Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) has told potential financial advisers on a $3.6bn fundraising that they need to pitch for the work again with a local partner.

The firm had asked banks to pitch for the role in late 2011, but has yet to appoint a financial adviser. Banks involved in the original pitches are understood to be international banks. However, in late March, Orpic wrote to several of the banks involved in the original process telling them to come back with an Omani partners.

One banker involved in the process says that Orpic requested banks team up with a local partner in order to promote the employment of Omanis. “They have said that in order to fulfill social goals they want to see a local partner also involved in the project,” says a banker involved.

It is unclear if all banks originally invited to pitch for the mandate have been asked to resubmit their pitches with a local partner, but several of them have been.

Orpic is appointing the financial adviser to work on the potential refinancing of $2.7bn of existing debt, and the raising of about $900m of new debt to fund an expansion that would add 70,000 barrels a day of refining capacity.