New units include a delayed coker unit, a bitumen blowing unit and an additional MTBE unit. US$1.5 billion project scheduled for completion in 2016.

Oman's Orpic announced on Tuesday that it will increase the scope of its proposed Sohar refinery expansion project by three units. Musab Al-Mahruqi, the company's CEO, said that the additional units will enhance the facility's production of petroleum products for the local market and improve the refinery's gross margin. He also said that the decision was influenced by Orpic's recent operating experience, adding that the Sohar refinery has recently been operating at 110% of its design capacity.

According to comments made by RP Singh, general manager of the expansion project, to the Oman Daily Observer, the additional units will be a delayed coker unit, to minimise excess bitumen production and boost LPG, naphtha and diesel output; a bitumen blowing unit (BBU); and an additional MTBE unit to boost gasoline production.

These units are in addition to those previously proposed: crude distillation (CDU), vacuum distillation (VDU), hydrocracker (HCU), sulphur recovery units (SRU), isomerisation (ISOM), a PSA unit for hydrogen, sour water strippers, an amine regneration unit, and other treating units and supporting utilities and offsites.

Work began this year on the US$1.5 billion project, with front-end engineering design undertaken by CB&l Lummus. Several contracts have been awarded this year, with Chevron Lummus Global winning the contract for the hydrocracking unit and Black & Veatch receiving the contract for the sulphur recovery unit.

An EPC contract is expected to be issued in 2012, with commissioning of the new units scheduled for 2016.

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is being developed and will form the basis for obtaining a Provisional Environmental Permit from the Omani Ministry of Environmental and Climate Affairs. Al-Mahruqi also told the Observer that Orpic is committed to implementing an Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) for the Sohar refinery and has agreed to use the best available technologies for emissions control at the Sohar and Muscat refineries and the aromatics and polypropylene plants at the Sohar complex.

Currently, the Sohar complex and the Mina Al Fahal refinery at Muscat have a combined capacity of 222,000bpd of fuels such as LPG, gas oil, gasoline, fuel oil and jet fuel, 818,000tpa of paraxylene, 198,000tpa of benzene and 350,000tpa of poypropylene.