Oman + Iraq partner on crude storage: Subsidiaries of Oman’s OQ Group — Oman Tank Terminal Company (Ottco) and OQ Trading — have signed an MoU with the Iraqi Oil Marketing Company (Somo) to store Iraqi crude oil in Oman’s Special Economic Zone at Duqm (Sezad), ONA reported last week. The project is slated for an initial capacity of 10 mn barrels and will be based in Sezad’s Ras Markaz oil terminal — outside the Strait of Hormuz, a potential supply bottleneck. The timeline and investment ticket were not disclosed.

A geographic advantage: Located on Oman’s Indian Ocean coastline, Ras Markaz is touted as an alternative to terminals hemmed in by the Strait of Hormuz, which Iranian authorities threatened to close earlier this year. Ottco has operated the facility since 2023, with its first phase boasting a capacity of 25 mn crude oil barrels, according to the OQ subsidiary’s website. Customers can import, export, or store as much as 20 mn barrels, with the remaining capacity allotted to Duqm’s OQ8 Refinery.

There’s more: As per a second MoU, OQ Trading will market Iraqi oil to international markets in a bid to raise the crude’s commercial value, the outlet reports.

What they said: Somo and the OQ Group are looking to store Iraqi oil outside the Strait of Hormuz, closer to global shipping lanes, the outlet quotes Somo General Manager Ali Nizar Al Shatri as saying. The move will also provide a reliable alternative to sustaining Iraqi exports, he added.

ICYMI- State-owned OQ invested some USD 10 bn in several Duqm projects as of late 2023, including the Ras Markaz Oil Storage Terminal. Sezad meanwhile inaugurated an OMR 58 mn road project linking Duqm Airport with the terminal earlier this year.

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