Oman Oil Company (OOC) and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) have jointly laid the foundation stone for the $7-billion Duqm Refinery project in the sultanate, said a report.

Duqm Refinery will produce diesel, jet fuel, naphtha, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), sulphur and pet coke as its primary products, reported the Times of Oman.

It also seeks advanced technology to manufacture high-quality products in compliance with global standards for safety and the highest operational standards, it stated.

The giant project was launched last month under the patronage of Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, Minister of Heritage and Culture, in the presence of senior officials including Oman Oil Company‘s CEO Essam bin Saud Al Zadjali.

Bakheet Shabib Al Rashidi, Kuwait’s Minister of Oil, Electricity and Water, said the project was the first of KPC’s projects in Oman and hinted that there would be more projects coming up in the future.

Al Zadjali poined out that 50 per cent of the project – which is expected to be completed in 2022 – was owned by OOC and was financed by international credit agencies and commercial banks, indicating that the project will raise the investment portfolio of OOC, where it is expected to exceed $10 billion.

KPC’s chief executive Nabil Mohammed Borsali said: “The project, which will operate with a refining capacity of 230,000 barrels per day when it is completed, is the largest joint venture between two Gulf states in the Special Economic Zone of Duqm.”