The Government of Oman is expanding the country’s crude-oil export capacity to become a global player in the oil storage market.

At the heart of this strategy, we find the ambitious project of the Ras Markaz crude-oil storage park that is being developed by Oman Oil Company subsidiary Oman Tank Terminal Company (OTTCO), located approximately 70km south of the Port of Duqm, Oman.

The new storage terminal has a strategic location on Oman’s Indian Ocean coastline offering easy access to markets in South Asia, the Far East and Africa, as well as the Middle East, and will cover an area of 1,253ha with a total capacity of 200 million barrels of crude-oil upon its completion.

This facility is a critical element to position the Sultanate as a major hub in the region and a key link to the Duqm Refinery that also counts on WEG products (see about Duqm Refinery below).

This prestigious contract has been awarded to WEG Middle East – High Voltage Solutions Team, one of WEG group subsidiaries, for the supply of 4x Tube-Cooled Flameproof Motors, 4x Medium Voltage Variable Speed Drives and start-up and commissioning of the combined solution.

Design and manufactured in the Maia facility, Portugal, this complete solution is driving the large Crude Oil Booster Pumps that is be serving the Ras Markaz storage terminal operations. These pumps were supplied by Ruhrpumpen, one of the most efficient and reliable pump manufacturers worldwide.

The main features of this supply are:

4x W22XdT Flameproof Tube-Cooled Motors

Description: W22XdT 900K/J 3400kW 4 Poles 11000V B3R;

Marking: II 2G Ex db eb ia IIB T4 Gb;

Cooling: IC511 - Totally Enclosed Air-to-Air Cooled;

Starting: VSD.

4x MVW3000 Medium Voltage Variable Speed Drives

Description: MVW3000 A0225 V110 T5C 110 E A N F R D;

Input voltage (supply grid): 11000V;

Output Voltage: 11000V;

Maximum Output Current: 225A;

Power up to approximately 3950kW (based on 4P motor, with power factor of 0,87 and 97% of efficiency at full load);

Transformer windings made of copper;

With built-in earthing switch;

With cell bypass and redundancy;

Smart relays and several circuit interlocks.

WEG worked closely with all partners to ensure that the motors and drives met the customer project requirements. Among other decisive factors that resulted in the awarding of the contract, WEG's presence in the Middle East Region, commissioning, start-up and de-commissioning capacity served also as an important role on this project.

The complete solution was subject to a combined testing (string test) at WEG factory in Portugal, the WEG Center of Excellence for classified area products with a customer focused-approach and expertise in supplying customized solutions to major worldwide projects.

About Duqm Refinery (OQ8 Project):

WEG was also awarded with two project frame agreements by the international Joint Venture led by Técnicas Reunidas (Spain) and Daewoo Engineering and Construction (South Korea) covering all the Low Voltage and Medium Voltage products for the refinery process units, totaling over 1400 electric motors and nearly 200 VSDs. This project is part of the Omani government plan for the industrial development of the Special Economic Zone of Duqm, which includes the new grassroot refinery, with an overall investment of 15,000 million dollars in the coming 15 years and already includes a dry dockyard, harbour and related infrastructure such as roads and utilities. The refinery is the key project of the area and is operated by a Joint Venture between Oman Oil Company and Kuwait Petroleum (OQ8).