GCC Energy Fund Helps Take Control Of Omani Company.

The Dubai-based GCC Energy Fund on Nov. 28 said a consortium of investors, led by the fund, had acquired a controlling interest in Oman's Dhofar Power Company (DPC). Under the terms of the deal, the consortium comprising of the GCC Energy Fund, Darbat Power of Oman and Malakoff Berhad, a Malaysian power company, had acquired a 46% controlling stake in DPC, a uniquely placed integrated power utility, from its previous largest stakeholder, the US-based PSEG Global.

The GCC Energy Fund, the Middle East's first private equity fund focused on the region's energy sector, played the lead role in identifying the opportunity, structuring the deal and bringing together the major participants.

DPC provides power to the south of Oman, including the country's second largest city Salalah, and is one of the few private utilities in the region involved in power generation, transmission as well as distribution. The company started commercial operations in May 2003 with a generation capacity of 242 MW and high voltage transmission lines totaling 2,000 km in length, servicing a customer base of 54,000.

For over three years DPC has been run efficiently with the goal of providing reliable service to its customers and ensuring the highest possible standards of safety in all of its operations. Adil Toubia, chief executive of the GCC Energy Fund, said: "We are delighted to announce the successful completion of this transaction and look forward to playing a central role in the growth of Dhofar Power Company, both within Oman as well as regionally".

Tareq al-Aujaili, a director on the board of DPC said: "We are very pleased to have the GCC Energy Fund invest in DPC and value the contribution that it will make towards the growth of the company". The GCC Energy Fund was launched in 2005 as a private equity fund focused on making investments in companies and projects across a range of industries within the energy sector.

Oman Considers Merging Operations Of Two Refineries: The government of Oman is considering merging the operations of the sultanate's two state-owned oil refineries, an official at Oman Refinery Company (ORC) said. ORC is expanding its throughput capacity by 25% to 106,000 b/d by April at its Muscat plant and a new refinery, the 116,400 b/d Sohar some 250 km distant, is due to start operations later this year.

"There is a proposal to merge these two refineries", said the ORC official, who declined to be named, adding: "A consultancy agency has been appointed to advise the government". The official said the merger would enable the refineries to bring down overhead costs since ORC owns both the feedstock and refined products processed at Sohar Refinery.

The Sohar Refinery, just completed, has a crude oil unit with a capacity of 116,400 b/d and a residue fluid catalytic cracking unit with a capacity of 75,260 b/d. Sohar's senior product planning engineer, Husain al-Agmi, said recently that the refinery was expected to start commercial operations in early December. It had been expected to start up at the end of October after resolving what ORC officials have described as "hiccups".

Oman Trading International, a trading venture set up by state-run Oman Oil Co. and international energy trader Vitol, has signed a five-year deal with ORC to take output from Sohar.