State-run Oman Oil Company is talking to bankers about raising a $4 billion loan to build an oil refinery in the southern coastal town of Duqm, a major part of the government's effort to build the country's industrial base.

Oman unveiled a plan to build a large petrochemical complex alongside a $6 billion refinery in Duqm last year, said a report in the Gulf daily News, our sister publication.

"Oman Oil Company is sounding out local banks to raise $4 billion for the Duqm refinery," a senior Omani commercial banker said on the sidelines of an investment seminar yesterday.

Oman Oil Company is developing the 230,000 barrel-per-day refinery project with International Petroleum Investment Company, based in neighbouring UAE.

It said last week it would build a 200 million barrel crude oil storage facility at Duqm at a cost of $1 billion.

Duqm has been picked as the country's next industrial centre, with investments of up to $15 billion over the next 10 years.

"We are targeting $5 billion foreign investment at Duqm in the next five years," Finance Minister Darwish Al Balushi said yesterday, adding that projects worth $18 billion were either built or planned in the town. – TradeArabia News Service