China-based Jiangsu Changbao Steel Tube Company, a leading steel mill, plans to set up a manufacturing facility specialising in the production of steel piping and related goods for the domestic and regional oil and gas industry, in Oman.

Jiangsu Changbao’s board of directors said that an investment of around $20 million is envisioned in the project, and the company plans to establish the plant in the Sohar Freezone adjoining the sultanate’s main commercial gateway and industrial port, said an Oman Daily Observer report.

The plant’s capacity is expected to be around 50,000 tonnes of steel pipes and tubular products, with part of the output also targeted across markets in the Gulf and Middle East, added the report.

Leveraging existing free trade agreements with fellow GCC member states, as well as the US, the company aims to use Sohar as a distribution hub for its overseas sales, it said.

Billed as one of China’s oldest seamless steel tube mills, Jiangu Changbao specialises in the manufacture of high-end pipes and tubular products for the oil and gas industry.