OQ, formerly known as Oman Oil Company, is an energy

investment company An investment company is a financial institution principally engaged in holding, managing and investing securities. These companies in the United States are regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and must be registered under th ...

headquartered in

Muscat Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the

Government of Oman A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

through the Oman Investment Authority

state-owned enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

. OQ is involved in sectors such as infrastructure and transportation for energy, oil refining, petrochemical production, oil marketing, and power generating. It operates in 17 countries. As of June 2023, OQ produces more than 246,000 barrels of oil per day.

History

1982 to 2000

OQ was founded as the Oman Refinery Company in 1982. In 1996, Oman Oil Company was established by the Government of Oman. A separate company for gas, named Oman Gas Company, was established in 2000.

2002 to 2010

In 2003, Oman Oil Marketing Company (Oman Oil) was founded. Oman Trading International, a trading division, was established in 2006. Oman Refineries and Petrochemicals Co. was created in 2007 with the merger of Oman Refinery Company and Sohar Refinery Company. In 2009, Oman Oil Company Exploration & Production was founded. In 2010, the Programme Apple was initiated which aimed to integrate Oman Refineries and Petrochemicals Company, Oman Polypropylene Co., and Aromatics Oman Ltd. In the same year, Oman Oil Company signed a joint-venture with JBF Industries to erect a

Terephthalic acid Terephthalic acid is an organic compound with formula C6H4(CO2H)2. This white solid is a commodity chemical, used principally as a precursor to the polyester PET, used to make clothing and plastic bottles. Several million tons are produced annuall ...

-PTA plant.

2011 to 2020

Following the initial phase of integration, Orpic was founded in 2011. In 2013, OQ acquired a German-based company, Oxea. OOC signed an exploration and production agreement with BP in 2013, to further develop the Khazzan-Makarem gas field. In 2014, construction of the Sohar Refinery Improvement Project started. In 2016, OOC secured a $4 billion

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

to invest into various projects over the coming years. In the following year OOC signed a

memorandum A memorandum (: memorandums or memoranda; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered"), also known as a briefing note, is a Writing, written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviation, ...

of understanding with

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

’s

Eni Eni is an Italian oil and gas corporation. Eni or ENI may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Escuela Nacional de Inteligencia, the Argentine intelligence academy * Groupe des écoles nationales d’ingénieurs (Groupe ENI), a French engi ...

. In 2017, a joint venture between Kuwait Petroleum International and OQ was announced for the development of Duqm Refinery & Petrochemical Complex. In the same year, OQ's subsidiary, Oman Tank Terminal Company (OTTCO), began construction of a crude oil storage terminal near Raz Markaz. In 2018, Oman Oil Company sold 10% of its 40% stake in the Khazzan gas field to

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Petronas Petroliam Nasional Berhad, commonly known as PETRONAS (stylised in all caps), is a Malaysian Multinational corporation, multinational petroleum, oil and natural gas, gas company headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. Established in 1974, it is a lega ...

and signed two concessions/agreements with

Occidental Petroleum Occidental Petroleum Corporation (often abbreviated Oxy in reference to its ticker symbol and logo) is an American company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration in the United States and the Middle East as well as petrochemical manufacturing in the ...

(Oxy). In November 2018, OOC announced that the company will be merged with refining company Orpic, which had been created in 2011 to operate Oman's downstream assets. The NAKHLA programme was initiated in 2018. The construction of the

Duqm Refinery Duqm Refinery is an oil refinery at the port town of Duqm in central-eastern Oman, and is expected to have a capacity of 230,000 barrels per day. It is owned and operated by OQ8, a joint venture between OQ (company), OQ, a subsidiary of the Governm ...

