Shumookh Investment and Services (SIS), the investment arm of the wholly Omani government-owned Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Madayn), says it is exploring plans to establish a world-scale refinery and petrochemicals complex in Sur Industrial City in Oman’s South Al Sharqiyah Governorate.
The proposed refinery and petrochemical complex is expected to have a processing capacity of 300,000 barrels per day, surpassing that of the 230,000 bpd Duqm Refinery project currently in the early stages of implementation in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Duqm on Oman’s Wusta coast. The cost of the proposed mega venture in Sur is a ballpark $10 billion.
A brief snapshot of the ambitious development was presented by a high-level official at an investment forum held in the city recently. In his address, Salah Abdullah al Zakwani (pictured), Chief Investment Officer (CIO), unveiled a substantive portfolio of projects and initiatives promoted by Shumookh that are in various stages of study, planning, development, implementation and operation in various industrial cities operated by Madayn.
Shumookh is considering a 6.5 per cent stake in the refinery and petrochemicals project, which is proposed to be established on a build-own-operate (BOT) basis.
Its proposed location in Sur Industrial City, which is already home to some of Oman’s biggest industrial and petrochemical schemes, notably the 3-train Oman LNG plant and ammonia-urea complex of Oman-India Fertiliser Company (OMIFCO), is set to position Sur as an industrial powerhouse in its own right.
Speaking at the event, Al Zakwani said that Shumookh’s mandate, as the investment arm of Madayn, is to focus on opportunities that leverage the potential of Madayn’s network of industrial cities, now numbering nine, not including the Sultanate’s technology park Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM) and the free zone at Al Mazyuna in Dhofar Governorate. In its sights are “high value-adding” opportunities in, among other sectors, education, healthcare, Oil & Gas related services, fisheries and fish processing, and manufacturing, he said.
As part of its investment model, Shumookh takes an equity in either greenfield, brownfield or existing ventures, and has since put together a sizable portfolio of projects spanning real estate, tourism, logistics, infrastructure, facilities management, oil refining and petrochemicals, and fund management, among other areas.
Established in 2010, Shumookh Investment and Services SAOC core objective is to support the development of infrastructure projects that add to the investment appeal of Madayn’s industrial cities.
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