Page 17 - DMEA Week 27

DMEA REFINING DMEA

Canadian group to invest

in Omani refinery

OMAN CANADIAN public-private partnership Can- hard-working, and the country is resourceful
ada Business Holdings (CBH) said on July 3 and safe with high political and economic stabil-
The low-sulphur fuel oil it planned to invest in the construction of a ity for almost fifty years.”
refinery will serve fuel 300,000 barrel per day (bpd) low-sulphur fuel CBH said the refinery satisfied its strict cri-
to ships. oil (LSFO) refinery in Oman. teria for investments, noting that it anticipated
The LSFO refinery would meet growing the project generating a big return. It estimates
needs for IMO-compliant cleaner shipping the venture’s cost at $1.5bn but forecasts a 22%
fuel in the region, the infrastructure investor annual return on investment, meaning the refin-
explained. The International Maritime Organ- ery will pay for itself in under five years.
isation (IMO) introduced tougher rules on the “Such a refinery is a niche investment that
sulphur content of marine fuels at the start of the considers the challenges facing the oil and
year, reducing the cap to 0.5% from 3.5%. gas industry and focuses mainly on market
The Oman refinery will be built in phases on demand,” CBH explained. “Such demand is
the Arabian Sea coast outside the Strait of Hor- led by international law and the viability of the
muz, where waters are deep enough to receive global logistics business.”
large ships with a deep keel. The refining process CBH’s structured investment is based on a
will be based on Canadian technology, CBH global fund in London and is open to interested
said. investors.
“CBH are delighted to co-operate with the Another 230,000 bpd refinery is under
government of Oman to invest in the LSFO construction in the Omani port of Duqm. The
refinery,” a CBH official said in a statement. “The Oman-Kuwait joint venture is due to come on
people of Oman are highly educated, young and stream in 2021. ™

FUELS

Lebanon rules out importing

fuel from Iran

LEBANON LEBANON says it has no intention of import- and we’ll do everything we can to make sure that
ing fuel from Iran, its energy minister, Raymond Iran cannot continue to sell crude oil anywhere,
Part of the problem is Ghajar, said on July 9, after the Tehran-backed including to Hezbollah in the region,” he said.
that subsidised diesel is Hezbollah group said it was in talks with the Leb- Ghajar also warned earlier this week that
being smuggled across anese government about the proposal. shortages of diesel were growing acute, partly
the border into Syria. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah because of people stockpiling. This could lead
said on July 7 that “a calm discussion” was under- to power cuts because diesel-fired electricity sta-
way with the government on Lebanon buying tions will have to shut down.
refined products from Iran in Lebanese pounds. Shortages have been exacerbated by the
This would ease pressure on Beirut’s hard cur- smuggling of subsidised supplies across the bor-
rent reserves, which are currently running short. der into Syria.
Lebanon is suffering a financial crisis, with Lebanese Economy Minister Raoul Nehme
its currency having shed around 80% of its value has criticised authorities for creating a “cartel”
since October. by selling fuel to only one company. He has
“There is no plan to negotiate with Iran at called for the market to be opened up to more
present about importing fuel, and the current suppliers.
discussion is with Iraq,” Ghajar said, referring Ghajar responded that doing this would lead
to negotiations with Baghdad over fuel imports. to “chaos.”
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said “We cannot open the market because the
on July 8 that taking fuels from Iran would be process will turn into chaos ... so we must gather
unacceptable. intelligence to know where this fuel went,” he
“It would be sanctioned product for sure, said. ™

Week 27 09•July•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P17