Oman Oil Co. and Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Co. (ORPIC) have merged their downstream businesses and appointed a new group CEO as part of plans to integrate the two companies. Musab al-Mahruqi, CEO of ORPIC between 2010 and 2016, will take over as chief executive as of Dec. 2, overseeing the integration of the management and assets of the two companies.

Mohammed bin Hamed Al Rumhy, chairman of Oman Oil and ORPIC, said the board of directors believes the integration will create significant value for Oman and provide a solid platform for the group’s ambitious growth plans.

Al-Mahruqi previously led Oman’s first large-scale corporate integration during 2010-2012. Since then, ORPIC has embarked on an expansion program that has included the Sohar Refinery Improvement Project (SRIP), the Muscat Sohar Product Pipeline (MSPP) and Liwa Plastics Industries Project (LPIC), with a total investment of more than $9 billion.

SRIP and MSPP were commissioned during 2017 while LPIC is currently under construction and planned to start production in 2020. LPIC is based around a 900,000 t/y steam cracker and plants for PP, HDPE and LLDP