Oman Oil Refineries and Petrochemical Industries (OORPI) has awarded the local Galfar Engineering & Contracting a design, engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning contract to construct a pipeline in Sohar.

The pipeline will connect the Sohar refinery with the nearby Oman Methanol Company (OMC) plant.

Galfar’s scope of works includes installing a six-inch diameter pipeline, pumping facilities with a capacity to pump 60 cubic metres a hour of methanol products, isolation valves, safety relief valves, distributed control systems and fiscal metering facilities.

The pipeline is being constructed in order for the Sohar refinery to source local methanol and avoid paying potentially high market prices.

Completion of the scheme is expected by mid-2012.