Construction work on the Middle East’s first sebacic acid production plant will commence at a site allocated within the Duqm Special Economic Zone (SEZ) early next year, according to a key official representing the SEZ Authority (SEZAD).
Anwar al Battashi, Urban Planning Manager — SEZAD, described the $63 million project — promoted jointly by Omani and Indian investors — as a “good example” of Duqm’s appeal as a destination for foreign direct investment (FDI).
Speaking at the 2nd Logistics Seminar, hosted by Port of Duqm Company earlier this week, Al Battashi said site preparation work on a roughly 400,000 sq metre plot earmarked for the project is due to kick off in Q1 of 2016. The front-end engineering design (FEED) has already been completed, he said, adding that plant commissioning is slated for Q1 2017 with full operations targeted by Q2 2017.
A 100 per cent “green industry”, the project will produce sebacic acid — which has extensive application in the plastics, petrochemicals and pharmaceutical industries — from castor oil, said Al Battashi. Planned to be developed in two stages, Phase 1 will create as many as 450 jobs, while Phase 2 — entailing a further investment of $250 million — will add around 250 jobs to the workforce, he noted.
In May, Oman Sebacic Company, promoted by India-based Shipra Agrichem Pvt Ltd and Omani businessman Shaikh Hilal bin Khalid al Mawali, signed a usufruct agreement with SEZAD covering the lease of a plot for the development of this one-of-a-kind project at Duqm. Shipra operates a 10,000 metric tonnes per annum capacity sebacic acid plant in Vadodara on India’s west coast. Given the product’s diverse use — spanning the chemical, pharmaceutical and industrial sectors — the Duqm project is expected to catalyse investment in downstream and spin off ventures that depend on sebacic acid as a key ingredient.
Sebacic acid and its derivatives have a variety of industrial uses in plasticizers, lubricants, hydraulic fluids, cosmetics, candles and so on, as well in the synthesis of polyamide and alkyd resins. Iso-sebacic acid, an isomer, has application in the manufacture of extrusion plastics, adhesives, polyesters, polyurethane resins and synthetic rubber. Sebacic acid is also used as an intermediate for aromatics, antiseptics and painting materials. It is used as a corrosion inhibitor in metalworking fluids and as a complexing agent in greases. Major sebacic acid producing countries include China, Japan, Brazil, India and the UK.