Sohar Industrial Port, the new entrepot for industries in the north of the Sultanate of Oman, will witness the large-scale production of chemicals and feedstocks for their manufacturing processes, necessitating the creation of logistics facilities for bulk liquids.

A significant aspect of the new port is the provision being made for liquid berths, the handling and storage of bulk liquids and the establishment of a tank farm.
The task of operating and managing those facilities as well as developing the port into a new independent bulk liquid hub for the region for captive and non-captive customers has been assigned to Oiltanking Odfjell Terminals & Company LLC (OOT) as part of a long-term concession agreement with the Sohar Industrial Port Company (SIPC).
OOT will operate six jetties for loading and unloading tankers and build, own and operate a bulk liquid storage terminal for petroleum products, chemicals and gases while also developing the bulk liquids hub.
Two of the berths – C1A and C1B –will handle vessels of a maximum of 107,000 dwt with the maximum draft being 15.5. Depth alongside the berth will be 16 m (CD).
The first liquid cargo handled at the newly constructed berths was brought by MT Bow Viking, which successfully discharged around 5,200 metric tonnes of methanol for Sohar Refinery Company on June 4.
Gerard Reumer, CEO of OOT, described the arrival of the vessel as a “historic moment.”
“We have been preparing for this day eversince Oiltanking Odfjell decided to invest in Sohar. With the discharge of this first chemical cargo, the jetty pipelines have gone live for the first time,” he remarked.
The company’s partners are Oiltanking Odfjell Oman BV (70 per cent of the shareholding), a joint venture between Oiltanking GmbH and Odfjell ASA; the Omani government-owned establishment Oman Oil Company (25 per cent) and the private investment firm Seven Seas (5 per cent). The company’s managing partner is Oiltanking-Odjfell.
OOT’s world-class independent bulk liquids tank terminal, is being developed for the port’s industrial tenants who will be requiring liquids as part of their production process (captive users) as well as for overseas customers (non-captive users).
“We are aiming to sign up some of the captive users who wish to outsource their liquids requirements to Oiltanking Odfjell. In addition, we’re also looking to target players outside Sohar – primarily oil producers and traders, chemical traders and other companies that may require our services,” said Reumer. “Our goal is to turn Sohar into a new regional liquids hub for international traders and companies that may want to use this location for distribution or consolidation of their liquid cargoes.”
He described the market as very promising because of Sohar’s strategic location just outside the Gulf and said his company was engaged in making traders aware of its presence at the port and the services it was offering.
OOT has 36 hectares of land available for developing a tank farm. The terminal will be integrated with production facilities and deal with a wide range of services in connection with storage and handling of bulk liquids.
The storage capacity could potentially total as much as 1 million cu m over the long term. Reumer said the company planned to commence construction of the tanks within the year.
Sohar Refinery and Oman Methanol have their own storage tanks. Potential customers are captive users such as Oman Petrochemical Industries, Aromatics Oman and Liwa Petrochemicals, among others.
An OOT spokesman commented that a decentralised management philosophy and experience in emerging markets were some of the company’s strengths. He added that its key features of  “independence, entrepreneurship, flexibility and accessibility” would stand it in good stead.
OOT’s optimism stems from the expertise of its managing partner Oiltanking Odfjell Oman BV.
Oiltanking GmbH, a privately held company owned by the Marquard & Bahls Group of Germany, owns and operates 70 independent tank terminals, marine facilities and 1,700 km of pipelines in 19 countries across four continents. .
The shareholder Odfjell ASA is the world’s largest parcel tanker operator and well known for its deep-sea as well as regional trade support. The fleet of Odfjell comprises approximately 100 vessels ranging from 6,000 to 45,000 dwt which are suitable to transport chemicals, mineral oils, vegetable oils, luboils and liquid fertilisers. Odfjell has an order book for 25-30 new vessels in the next few years to cater to the growing demand for liquid transportation means.
Reumer said OOT had a value-added concept that could contribute to the bottomline of customers who outsourced storage to the company. “We have done these types of projects in numerous places around the world and have a lot of experience in doing it,” he commented.
The combination of Oiltanking’s experience in operating 70 terminals in 19 countries and Oldfjell’s experience of running a terminal network and operating the largest chemical tanker fleet gave OOT an “unrivalled wealth of proven experience” to carry out these operations, he said.
“We are confident that some of the captive users will sign up when their project plans have been firmed up.”