International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic) has formed a joint venture to build a US$6 billion (Dh22.04bn) refinery and petrochemicals complex in Oman.
The Duqm Refinery and Petrochemicals Industry Company - owned equally by Ipic and the Oman Oil Company (OOC) - will process 230,000 barrel per day (bpd) by 2017 in its first phase, Ipic said yesterday.
This will be followed by petrochemicals facilities.
"[The project] will play a vital role in supporting the oil and petrochemicals industries in Oman due to the strategic location of the Duqm area, adjacent to one of the world's key shipping trade routes," said Nasser bin Khamis Al Jashmi, OOC's chairman.
Ipic earlier this year announced plans for a 200,000 bpd refinery in Fujairah to be completed by 2016 at an estimated cost of $3bn. Owned by the Abu Dhabi Government, the investor already controls Spain's largest refinery company, Cepsa, and Nova, a petrochemicals maker in Canada. It has also been considering refinery projects in Jordan, Morocco and Pakistan.
The Duqm venture marks a strengthening of relations between Oman and the UAE, which had been strained over allegations of espionage in January last year.
"This project is a very important project for our two countries," said Khadem Al Qubaisi, the managing director at Ipic.
Other governments in the region are keen to develop downstream industries.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is expanding its Ruwais refinery to a capacity of 800,000 bpd, while the emirate is also behind projects such as the Abu Dhabi Polymers Company (Borouge), a joint venture between Adnoc and Austria's Borealis.
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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Monday, Sept 30
Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
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Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
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