Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) has announced plans for a new 280 km pipeline near the Muscat highway connecting Sohar and Muscat refineries
The project, which would cut the heavy fuel tanker traffic in Muscat by 70 per cent, is expected to increase the storage capacity for diesel and petrol and connect the current storage facilities in Sohar and Mina al Fahal to cope with ever growing demands, Orpic said.
Musab al Mahruqi, CEO of Orpic, commented, "The new storage and loading station will reduce the load on the current Mina al Fahal station, which is considered as the main station for loading and distributing fuel in Oman.
“70 per cent of Oman fuel is being distributed from Mina al Fahal, the rest from Sohar refineries and Raysut port. Upon completion of the project, the new station will contribute 50 per cent of the expected local consumption in the sultanate to cope with the growing demands while keeping the current stations in operation,” he added.
Orpic has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Spanish Compañia Logística de Hidrocarburos (CLH) to design, construct and operate the project.
Al Mahruqi noted, “With this significant investment, we will remove the need to ship refined products from Sohar to Muscat and then truck them through the city, as we do today. Not only will it bring a new level of efficiency and lower costs to our business, it will reduce the number of fuel tanker trips in and around Muscat."
