Oman’s DRPIC awards FEED contract to Wood UK
Duqm Refinery is part of a strategic partnership between the Oman Oil Company and Kuwait Petroleum International
The Duqm Refinery and Petrochemicals Industry Company (DRPIC) has appointed Wood UK to carry out front end engineering design (FEED) work on its petrochemicals complex. The Duqm Petrochemical Project (DPP) is said to be the second stage of the integrated refinery and petrochemical complex planned by Duqm Refinery.
The project is taking shape in the Special Economic Zone in Duqm (Sezad), which will enable the complex to leverage established infrastructure and facilities.
According to a statement, the contract also covers DRPIC’s NGL Extraction facility in central Oman and the 230km pipeline from concession areas to the petrochemicals complex in Duqm that falls under Oman Oil and Orpic scope. The selection of technology and award of the multiple licensed units for the petrochemical complex will be completed in the early stage of the FEED phase, DRPIC said.
“The award of Feed contracts came after a rigorous competitive tendering process. This key milestone enables Duqm Refinery to maximise the value of the refinery products and enhance its market competitiveness. This project is our further contribution to the Omani economy and will allow us to deliver against our strategic objective to ensure a sustainable and economic prosperity for both Oman and our shareholders,” said Dr Salim Al Huthaili, CEO of DRPIC.
The development of the NGL extraction unit and required pipeline will be spearheaded by Oman Oil and Orpic. The NGL plant will be built in concession areas in central Oman and will connect to OGC’s gas network. A pipeline will be constructed to transport NGL stream from the NGL extraction plant to the petrochemical complex, the statement noted.
DRPIC says the project is centered around a mixed-feed steam cracker with a capacity of 1,600 KTPA ethylene. It will process a selection of Duqm Refinery product streams including Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Full Range Naphtha (FRN), off gases and Natural Gas Liquids (NGL), extracted from natural gas available in Central Oman.
The project will see the introduction of new products for the first time in Oman such as ethylene glycols, oxo chemicals, butadiene. In addition, the project will increase the diversity of the existing petrochemical portfolio in Oman. According to DRPIC, the expected polyethylene and polypropylene grades produced by DPP would differentiate and complement the current shareholder product portfolio.
DRPIC also said that the array of products that will come from the DPP project will provide building blocks for a variety of value-added products. These are said to provide a foundation for downstream industries/projects within Ssezad, Oman and beyond, and offer the potential to attract foreign direct investment and support domestic growth.
Construction of the Duqm Refinery is said to be progressing steadily across all three EPC packages. DRPIC notes that project progress is estimated at nearly 20% complete.