began the same year, as did the groundwork for the Salalah LPG and Salalah Ammonia Projects. Orpic Group merged with Oman Oil Company in 2019, and the combined business was given the moniker OQ. Some people believe that OQ is an acronym for "Oman Qaboos" and some believe it is acronym for "Oman" & "Quality", however one cannot find any details about initials "OQ" from their official website. In 2019, Oman Gas Company was incorporated into the OQ brand and was renamed OQ Gas Networks (OQGN). In January 2020, the State Budget allocated funds to assist OQ Subsidiary, Oman Tank Terminal Company (OTTCO), with the Ras Markaz crude oil storage terminal that would become an international storage hub and strategically locate Oman in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. Funds were also placed from the budget into the Liwa Plastic Industries Complex, a OQ investment. In May 2020, the commissioning phase commenced. Production increases were planned for OQC in Germany for 2021. The OQ announced in May 2020 the intention to add 30% total production for the coming year. In June 2020, Oxea was fully integrated into a group of eight other companies to create OQ, after the full process had begun in 2018. In August 2020, OQ and the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism collaborated to announce the opening of a tourist centre at the archaeological site in the Wilayat of Al Dibba. The OQ also signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the Minister of Education and Jusoor Foundation to manage and run the Liwa Science and Innovation Center.

2021 to present

In January 2021, Group CEO of OQ, Musub al Mahrouqi submitted his resignation which would be effective as of March that year. In response, the Board of Directors appointed the position of GCEO to Talal bin Hamid al Awfi to take over the responsibilities starting immediately. Head of Procurement at OQ is Ahmed Al Azkawi. OQ sold its stake in

Bina refinery Bina Refinery is an oil refinery located at Bina in the Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is owned and operated by Bharat Oman Refinery Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited. , the capacity of th ...

in March 2021, eventually giving its partner Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) full control of BORL. In September 2021, an announcement was made that OQ was considering sale of its German subsidiary, Oxea, a chemicals business, for about $3 billion. OQ Chemicals has two manufacturing sites in Germany that make a range of oxo intermediates and derivatives. In October 2021, OQ, Marubeni Corporation, Linde, and Dutco decided to explore the possibility of producing green ammonia and green hydrogen in Salalah. In December 2021, Liwa Plastics Industries Complex (LPIC) project in Sohar was inaugurated. The work on the project started in May 2020. With two polyethylene facilities, it has the capacity to produce 880,000 tonnes of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) annually. Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) and OQ signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to study the possibility of building a petrochemical project in the Duqm Free Zone. OQ and TotalEnergies formed Marsa LNG, an integrated energy company, in December 2021, which began producing LNG from Block 10 in January 2023 with a 33.19% interest. Shell also signed a concession agreement to operate 53.45% of Block 10. In May 2022, Trend Micro and OQ inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), under which Trend Micro would secure OQ's digital infrastructure from cyber threats. In July 2022, OQ signed an agreement with the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation to fund the construction of vocational colleges with an allocation of OMR 200,000. A contract for the exploration and development of natural gas resources in Block 11 was signed by OQ, Shell and

TotalEnergies TotalEnergies SE is a French multinational integrated energy and petroleum company founded in 1924 and is one of the seven supermajor oil companies. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas explorati ...

in September 2022. Shell has a 67.5% stake, OQ 10% and TotalEnergies 22.5%. The companies have previously signed a similar agreement for neighbouring Block 10. In June 2023, OQ signed an agreement with

DEME In Ancient Greece, a deme or (, plural: ''demoi'', δήμοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Classical Athens, Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside existed in the 6th century BC and earlier, bu ...

and Hydrom for the project development of Hyport Duqm for the engineering of 150 square metres and the construction of the

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

and downstream sites required for green

hydrogen production Hydrogen gas is produced by several industrial methods. Nearly all of the world's current supply of hydrogen is created from fossil fuels. Article in press. Most hydrogen is ''gray hydrogen'' made through steam methane reforming. In this process, ...

and green ammonia plants. In August 2023, OQ signed LNG supply agreements with

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

. OQ is expected to supply 0.8 million tonnes per year of LNG to Shell for 10 years from 2025 and 0.75 million tonnes per year for 4 years from 2026.

