MUSCAT, August 23
BALARAB AL TAMIMI
The 20th edition of the Rex Fuels Global Expo and Conference will be held in Muscat on August 31, bringing bitumen producers, traders, refiners, logistics operators and road contractors together at a time when the Sultanate of Oman is running one of its largest road construction programmes to date.
The one-day event at the Grand Millennium Muscat will examine demand trends and supply chains across the fuels, bitumen, petrochemical, logistics and infrastructure sectors, according to organiser Rex Fuels Management.
The timing is notable for the paving-grade bitumen trade. The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MoTCIT) said in July that 61 road projects were under way nationally, with 22 of them past 70 per cent completion by mid-2026. Road schemes under implementation were valued at about RO 1.2 billion at the start of the year.
Among the largest is the dualisation of Sultan Said bin Taimur Road, where roughly 400 kilometres between Haima and Thamrait is under construction. Other corridors in progress include Sultan Faisal bin Turki Road linking Khasab, Dibba and Lima, the Eastern Expressway between Al Kamil W'al Wafi and Sur; and the Izki–Nizwa dual carriageway. Tendering is close to completion for the 132-kilometre Sinaw–Mahout–Al Duqm road connecting Al Wusta to the Special Economic Zone at Duqm, alongside the expansion of the Muscat Expressway.
Maintenance adds a second, recurring source of demand. A resurfacing and repair programme covering 1,244 kilometres of paved roads in Al Wusta, valued at about RO 6.4 million, is currently under way ahead of and during peak Khareef traffic to Salalah.
Organisers said discussion at the Muscat event would extend beyond conventional paving materials to modified binders, performance-based specifications, recycling technologies and longer-life pavement solutions, with Gulf climatic conditions placing particular emphasis on durability and maintenance cycles.
They also pointed to Oman’s position on maritime routes linking Gulf markets with South Asia and East Africa, arguing that refinery location, grade availability, storage infrastructure and shipping routes increasingly shape where road projects source their material and that for contractors, consistency of supply can matter as much as price.
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