Orpic secures loan

19 May 2015

Omani refining company says funds will be used to support growth

Government-owned Oman Oil Refineries & Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) has secured a RO350m ($909m) loan in move it says will help finance future growth.

The syndicated facility was signed on 18 May.

It was arranged by local Bank Muscat, together with a consortium including local Bank Dhofar, National Bank of Oman, Bank Sohar, Ahli Bank Oman, Oman Arab Bank and the local branch of Doha-based Qatar National Bank

“Orpic was established with a vision to build an Omani integrated refining and petrochemical business we are proud of,” said Nazar al-Lawati, Chief Finance Officer (CFO) at Orpic in a press release.  “The syndicated facility, which is supported by a consortium comprising of [sic] prominent locally based banks, is a powerful indication of Orpic’s financial strength and the certainty we have been able to generate in the market as a credit-worthy entity.”

Orpic’s most important projects are Sohar Refinery Expansion, Muscat-Sohar Pipeline, and the upcoming Liwa Plastics Project.

It issued a tender for four packages on the $3.6bn Liwa Plastics Project earlier this month. The complex will have the capacity to produce 1.4 billion tonnes a year (t/y) of petrochemical products.

The upgrade of Sohar refinery is set for completion in 2016. The $2.1bn expansion will increase capacity by 60 per cent to 187,000 barrels a day (b/d) from 116,000 b/d. The main contractors are a joint venture of the UK’s Petrofac and South Korean Daelim.

Orpic signed a $2.8bn financing deal to support the project in May 2014.

The 290 kilometre Muscat-Sohar pipeline will connect Sohar and Mina al-Fahal refineries with the planned al-Jifnain terminal. Orpic broke ground earlier this month on the $320m project. It is being developed by Orpic Logistics Company, a joint venture of Orpic and Spain’s Compania Logistica de Hidrocarburos. It is expected to be commissioned in 2017.

Orpic was created in 2011 through the integration of Oman Refineries and Petrochemicals Company LLC (ORPC), Aromatics Oman LLC (AOL) and Oman Polypropylene (OPP).

Orpic is one of several state-owned companies considering listing on the Muscat Securities Market, to reduce Oman government spending, according to local press reports.

It produced 20 million barrels of refined products in the first quarter of 2015, 1 per cent less than the same quarter in 2014. Orpic does not release regular financial results. Its revenues are thought to be more than $10bn a year.

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