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Oman Oil Company (OOC) has signed a shareholders' agreement with Port of Duqm Company (PDC) to establish the Duqm Petroleum Terminal Company (DPTC) to further strengthen Duqm's status as an upcoming regional hub for hydrocarbons, refining and petrochemicals.

The agreement was signed by Mulham Al Jarf, Deputy CEO of OOC, Rien Van de Ven, CEO of PDC, and Ahmed Al Amry, Project Director of DPTC.

DPTC's first order of business will be to develop and operate a liquid bulk jetty that will accommodate vessels of up to 225 metres. DPTC is also due to build a one million cubic metre tank storage terminal to support the jetty's operations at the Port of Duqm, which is expected to be operational by mid-2018.

"This latest addition to the OOC portfolio is in line with our strategy to develop industrial hubs across the Sultanate. We are continuing our collaboration with the Special Economic Zone Authority Duqm to support the infrastructure developments and the petrochemical industries in the area," said Mulham Al Jarf.

"Once operational, DPTC will offer a solid proposition to our operations in Duqm in relation to hydrocarbon storage, facilitating the import of crude and exporting of refined products and will be instrumental to the success of the upcoming Duqm Refinery and the planned Oxo production plant," he added.

"DPTC will act as a project management service provider, which will contribute to the ongoing developments in Duqm as a hub strategically located on the international shipping lines. At PDC, we are looking to strengthen the city's prospects as an investment destination feeding into Oman's economy and promoting the Port of Duqm competitiveness regionally and globally," said Rien Van de Ven.

As part of the agreement, OOC will own 90 percent of the equity in DPTC, with PDC holding the remaining 10 percent.