Oman Tank Terminal Company (OTTCO) expects to complete the first phase of its Ras Markaz crude storage terminal in 2017, according to a senior manager at its parent group, Oman Oil Company (OOC).

The firm is preparing to award the front-end engineering and design (feed) and project management consultancy (PMC) contracts on the facility in the coming months.

“At this stage, we are doing the feasibility study for Ras Markaz,” said Najla al-Jamali, associate director for strategy and performance management at OOC, speaking at MEED’s Oman Projects Forum in Muscat.

She added that the project would be developed in phases, with a potential storage capacity of up to 200 million barrels of oil.

“The location has a natural depth of 32 metres, so it is able to accommodate very large crude carriers (VLCCs),” said Al-Jamali.

Oman is planning to store both domestically produced oil and crude from other countries at the terminal, but has yet to reach any international agreements. “We are not at this stage [yet],” said Al-Jamali .

Ras Markaz is located 70 kilometres south of the planned Duqm refinery, petrochemicals complex and port in Oman’s central Al-Wusta province.

In addition to the terminal, OOC will construct two crude pipelines to connect the facility to domestic oil infrastructure. The company is planning a 440km pipeline from the Saih Nahada booster station to Ras Markaz, with handling capacity of up to 700,000 barrels a day (b/d) and a 70km pipeline from Ras Markaz to the proposed Duqm refinery.