Construction work for an Aromatics Oman LLC (AOL) project at the Sohar Industrial Port will begin this month (August) with completion set for June 2009.

The company has signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with LG International (LGI) Corporation and GS Engineering and Construction Corporation (GS E&C).
AOL is a joint venture owned 60 per cent by Oman Oil Company SAOC (OOC), with Oman Refinery Company LLC (ORC) and LG International Corporation each having a share of 20 per cent. The total project cost is estimated at $1.6 billion.
 The EPC contract was signed on behalf of Aromatics Oman by its chairman, Dr Mohammed bin Hamed al Rumhy, who is also Minister of Oil and Gas and vice-chairman of Oman Oil Company.  K R Kim, president and chief executive of GS Engineering and Construction Corporation, and J I Yang, executive vice-president of LG International, signed for their companies.
 “This project is another important step in achieving Oman Oil’s continuous efforts to develop a petrochemicals industry,” said Dr Al Rumhy.
“We believe this opens up tremendous opportunities for the private sector to develop downstream businesses in Oman, creating in turn employment opportunities for qualified Omanis in highly technical jobs.”
 “This contract for the aromatics project is solid recognition of our success in the projects market in the Middle East,” said Kim. “As contractors for similar aromatics plants in Thailand, China and other places, GS E&C has gained a worldwide reputation for competitiveness,” he added.
Yang commented: “We at LGI are very proud to be a part of another successful chapter in the development of the petrochemical business in Oman, following on from the success of the Oman polypropylene project.
“We are confident that our long-term relationship with Oman will contribute to the successful implementation of this esteemed project and we look forward to further co-operation in potential future projects.”
Located in the Sohar Industrial Port, the project involves the construction of a world-scale plant utilising state-of-the-art process technology to produce aromatics - paraxylene and benzene.
The plant will process naphtha from Sohar Refinery Company using Axens technology. With a production capacity of 814,000 tonnes of paraxylene and 210,000 tonnes of benzene per year, the project will shape up to be the world’s largest grassroots paraxylene plant.
Paraxylene is a key raw material in the production of polyester fibres and PET plastic bottles, while benzene is used to produce a wide range of plastics (polystyrene, nylon), detergents and other chemicals.
The project is expected to create around 200 jobs. GS E&C, a leading Korean EPC contractor, is currently executing industrial projects of a total value in excess of $1 billion in the GCC, including the 340,000-tonnes-per-year plant of Oman Polypropylene at Sohar.
HSBC acted as the financial adviser and structuring bank, while Allen & Overy and Al Alawi Mansoor Jamal are the international and Omani legal advisers respectively.