Today on the 30th of May an agreement was signed between the Port of Sohar and the Mashael Group of Companies. The agreement was signed by HE Maqbool Ali Sultan, the Minister of Industry and Commerce and also the Chairman of Sohar Industrial Port Company SAOC (SIPC) and HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, the owner of Mashael Group. The agreement concerns the construction of the first specialized bitumen refinery in the region that is set to break ground by the end of this year in the Port of Sohar area and completed by 2012. The investment is worth over US$200 million.

The Industrial Port of Sohar, a 50/50 joint venture between the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and the Port of Rotterdam is managed by SIPC. Mr Jan Meijer, the CEO of the SIPC, says that he is very happy that the port is signing agreements in spite of the difficult financial times. Mr Meijer continues “Since we started only six years ago, in 2003, we have leased out 85% of the port area and that is a very good indicator that we are going in the right direction”.

The Mashael Group of companies is a diversified group with special focus in the Oil and Gas industry and has offices in Bahrain, UAE, KSA, Oman and Malaysia. The Sohar Bitumen Refinery will target the niche bitumen market. The plant will utilize the latest technologies to provide a one-stop bitumen supply centre with a capacity of 30 000 bpd, producing up to 1 million tons of bitumen a year where about 20% of the production is prioritised for the Omani market.

According to Mr Bryan Chen, Executive Director of Al Mashael Group there are two main reasons for choosing the Port of Sohar. Sohar is in the center of their market and therefore the most strategic location. Mr Bryan Chen also explains that after visiting most ports in the region, Port of Sohar proved to have the most impressive infrastructure and development plan.