State-owned Oman Oil Company (OOC), the national petroleum investment company, plans to progress the implementation of three strategically significant petrochemical ventures next year, said a report.

All three schemes – the Salalah Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) project of Oman Gas Company, the purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) complex of Oman International Petrochemical Industries Company (OMPET), and the ammonia project of Salalah Methanol Company – will be sent to OOC’s board for approval in the coming weeks, Eng Isam al Zadjali, CEO of OOC, was quoted as saying in an Oman Daily Observer report.

He also noted that the total investment in all three ventures, with or without financing, is in the range of RO700 million ($1.81 billion).

Al Zadjali added that the three petrochemical ventures, along with the joint venture Duqm Refinery currently under development in Wusta Governorate, are vital to supporting the nation’s economic diversification and employment generation.

He made the comments during a panel discussion hosted by the Oman-French Friendship Association recently, added the report.