OQ, a national petroleum investment company of Oman, has inaugurated its state-of-the-art liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) plant worth $825 million in Salalah.
His Highness Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham al Said, Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, presided over the commissioning ceremony that was attended by members of the Royal Family, ministers, undersecretaries and other dignitaries.
The plant, which converts natural gas liquids (NGLs) extracted from gas networks into LPG, embodies the government’s strategy to drive economic diversification, optimize value creation from the country’s natural resources, promote in-country value (ICV) development, and implement Oman Vision 2040 to diversify revenue generation streams.
It has been built and designed in accordance with the highest technical and safety standards including a facility for the extraction of rich gas elements such as propane, butane and condensates from natural gas, a fractionation unit, storage tanks, shipping facilities, and a pipeline system that connects the plant with the extraction unit at the upstream end of the project with the storage components and export facilities located at the Port of Salalah.
Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham alSaid Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth Oman
“We would like to commend the success in commissioning OQ’s LPG plant in Dhofar and its high level of operational efficiency. The plant, which is run by young Omani cadres, reflects the efforts exerted by OQ to make the optimal use of natural resources, maximize itsbenefits and promote downstream industries. This will support the various economic activities related to the energy sector, particularly the small and medium enterprises.“
Mr. Talal bin Hamed al Oufi, CEO of OQ Group, stated that the OQ LPG plant in Salalah is one of the Oman Investment Authority’s most important projects (OIA). It will contribute to strengthen the gas value chain in general by supplying LPG and exporting surplus production and some of its byproducts to global markets.
The plant focused heavily on creating job opportunities and developing the capabilities of young Omanis. The total expenditure as part of ICV development reached more than $250 million. Around 300 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) took part in the implementation of the plant during the procurement and construction phase.
OQ LPG has a capacity to process around 8.8 million standard m3 per day of lean gas to produce about 304 kilotons per year of LPG, comprising 155 kilotons per year of propane (C3), 111 kilotons of butane (C4), and 38 kilotons of condensates (C5+).
