State-owned Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) has named the preferred bidders for three of the four packages for its Liwa Plastics Industries Complex (LPIC) project, a report said.

Tecnimont, a joint venture of GS Engineering & Construction Corp and Mitsui & Co, and Punj Loyd are the companies that were selected for the project by Orpic, added the Oman Daily Observer report.

The three packages include the natural gas extraction unit in Fahud, the NGL (natural gas liquids) pipeline between Fahud and Sohar and the three plastics plants in Sohar, said the report.

Orpic intends to sign the final engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts after finalising the agreements and receiving the final investment decision on the project but before the year-end.

Orpic will be announcing shortly the preferred bidder for the largest package (Package One) which includes the steam cracker and associated utilities in Sohar.

The $5.2-billion project will transform LPIC’s presence in the international petrochemicals marketplace as well as support the development of a downstream plastics industry in the Sultanate.

It will also create new business opportunities, and generate significant employment opportunities.

Eleven strong bidders submitted financial tenders for the three considered packages and after a thorough evaluation process the preferred bidders were presented to Orpic’s Major Tender Board.

The Tender Board studied the detailed bids and subsequently approved the names of preferred bidders. In the next two weeks, a detailed discussion will be held with the preferred bidders in order to finalise the contracts. The final package for the steam cracker will be announced soon, added the report.

Musab Al Mahruqi, CEO of Orpic, stated that the operation will be one of the best integrated refinery and petrochemical facility combinations in the world and will be able to achieve the maximum value add for Oman’s hydrocarbon molecule.