COLOMBO: Oman’s oil minister arrived in Sri Lanka on Saturday to participate in the launching of a $3.85 billion oil refinery project, government officials in Colombo said, three days after Oman said it had not yet agreed to invest in the facility, Reuters reported.

A twitter post by United National Party’s official twitter handle read that Oman minister has arrived in Sri Lanka and he will according to a statement posted on the UNP official twitter handle will be attending the ground-breaking ceremony of the Hambantota oil refinery tomorrow (Mar 24).

“Honourable Dr. Mohammed Hamad Al Ruhmy, Minister of Oil & Gas of the Sultanate of Oman was received by Minister @KabirHashim4 at the BIA a short while ago.

Hon. Al-Ruhmy will be attending the ground-breaking ceremony of the Hambantota oil refinery tomorrow. #lka #SriLanka”

The arrival of Rumhy could mean that the project – Sri Lanka’s biggest foreign direct investment deal – is back on track. 

However, there is no immediate sign of a formal deal involving Omani investment. 

Sri Lankan officials said on Tuesday Oman’s oil ministry planned to take a 30 percent stake in the project. 

A Singapore company controlled by India’s Accord Group would invest the other 70 percent. The storage tanks part of the facility would be owned fully by the Accord entity. 

But on Wednesday, Oman denied knowing about its part in the plan to build the refinery on Sri Lanka’s southern coast.

“He [Oman’s oil minister] is here to take part in the ground-breaking ceremony for the oil tanks of the refinery,” a senior official at Sri Lanka’s strategic development ministry told Reuters. 

According to Reuters, officials from Oman’s oil ministry were not immediately available for comment. 

Another government official confirmed the minister’s arrival and his participation at the ceremony in Hambantota on Sunday. – With input from agencies