Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company SAOC (Orpic) has prequalified 19 bidders for the proposed $3.6 billion Liwa Plastics Project (LPP) at sultanate's Sohar Industrial Port, a report said.

The complex will be built adjacent to Orpic’s Sohar Refinery, added the Oman Observer report.

The facility will have the capacity to produce 880,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE); 300,000 tpy of polypropylene (PP); 90,000 tpy of methyl tetra-butyl ether (MTBE); 41,000 tpy of butane; and 111,000 tpy of pyrolysis gasoline, the report elaborated.

Orpic has split the project into four packages, each of which will be tendered out under a separate engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract.

The prequalified EPC bidders are expected to be invited to submit tenders in the coming weeks, with contracts likely to be awarded in the fourth quarter of 2015, the report said.