ShareMUSCAT: Oman’s Duqm refinery, a joint venture with Kuwait, is considered to be one of the Gulf Arab Sultanate’s most promising and significant investment projects, in addition to being a catalyst for an improvement in bilateral relations. The venture, expected to lure up to USD nine billion worth of foreign investment, is among the Middle East and North African region’s most sprawling oil facilities, while it should equip the global market with sublime oil-based products.
The refinery is a state-of-the-art facility with the capacity to churn out some 230,000 barrels per day of renewable energy, according to Kuwait Petroleum Corporation chief executive Shafi Al-Ajmi, citing hydrogen breakthrough technology as among the refinery’s most notable features. Given its proximity to the Arabian Sea, the facility is seen as a “window” for adjacent markets and global shipping routes, added the official, hailing the “multifaceted” nature of the oil-based products there, 73 of which have already been shipped to various locations in the Middle East and beyond since operations started.
Describing the refinery as a “transitional” project, Duqm Refinery and Petrochemicals Industries Company chairman Hilal Al-Kharusi said it would help boost economic cooperation between the two Gulf Arab neighbors, underscoring that the facility could pave the way for future economic projects in the region.
Discussing the potential impact the “strategic” facility could have, he said the refinery is tantamount to an “exemplary paradigm” of pan-Gulf Arab relations thanks largely to its ability to transform Kuwait and Muscat into “significant contributors” towards the global energy market, besides keeping afloat fledgling markets across Asia and Africa, he underlined. State oil giant Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, since its inception in 1983, seeks to boost its “role in the responsible production and distribution of hydrocarbon resources worldwide to foster growth and prosperity,” the company says.
Epoch in ties
Meanwhile, a number of Omani journalists agreed that His Highness the Amir of Kuwait’s visit would mark a watershed moment in bilateral relations, expecting the event to propel these ties to greater levels. In separate remarks to KUNA, the journalists pointed out that while ties have long been marked by their solidity and breadth, there remains more room for progress across various significant realms, which run the gamut from political and economic cooperation to tourism and social development.
On His Highness the Amir’s visit, Oman Daily’s chief editor, Assem Al-Shaidi, said the visit is tantamount to the start of a “new era” in bilateral relations, describing ties as the “paradigm” of intra-Arab relations. As he chronicled the history of relations between the two Gulf Arab countries, he praised the “harmony and unity” among the two nations, pointing out that His Highness the Amir’s visit would coincide with the opening of the Gulf Arab Sultanate’s Duqm refinery, which he said would be instrumental in further bolstering economic development.
Addressing bilateral relations, the chief editor of Oman’s Al-Masar newspaper, Ali Al-Ajmi, said the two countries are bound by common “history, vernacular, and blood,” saying Omanis have always shared amicable relations with their Kuwaiti neighbors. Under the respective leadership of His Highness the Amir and Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, he prognosticated more development in bilateral ties, particularly after the opening of the Duqm refinery, a joint venture between Oman Oil Company and Kuwait Petroleum International, which is estimated to lure up to $8.5 billion worth of investment, he underlined.
Echoing their sentiments, Omani podcast host Bader Al-Shaibani said His Highness the Amir’s visit typifies the camaraderie shared between the two countries, which continues to “grow deeper” with every passing day. He went on to praise the two countries’ “joint stance” on the Middle East conflict, as evidenced by their unwavering support for the Palestinians and their determination to protect them from “brutal Zionist crimes.”.
Omani journalist Majid Al-Hatali believes that economic ties between the Gulf Arab neighbors have seen the most growth, citing robust trade relations that have seen Kuwaiti investments in Muscat exceed 922 million Omani riyals in the third quarter last year, he said. He concurred that Oman’s Duqm refinery is among the country’s most marquee development projects, describing it as the “cornerstone” of bilateral cooperation, thanks in part to its ability to usher in “sustained development” in the two Gulf Arab states. — KUNA