Operations

The OQ is invested into different main sectors through its network of subsidiaries. These include

petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable s ...

refining Refining is the process of purification of a (1) substance or a (2) form. The term is usually used of a natural resource that is almost in a usable form, but which is more useful in its pure form. For instance, most types of natural petroleum w ...

and marketing,

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

and

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

and services. OQ Company runs operations via four main subsidiaries: * Takamul Investment Company S.A.O.C ** Oman India Fertilizer Co. (OMIFCO) ** Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (ORPIC) ** Salalah Methanol Co. (SMC) ** Minerals Development Oman (MDO) *** Innovation Development Oman Holding (IDO) hares transferred to OIA*** Vale Oman Pelletizing Company (Vale Oman) *** Takatuf Oman *** Sohar Aluminium Company (SAC) * Oman Oil Company Exploration and Production * Oman Oil Facilities Development Company L.L.C * Oman Oil Duqm Development L.L.C The companies international assets are under direct control of the OOC, which has an international investment unit. These include: * OQ Chemicals (formerly OXEA, as of ) Germany (100%) * Blackrock Metals Company – Canada (2.8%) * MOL – Hungary (7%) *

Redes Energéticas Nacionais REN - Redes Energéticas Nacionais, SGPS, S.A. (formerly Rede Eléctrica Nacional S.A.) is a Portugal, Portuguese energy sector company which is the current concession holder of the country's two main energy infrastructure networks: the National ...

(REN) – Portugal (15%) * Oman Trading International (OTI) – UAE (70%) * Gulf Energy Maritime (GEM) – UAE (30.4%) * Orient Power Company Limited (OPCL) – Pakistan (42.8%) * Planta de Regasification de Sagunto (Saggas) – Spain (7.5%) * Qingdao Lidong Chemical Ltd. – China (30%) * GS Electric Power Solution (GS EPS) – South Korea (30%) * Qingdao Lixing Logistics – China (30%) * Compañia Logística de Hidrocaburos S.A (CLH) – Spain (10%)

Divisions

Feed, food, and agriculture

Feed, food and agriculture division, covers areas such as

animal nutrition Animal nutrition focuses on the dietary nutrients needs of animals, primarily those in agriculture and food production, but also in zoos, aquariums, and wildlife management. Constituents of diet Macronutrients (excluding fiber and water) provide ...

crop protection Pest control is the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest; such as any animal, plant or fungus that impacts adversely on human activities or environment. The human response depends on the importance of the damage done and wi ...

herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weed killers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page f ...

pesticide Pesticides are substances that are used to control pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). The most common of these are herbicides, which account for approximately 50% of all p ...

and its handling, and

human nutrition Human nutrition deals with the provision of essential nutrients in food that are necessary to support human life and good health. Poor nutrition is a chronic problem often linked to poverty, food security, or a poor understanding of nutrition ...

Flexible and rigid packaging

OQ provides flexible packaging for transportation, retail spaces, and for consumers' cupboards. Some other consumer-facing industry sectors, include cosmetics, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and sporting goods. OQ provides rigid packing products for food, consumer goods, houseware, electronics and industrial packaging.

Infrastructure and construction

OQ is active in

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...

(R&D) of different products. OQ is utilizing its research to develop infrastructure in sectors such as geosynthetics, pipes system, tanks and fittings.

Lubricants and functional fluids

OQ provides carboxylic acids, polyols, synthetic polyol ester base oils, and amines.

Paints and coatings

OQ's n/iso butyl acetate is used in different applications such as automotive, aerospace, concrete and wood finishes, or as nail polish in cosmetics. Another product, TMP, is used for alkyd and polyester coatings resins and for UV curable alkyd resins, while NPG is used in the production of powder coatings for architectural, automotive, appliances, lawn and garden equipment.

Pharmaceutical and medical care

OQ produces biocidal alcohols which are used in hand sanitizers and as a specialty amines.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.oq.com Non-renewable resource companies established in 1982 Oil and gas companies of Oman National oil and gas companies Companies based in Muscat, Oman Companies in the MSM 30 OQ (company)