Oman’s Refinery and Petrochemical Production Sees Mixed Trends

Muscat: Total refinery products in the Sultanate of Oman reached 129,083,200 barrels by the end of last July, marking a decrease of 3.7 percent compared to the same period in 2025. According to Oman News Agency, the latest preliminary statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) indicated a decrease in total automotive fuel production by 1.4 percent by the end of July 2026. The statistics also revealed a decline in regular automotive fuel (M91) production by 4.5 percent, reaching 9,629,700 barrels, compared to 10,088,600 barrels during the same period in 2025. Its sales also decreased by 4.6 percent, while exports increased by 9.8 percent. Conversely, the production of premium automotive fuel (M95) rose by 2.6 percent to reach 8,319,200 barrels by the end of July 2026. Despite the increase in production, its sales fell by 10.6 percent, and exports also dropped by 33.9 percent. Gas oil (diesel) production recorded a decline of 6.8 percent, with sales and exports also showin g significant decreases by 8.3 percent and 11.8 percent, respectively. In contrast, aviation fuel production saw an increase of 12 percent, although its sales fell by 9.2 percent, with a 27.4 percent rise in exports. Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) production fell by 3.3 percent, accompanied by a significant 22 percent decrease in sales. However, LPG exports recorded a 3.9 percent increase. Meanwhile, naphtha production rose by 4.5 percent, with increases in both sales and exports. The production of other refinery products dropped by 15.9 percent, with sales declining by 21.7 percent and exports decreasing by 3.1 percent. In the petrochemicals sector, benzene production increased by 7.3 percent, with exports rising by 11.3 percent. Paraxylene production showed a growth of 9.6 percent, with a slight increase in exports. However, polypropylene production decreased significantly by 25.4 percent. Despite the decline in production, polypropylene sales saw a 32.1 percent increase, while exports fell by 17.9 percen t.