Oman has floated a tender for a major refined products pipeline linking Muscat with the northern industrial city of Sohar, according to sources familiar with the project.

Oman Oil Refineries & Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) has asked companies to submit engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) bids for the estimated $200m scheme by 18 August. This was extended from an original deadline in July.

Orpic was initially planning to build the project in three phases, but the EPC work has now been rolled into one package, sources tell MEED.

The project will connect the Mina al-Fahal (Muscat) and Sohar refineries with a 280-kilometre pipeline to an intermediate distribution and storage facility at Al-Jifnain near Muscat.

Muscat International airport will receive aviation fuel directly from Al-Jifnain, which will have the capacity to store 175,000 cubic metres of oil products.

The two-way multi-product pipeline is aimed at removing the need for Orpic to ship and truck refined products, lowering costs and reducing traffic around Muscat. Heavy fuel-tank truck traffic in Muscat is expected to drop by 70 per cent after the project’s completion.

The project is being carried out by Orpic Logistics Company, a joint venture of state-owned Orpic (60 per cent) and Spanish fuel transportation and storage company Compania Logistica de Hidrocarburos (CLH, 40 per cent).

Orpic’s parent group, Oman Oil Company, owns a 10 per cent stake in CLH.