinery in Duqm.