Duqm Refinery in Oman Completed Start-Up Processes

SEATTLE (Oil Monster): Oman’s Duqm refinery announced that it has completed start-up processes and that it is eying to begin commercial operations by the end of the current year. The $7 billion refinery project is one of the largest refining and petrochemicals project in the region.

According to OQ Group, the operator of the refinery project, the production of high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) marks the completion of the start-up phase of the refinery. It has exported first shipment of approximately 95,000 metric tons of HSFO to Corpus Christi, U.S. In addition, the refinery has also achieved naphtha production. It must be noted that the refinery had recently reported first diesel shipment.

OQ noted that the construction works are 99% complete. Also, 81% of the commissioning work has been completed.

The project, located at the heart of the Special Economic Zone of Duqm (SEZD), is a 50:50 joint venture between state-owned Oman’s OQ Group and Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) - the international downstream subsidiary of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp. Upon full operations, the refinery will have capacity to process 230,000 barrels of crude oil products per day.