Four years ago Petrofac was awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the OQ-LPG project in Oman – its first project in the region of Salalah.

The scope of work included construction of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) unit and associated facilities, including tie-ins to existing pipeline infrastructure, together with LPG storage and jetty facilities at the Port of Salalah. As the project nears completion, the LPG extraction plant has a processing capacity of eight million cubic metres per day.

Petrofacts looks at the project’s major milestones, its importance for the region, and meets some of our colleagues involved in making it a success.

From trialling new digital technology to lifting the roofs of two cryogenic tanks into place using nothing but air, the OQ-LPG required much creative thinking.

Ali Rammal talks about the challenges involved in the project, as well as some of the technology used, including Connected Construction which helps to track people, equipment and materials onsite.

Ali joined Petrofac as a graduate engineer in 2007. Initially, a Project Controls Manager on OQ-LPG, he has been assuming the responsibilities of Project Director for the last six months.

A strategically important investment, the OQ-LPG project will enable the Sultanate to get more value from its gas assets. In-country value, as with many of Petrofac’s projects, was a key consideration and across the project we engaged with more than 300 locally based businesses.

Mohamed Ozoun, Manager – Contracts & Commercial, and Venkatesh Sundaram, Manager – Procurement, discuss why engaging with the local supply chain in Oman was crucial.

Mohamed joined Petrofac 16 years ago as a Project Engineer. For the last eight years, he has been the Contracts & Commercial Manager for projects in Oman. Venkatesh joined ten years and has likewise worked on a number of different projects around the world.

You may have spotted a few dark clouds forming in the skies above the site in the timelapse video. In 2018, the strongest storm since 1959 hit the region with rainfall reaching 617 millimetres.

Thanks to an emergency response plan, delays to the schedule were minor. It wasn’t the last cyclone that the team had to contend with, however; two more hit the region in October 2018 and May 2020. “The frequency of cyclones was unheard of in this region and presented a substantial challenge,” Ali commented.

The location itself is rather unique in Oman. During the season known as Khareef in Arabic (usually from late June to early September), the Salalah region experiences monsoon-type weather and the landscape becomes lush with greenery. Many tourists visit Salalah at this time to escape the summer heat in the rest of the country.

At the peak of the project, more than 4,800 people worked onsite. Rita El Jamal, Principal Project Engineer, talks about the critical packages she managed, while Engineer Muntasar Al Hinai, the youngest Omani to work in the commissioning department, reflects on his journey from graduating university to working on OQ-LPG.