• Oman moves from concept to procurement on a major expansion of the Ras Markaz crude storage terminal, seeking EPC contractors for eight tanks totaling about 5.2 million barrels—doubling the currently operating capacity of 5.2 million barrels.
  • The project strengthens a storage and export option on Oman’s Arabian Sea coast, outside the Strait of Hormuz, as Gulf producers look to reduce exposure to the chokepoint.
  • State-backed Oman Tank Terminal Company (OTTCO) launched prequalification in August 2026, with the EOI deadline of August 4; final timetable, EPC award, and financing terms remain undisclosed.

Strategic Expansion at Ras Markaz

Oman has moved from concept to procurement on an expansion of the Ras Markaz crude-oil storage terminal near Duqm, with state-backed Oman Tank Terminal Company (OTTCO) seeking engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractors for eight additional tanks totaling about 5.2 million barrels. That would double the currently operating 5.2-million-barrel tank capacity cited for this phase, strengthening a storage and export option on Oman’s Arabian Sea coast—outside the Strait of Hormuz.

The prequalification process, launched in August 2026, covered EPC work for eight tanks of roughly 650,000 barrels each. The expression of interest deadline was August 4. The strategic rationale has become more urgent as Gulf producers look to reduce exposure to the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passage for regional oil and LNG exports that has seen repeated disruption risks.

Ras Markaz sits near Duqm within the Special Economic Zone at Duqm (SEZAD), featuring marine loading and unloading, subsea pipelines, pumping, and crude-blending systems. It serves storage customers rather than being simply a refinery tank farm. Sources use two capacity measures that should not be conflated: the operating eight-tank tranche is described as 5.2 million barrels, while the broader terminal’s first-phase infrastructure is designed for up to 26.7 million barrels, including capacity associated with the Duqm refinery. Its ultimate conceptual build-out is up to 200 million barrels, conditional on commercial demand and future investment.

Financial and Corporate Backing

The expansion is being pursued by a financially stronger OQ, Oman’s state-owned integrated energy group. In 2025, OQ reported revenue of $41.5 billion, EBITDA of $3.507 billion, and net profit of $1.668 billion (about RO641 million), with profit up 25% year-on-year. Group CEO is Ashraf Hamed Al Mamari. OTTCO, founded in 2014 to develop the Ras Markaz crude hub, operates the terminal and the Duqm Port storage and export terminal. Salim bin Marhoon Al Hashmi is identified as OTTCO managing director.

Dutch tank-storage operator Royal Vopak (VPK.AS) is a partner on broader Duqm storage and terminal development. A 2025 shareholder agreement established a prospective Duqm joint venture with OTTCO holding 51% and Vopak 49%, aimed at energy-storage and terminal infrastructure. The project remains capital-intensive, and final timetable, EPC award, financing terms, customers, and construction cost have not been publicly detailed.

Geopolitical and Economic Drivers

The central geopolitical driver is the Strait of Hormuz. Recent disruption risk has exposed the limited alternative export and storage routes available to regional producers. Oman is unusually well positioned because key facilities—including Ras Markaz—are outside the Strait. The terminal has access to the Indian Ocean and international routes toward Asia, Africa, and Europe without requiring cargoes to enter the chokepoint.

“Institutional investors like us are really focused on regulatory stability,” said Andrea Valeri, Blackstone (BX)’s country chairman for Italy, speaking at a Bloomberg conference in Milan—though his comments referred to Italy’s private markets, they echo a broader theme of regulatory certainty that Oman is also emphasizing. Oman issued executive regulations for its Special Economic Zones and Free Zones Law in September 2026, intended to clarify operating conditions and investment administration in zones including SEZAD.

The project fits Oman Vision 2040’s effort to make logistics, industrial activity, trade, private investment, and non-oil sectors larger drivers of growth—even though the asset itself is hydrocarbon infrastructure. Oil and gas revenues are still projected to supply about 68% of Oman’s public receipts. S&P Global Ratings (SPGI) recently raised its 2026 Oman real-GDP growth forecast to 3.5%, citing higher oil production, firmer energy prices, and stronger trade and logistics activity; it expects oil production to rise from about 1.03 million b/d in 2025 to 1.1 million b/d in 2026.

Regional Partnerships and Precedents

Oman has added external partners rather than relying only on domestic crude. The Vopak arrangement brings terminal-management expertise and access to international customers. An Iraq partnership with state marketer SOMO envisages an initial 10-million-barrel integrated storage project at Ras Markaz plus OQ Trading’s marketing of Iraqi crude.

Earlier plans envisioned a far larger hub, but growth appears phased and demand-led. The current eight-tank project is a concrete incremental step rather than an immediate commitment to the full 200-million-barrel vision. Similar regional precedents include pipeline and port systems designed to bypass or reduce dependence on Hormuz. Oman is building storage and export optionality on its open-ocean coast rather than relying exclusively on a pipeline crossing to a different coast.

Outlook and Next Milestones

The next milestones are contractor qualification, EPC tendering and award, environmental and technical approvals, financing, and signed customer or throughput commitments. Because the tender was launched rather than awarded, neither completion timing nor final capex should be assumed from the announcement alone.

The short-run commercial case will be strengthened if shipping through Hormuz remains uncertain, war-risk insurance stays elevated, or producers seek inventory buffers outside the Gulf. Conversely, a durable normalization of maritime security could temper urgency and reduce the premium customers place on alternative storage. If executed and commercially filled, Ras Markaz could deepen Duqm’s role as a regional oil-trading, blending, and logistics hub, supporting the refinery, port, and broader industrial zone.

The strategic paradox is that the project supports Oman’s diversification agenda by expanding non-upstream logistics and industry, yet it still relies on oil-market demand. Its long-term economics will depend on the pace of global oil demand, Middle East production policy, freight and security conditions, and whether the planned low-carbon terminal business becomes material enough to complement crude storage.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the EOI deadline as August 4, 2026. It was August 4, 2026, as stated in the prequalification documents. OTTCO did not respond to requests for comment.