OmanOil gets permission to operate oil retail outlets in Saudi Arabia

Oman Oil Marketing Co. (OmanOil) has received permission to manage and operate oil retail outlets and service centres in Saudi Arabia.

“Oman Oil Marketing Co. would like to announce that they have been qualified to manage, operate and maintain fuel filling stations and service centres in Saudi Arabia,” said  Omar Ahmed Qatan, CEO of Oman Oil Marketing Co., in a filing with Muscat Securities Market.

The company said it is in the process of preparing a feasibility study for this project.

“The results of the study will be utilised in taking the right decision in terms of the investment in fuel retailing in Saudi Arabia,” Qatan said.

The core business of Oman Oil Marketing Co., which was formed in October 2003 in the Sultanate of Oman, include marketing and distribution of fuel and lubricant products, aviation refueling and storage and distribution.

In October, a 680-kilometre (km) road linking Oman with Saudi Arabia which has been called an engineering marvel, was inaugurated. It was built through the moving sands of the vast Empty Quarter, the largest contiguous sand desert in the world, with an area of about 640,000 square km. The road will reduce the distance from Oman to Saudi Arabia by more than 500 km, which is currently 2,000 km via the United Arab Emirates. The construction of this road is symbolic as well as practical and is expected to promote trade between Oman and Saudi Arabia.

The road leading to the Empty Quarter passes through the main oil and gas production areas north of Oman, and a road linking Sohar and Ibri province will be built soon, making it easier to transport goods to Saudi Arabia from Sohar port, instead of going through Dubai and Qatar.