Oman: Salalah Port aims to become liquid trading hub
MUSCAT: Having already established itself as a major player in the handling of container and dry bulk commodities, Oman's Port of Salalah — one of the busiest maritime gateways in the Middle East — is now eyeing the potential to serve as a prominent liquid hub as well.
Fuelling this potential is the growth of an expanding petrochemicals industry in and around Salalah, with significantly volumes of methanol, LPG and fuel products currently being handled at the maritime port overlooking the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean beyond. A sizable increase in wet bulk volumes is also anticipated when a major new cluster of petrochemical plants materialises at the adjoining Salalah Free Zone in the coming years.
Commenting on the outlook for the growth of a liquid hub at Salalah Port, Braik Musallam al Amri, Chairman of Board of Directors, Salalah Port Services Co SAOG, said: 'Interest in wet bulk is encouraging and Salalah's potential as a hub for liquid trading and handling is becoming more solid. This is driven by the well-developed infrastructure in place and the established know-how that the port built over the years. The company is working with prospective customers on opportunities to develop new business in the Port.' Currently, all of the volumes of methanol and LPG exported through Salalah Port are generated by OQ Base Industries (OQBI), the majority Omani state-owned integrated petrochemicals complex operating in the free zone. Output of methanol and LPG from the plant hit record levels last year.
Seeking to capitalise on the presence of ammonia, methanol and LPG as feedstock in Salalah, Al Baleed Petrochemical Company — an Oman-based firm — is currently in the early stages of developing a petrochemicals park in the free zone. The cluster is envisaged as an integrated petrochemicals complex that will process these commodities into an array of high-demand chemical products.
The park is proposed to host modularised units focused on, among other commodities, propane dehydrogenation (PDH); maleic anhydride — a key intermediate in the production of biodegradable plastics; Formic Acid (85 per cent concentration), Acetic Acid and Hydrogen Peroxide (35 per cent and 50 per cent concentrations).
On the dry bulk front, however, Salalah Port continued to post strong gains, bolstered by its growing importance as a hub for locally mined minerals like gypsum and limestone. General cargo throughput climbed 11 per cent to 6.4 million tonnes during Q1 2025, up from 5.8 million tonnes in Q1 2024. The increase was driven by an uptick in the demand for gypsum and limestone for export.
'Dry Bulk (limestone and gypsum) demand is strong and traders are exploring new markets, which will strengthen our forecasts once confirmed. With port equipment capacity reinstated, customers are now more confident to book larger parcels, which puts the port on track to meet volume forecasts for this year,' said Al Amri in the Director's Report for Q1 2025.
However, container volumes declined 6 per cent to 823K TEUs in the first quarter of this year, compared to 878K TEUs a year ago — a dip attributable primarily to ongoing disruptions in the Red Sea.
'The Red Sea situation remains unchanged and uncertainty extended well into Q2 2025. However, the longer term outlook remains positive given ramping up of the Gemini network and the interest from Hapag Lloyd to divert business to Salalah. This is seen on both the transshipment and import/export fronts,' the Chairman added.
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