Oman Drydock Company (ODC), a member of ASYAD Group — the government’s logistics development arm — is keenly exploring opportunities to offer its formidable fabrication capabilities to international contractors preparing to launch work on the $7 billion Duqm Refinery project coming up on the adjacent Special Economic Zone in Duqm. Fabrication jobs will account for a lucrative share of the multi-billion dollar contracts awarded in August for the three main Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) packages for the implementation of the world-scale grassroots refinery. The 230,000 barrels per day capacity refinery is being developed by Duqm Refinery & Petrochemicals Company (DRPC), a partnership of Oman Oil Company and Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI).
Given its advantageous proximity to the site of the refinery project, wholly government-owned ODC is looking to position itself as the fabricator of choice to contractors requiring potentially tens of thousands of metric tonnes of steelworks during the construction phase.
“Fabrication is one of our new business streams,” said ODC Chief Executive Officer Stephan Aumann. “We are actively working with partners to establish a joint venture dedicated to this business. ODC foresees the need for huge amounts of fabricated steel over a period of two years (as construction begins on the refinery). We want to provide local content for this important project out of ODC.”
Speaking to the Observer, Aumann said the dry-dock will seek to leverage its location, a short distance from the site of the refinery, to play a part in its construction. “ODC enjoys a strategic and logical advantage. Companies operating in Oman, in Suhar for example, will have high logistics costs to bear in comparison. We also have ample unutilized space within our yard for ship repair and conversion activities, part of which can be earmarked for steel fabrication services.”
Tankage capacity aggregating several millions of barrels for the storage of crude oil, intermediate products and refined petroleum products is also required to be developed as part of the refinery project. This capacity will be built not only at the site of the refinery, but also at the Ras Markaz Crude Oil Terminal and the Liquid Jetty in Duqm Port.
Conrad Prabhu
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