Oman plans to privatise state-owned refiner Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) in an initial public offering (IPO), but not until later in the decade, the company’s CEO has said.

Orpic, which operates the sultanate’s two refineries, is undertaking a major expansion phase by increasing the capacity of its Sohar refinery and constructing Oman’s largest petrochemicals complex.

“Orpic is on the track to be privatised. We are very excited about the opportunity and we see it as a motivation for the organisation to improve in general and be ready, and maximise the commercial capabilities,” Orpic’s CEO Musab al-Mahruqi said during a tour of the company’s Sohar site on 8 September. “We need to build a strong commercial company that is able to attract local and international investors.”

Orpic estimates that its operations represented about 6 per cent of Oman’s total GDP in 2014, and booked earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $215m in the first half of 2015.

An IPO of Orpic’s size would likely have a major impact on the Muscat Securities Market if the government chose to list the company on Oman’s only stock exchange.

“With the government, which is a shareholder in this company, we work to design the right planning,” said Al-Mahruqi. “This has to take into account the internal factors at Orpic and how advanced we are in realising our projects… and whether the stock market is really ready for an IPO of our size.

“For the timing, I expect [the flotation] before 2020, but I do not know which year yet.”

Orpic produces petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel along with the petrochemicals polypropylene, benzene and paraxylene. The company typically exports about 30 per cent of its products.