Muscat: Oman Refineries and Petrochemicals Company (Orpic) underwent a formal integration of its four plants (Sohar Refinery, Mina Al Fahal Refinery, Aromatics Plant and Polypropylene Plant) into one integrated refinery and petrochemical company in June 2011. These plants were integrated from three companies — Oman Refineries and Petrochemicals Company (ORPC), Aromatics Oman (AOL) and Oman Polypropylene (OPP).
Since then, Orpic has gone onto becoming one of the fastest growing refining and petrochemicals business not just in Oman but also in the region.
Orpic’s impressive integration of refinery and plant operations, and its ambitious growth plans, has cemented it as one of the industry’s most forward-thinking companies — with around 2,400 employees working towards the common goal of an integrated Omani refining and petrochemicals business of which the Sultanate is proud.
Shortly after the integration, Orpic embarked upon major diversification and a $9 billion expansion plan, which saw the evolution of three strategic growth projects (Sohar Refinery Improvement Project [2016], Muscat Sohar Product Pipeline [2017] and Liwa Plastics Industries Complex [2020]).
This has been undertaken to ensure full utilisation of the growth project outcomes and their smooth and synchronised integration into Orpic. The programme targeted all aspects of operational and non-operational processes, policies, procedures, people and tools and comprised two facets: Developmental Readiness Plan and specific focus groups which aimed at identifying, highlighting and solving critical challenges before commissioning and their amalgamation with Orpic.
Upon commissioning, over the next few years, these projects will triple Orpic’s asset value to around $12 billion and increase profitability by around four times. The growth will also double the number of employees in Orpic and increase the company’s contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) from six per cent in 2014 to potentially eight per cent in 2020.
Orpic has created a new way of working - RITE (Reliability, Integration, Talent Management and EBIDTA). These are the company’s guiding principles that help Orpic achieve its targets. Orpic firmly believes that, “These are the ways we choose to work, the ways we choose to achieve success.”
Through this integration, Orpic seeks to identify any additional opportunities or advantages that result from the integration with existing business in its mission to be a leading performer.