(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Output from the sultanate's two refineries grew by 19.1 per cent or 12mn barrels during the 11- month period to November 2014 to meet the rising domestic demand for petroleum products.
Total output from Mina al Fahal and Sohar refineries which are operated by Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Co (Orpic) increased to 75mn barrels in the January-November period of last year from 63mn barrels in the corresponding period of 2013 statistics released by National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) showed.
Growth was recorded in the production of all types of fuel products led by a 42 per cent rise in diesel output to 17.72mn barrels from 12.51mn barrels in 2013. Among petrol variants production of Regular (90) rose 12.2 per cent to 3.21mn barrels while Super (95) was up 18.3 per cent to 19.9mn barrels.
According to analysts demand from the retail commercial and aviation sectors grew significantly in 2014.
Aviation fuel output increased 13.8 per cent to 4.45mn barrels. The production of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was up by 18.7 per cent to 3.51mn barrels against 2.95mn barrels in 2013.
'With economic sectors expanding local consumption of petroleum products is consistently growing and this seems to be the main reason behind the increase in refinery output' said Arafat al Asad vice president of asset management at National Securities.
Oman crude is processed at the Mina al Fahal refinery into fuel products. In addition the long residue from this refinery is transferred via a pipeline to Sohar Refinery where mixed with more Oman crude it is refined to create fuels naphtha and propylene. Together the two refineries have a production capacity of 222000 barrels per day.
'The demand for petroleum products is directly linked with economic performance and in the domestic market it will keep on growing regardless of fluctuations in oil prices. It is positive for oil marketing companies and generate more business for them' Asad added.
In 2013 Orpic's refinery output fell to 70mn barrels from 77mn barrels in 2012 mainly due to the brief shutdown of some units of the Mina al Fahal refinery for maintenance in early 2013.
'The increase in output is a sign of economic growth and reflects the strength and efficiency of the petroleum industry in Oman. In the long term the economy will continue to see an organic growth in consumption of petroleum products. In addition other factors such as new airports will further boost the demand for fuel products' said Dr Fabio Scacciavillani chief economist with Oman Investment Fund.
Orpic's Sohar Refinery Improvement Project (SRIP) a multibillion-dollar project is scheduled to be commissioned in 2016. When SRIP comes onstream production of fuels naphtha and propylene will jump by 70 per cent.
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