Oman Tank Terminal Co. and Occidental Petroleum signed an agreement Tuesday to co-operate and specifically to store crude at the planned Raz Markhaz oil terminal in the sultanate, an informed source said Wednesday.
The memorandum of understanding covers up to 2 million barrels of Oxy's crude, which could include potentially US crude including WTI, the source added.
OTTCO is currently finalizing the EPC for phase one of the terminal which will see up to 25 million barrels of crude oil storage built at Raz Markhaz with phase one to be built by the end of 2019.
In total, the Raz Markhaz development site has a potential land space of 1,252 hectares which could see up to 200 million barrels of crude storage above ground and a similar amount below ground.
The Arabian Sea facility at Raz Markhaz will be 70 km south of Duqm, where a new refinery in Oman is planned for operations by 2021, or more than 1,000 km south and outside the Straits of Hormuz, giving it easy access to the Indian Ocean.
The Ras Markaz offshore terminal would include two single-point moorings to accommodate large carriers 50 km offshore. A second phase would include three more SPMs, one of them to serves Ultra Large Crude Carriers.
It will be connected by two pipelines to inland tank farms and SPM facilities and the new refinery. The 400 km pipeline from the oil fields would be able to carry 100% of Oman's current crude exports.
Oxy currently operates in Oman at a number of projects including the Mukhaizna field, production of which contributes to Oman Export Blend crude.
In the US, Oxy's interests include the Oxy Ingleside Energy Center Terminal (OEIC) at the Port of Corpus Christi in Ingleside, Texas, which is a crude oil storage and export terminal that began operations in October 2016.
In late May, a VLCC was brought to the terminal so the company could assess any modifications that may be needed so it can regularly load VLCCs at the terminal in the future.
The company is aiming to complete by late 2018 a project to install several loading arms at its crude storage facility at Corpus Christi, allowing it to load VLCCs on a regular basis, Vice President for Midstream Terry Morrison said Friday.
