Muscat: Preliminary statistics released by Oman’s National Centre for Statistics and Information reveal a nuanced picture of the country’s refinery and petroleum sector performance in early 2024. Despite a slight decline of 0.4 per cent in total production compared to the previous year, specific segments, such as automotive fuel, showed promising growth with a notable 1.8 per cent increase.

The data highlights that regular motor fuel (91) production decreased by 5.2 per cent, totalling approximately 6.68 million barrels by May 2024, with sales reaching 5.68 million barrels. Conversely, premium motor fuel (95) production surged by 12 per cent to 5.40 million barrels, reflecting strong demand, with sales at 5.31 million barrels.

Diesel production, however, experienced an 8.8 per cent decline, amounting to 13.28 million barrels, while jet fuel production spiked by 13.5 per cent to 4.76 million barrels. LPG production remained steady at 3.79 million barrels, with sales totaling 4.26 million barrels.

In the petrochemical sector, gasoline production increased by 8.7 per cent to 68,500 metric tons, while paraxylene production grew by 2.6 per cent, reaching 217,200 metric tons. Conversely, polypropylene production decreased by 9.7 per cent to 100,500 metric tons, although sales surged by 22.6 per cent to 15,000 metric tons.

Oman’s export figures for automotive fuel (91) rose by 8.6 per cent to 1.31 million barrels, while exports of fuel (95) saw a remarkable 153 per cent increase to 572,800 barrels. Diesel exports amounted to 7.64 million barrels, with aviation fuel exports totalling 2.90 million barrels. Liquefied petroleum gas exports reached 237,000 barrels, while paraxylene exports amounted to 219,600 metric tons, benzene to 68,600 metric tons, and polypropylene to 76,000 metric tons.