The joint venture set up by the Port of Duqm Company (PDC) and the government-owned Oman Oil Company to develop a Liquid Jetty at the port, aims to bring the facility into operation by 2017, coinciding with the planned launch of a giant oil refinery at the maritime hub.

According to Peter Broers, CEO of the Port of Duqm Company, the timely completion of the proposed Liquid Jetty will be critical to ensuring that the refinery begins receiving its feedstock requirements when it is slated to come on stream, also in 2017.

“It’s very important to ensure that the refinery project progresses smoothly because it’s a keystone venture for the Duqm area. Its promoters need the assurance that it has connectivity with the waterfront because crude oil will be imported via this jetty structure, while the refined products will find a way out via this same route. So the Liquid Jetty will be key to the success of the refinery project, and we intend to start early on the development of its design and execution,” Broers said in comments to journalists on the sidelines of the formal inauguration of Oman Dry Dock Company’s ship repair facility at Duqm yesterday.

Last month, Oman Oil Company and Port of Duqm Company announced plans for the formation of a joint venture named Duqm Petroleum Terminal Company (DPTC) to operate and manage the proposed Liquid Jetty at Duqm. While Oman Oil will hold a 90 per cent stake in the JV, the balance will be offered to Port of Duqm Company.

The jetty will handle the massive liquid volumes linked to the operation of a 230,000 barrels per day (bpd) capacity refinery, which is also expected to spawn investment in a number of downstream petrochemical ventures. Oman Oil Company is partnering with the Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) in the joint development of the estimated $ 6 billion refinery project.

Designed to accommodate ships of around 150,000 deadweight tonne (DWT) capacity, the Liquid Jetty will be connected to the refinery via a network of pipelines, said Broers.
Asked about how the facility will be financed, the CEO stated: “The base infrastructure of the jetty is expected to be funded by the (government), while the superstructure, such as the loading arms linked to the operator, will be jointly developed by Oman Oil and the Port of Duqm Company. Probably in the near future we may appoint a third party.”

Commenting on the ‘Early Operations Phase’ of Duqm Port, he said the port authority was optimistic about attracting a number of users looking to invest in and around the Wusta Governorate while using Duqm as a hub.
“We are ready to sign contracts with several players who want to come into the port for a year or two year contract as a short term basis that they only will use the port, for instance, exploration activities in the Bay of Masirah, and so on,”

The ‘Early operations phase’, which began in April this year, centres on a 300-metre-long quay wall that is ready to receive ships laden with mainly project cargo destined for oilfield locations 1339338488397210200 around the hydrocarbon-rich Wusta Governorate. The 300-metre quay is part of a 2.3-kilometre-long commercial quay whose substructure is substantially complete.

Attention is now focused on developing the superstructure facilities ahead of the launch of full-fledged commercial operations in 2014, said Broers. These facilities, consisting of paving works, terminal buildings, roads and gate buildings, will be implemented in two packages, namely Package 2 and 3.

Engineering designs for Package 2 are due to finalised in the second half of this year before it goes out to tender — a process that is expected to be expedited now that all Duqm Port contracts will fall within the purview of the newly established tendering system of the Duqm Special Economic Zone Authority.