A new $4.2bn refinery that will leverage environmentally-friendly technology will be built in Oman’s port city of Duqm.
The plant will be developed through a public-private partnership between the Oman government and Canada Business Holdings (CBH), in collaboration with the Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm (SEZAD).
According to a report by the Times of Oman, the plant will refine petroleum using technology that is less harmful to the environment than conventional methods.
The technology will reduce, among other hazardous wastes, the amount of sulphur emissions produced during the processing of producing petroleum, the report said.
Moses Solemon, chairman and CEO of Canada Business Holdings said the plant is expected to produce about 300,000 barrels of oil a day, once operations begin. He noted that the project is expected to produce its first batch of products towards the end of 2023.
“The chemical processes designed for our green petroleum refinery attempts to address such issues and fill in the gaps in conventional extraction processes, so that we are able to protect the planet even while processing natural resources. It is important we use modern technology responsibly,” explained Solemon.
Expressing gratitude to the Omani government for enabling CBH to set up the plant, he stated that the green extraction processes would minimise the environmental impact such refineries have on the quality of air, soil and water in the country.
He added that CBH is also looking to build a urea and ammonia plant in Oman, which will use excess carbon dioxide to make fertiliser that can be used in the country’s agriculture sector, as well as exported to other countries, reducing Oman’s needs to import the product from abroad.