Orpic finalises FEED of Liwa Plastics Industries Complex

April 28: Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) has finalised a major milestone of its Liwa Plastics Industries Complex: the deliverable of the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) with details of costs and layouts of the future operations.

The $ 3.6 billion project will enable Oman, for the first time, to produce polyethylene, a form of plastic that rates highest in terms of global demand and is used in many products that are part of our daily routine.

Developed by Orpic, in partnership with Chicago Bridge and Iron Company (CB&I), the FEED is now ready to be submitted to the companies that were pre-qualified to participate in the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) tender process. The awards of the EPC packages are expected to be made in the last quarter of 2015.

“The Liwa Plastics Industries Complex will put Oman in the roadmap of the international petrochemicals marketplace, reinforcing Orpic’s position as a significant player. The market for plastics is growing globally and the project will firmly contribute to the development of a downstream industry that is substantial for the diversification of the Omani economy. Our teams worked hard and dedicated to deliver the FEED within 12 months, which is a challenge considering the size and scope of our project,” said Musab al Mahruqi, CEO of Orpic.

Operating in full speed and line with its schedule, the project in is composed by a 859KTA Steam Cracker, 880KTA Polymer Units, a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) Extraction Unit and a 300-km-long NGL Pipeline from Fahud to Sohar. After LPIC, the plastic production in the Sultanate will increase by 1 million tonnes, giving Orpic a total of 1.4 million tonnes of polyethylene and polypropylene production by 2018. The main objective is to further increase the value that can be derived from Omani crude oil and natural gas, and subsequently improve Orpic’s product mix and business model.

The Liwa Plastics Industries Complex will put Oman in the roadmap of the international petrochemicals marketplace, reinforcing Orpic’s position as a significant player MUSAB AL MAHRUQI

CEO OF ORPIC