Oman’s Duqm Refinery & Petrochemical Co. hired Credit Agricole SA to advise on fundraising for its $6 billion project, according to two people with knowledge of the plan.

Credit Agricole will help the Omani company raise more than $2 billion in loans, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is not public. Funding backed by export credit agencies and a sale of bonds may also be considered to support the project, the people said. 

The Duqm refinery project is 50 per cent owned by state-controlled Oman Oil Co, with the other 50 per cent held by Kuwait Petroleum International, a unit of government-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp. The project involves building a 230,000-barrel-a-day refinery in the Duqm Special Economic Zone on the Arabian Sea coast. Spokesmen for Oman Oil and Credit Agricole did not respond to requests for comment.

Oman is pushing ahead with projects to diversify its economy even as low oil prices hurt its finances.

State-owned Electricity Holding Co. last month hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank Muscat to advise on raising $2 billion for projects, while Bank Muscat and Standard Chartered Plc are said to be helping Oman Oil raise about $1.4 billion from two loans for its liquefied petroleum gas and methanol businesses.

Source : Times Of Oman