Oman's Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) plans to create 1,400 to 1,600 new jobs by 2018 and at least 800 of them will go to Omanis.

The company has prepared plans to provide relevant training for new Omani recruits to equip them with the skills to succeed in different areas of operation, officials were quoted as saying by the Oman Daily Observer.

Orpic operates the largest integrated oil refining and petrochemicals complex in the sultanate and is the nation's sole supplier of refined oil products.

During an event to celebrate the arrival of the company's third batch of Omani trainees, Orpic CEO Musab bin Abdullah Al Mahruqi said the company had already welcomed two batches of graduates who were enrolled in training programmes coupled with employment opportunities. All 100 graduates of the first batch were employed by the company.

"Work is under way to assess the second batch which consists of 110 trainees and we look forward to employing them after they successfully pass their training programme," he said.

Al Mahruqi said Omanis working in Orpic numbered 1,125, forming 74 per cent of the total workforce.

This new batch of trainees consists of around 330 young Omani graduates who will undergo an intensive training programme related to all Orpic functions.

Orpic also supplies fuel to construction and maintenance operations and is involved in the operation of facilities and warehouses.