The Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) plans to complete the construction of its mega Liwa Plastics Industries Complex in northern Oman by mid-2019.

The $6.5bn-worth petrochemical complex, which will be producing polymers like polypropylene and polyethylene, will be commissioned in phases post construction, an Orpic executive told MEED.

“The project is under construction stage. Electrical systems are under commissioning. Best practices are being applied,” the official said at the Middle East Static Equipment Engineering & Maintenance Conference in Dubai.

The executive said the plant’s products will mostly be consumed within Oman, but will also be exported to countries like Japan and South Korea from Sohar port.

Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the Liwa petrochemical complex, which will consist of key steam cracker unit, has been broken down into four packages by Orpic. Completion of the four jobs will happen at different times.

US engineering firm Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I) has done the front-end engineering and design of the overall project, as well as the packages. State-owned Engineers India Limited has is the project management consultant.

The official however added: “Generally the projects are engineered out and constructed without the [involvement of the] permanent organisation [project operator]. [However] we [Orpic] have been very much involved upfront [in the engineering and construction works for] Liwa.”