Oil refinery project Oman denies agreeing to invest

• The 200,000 barrel per day refinery was to be built in Hambantota

The Omani Oil Ministry on Wednesday denied being part of a US$3.85 billion plan to build an oil refinery in Sri Lanka, a day after the government in Colombo announced the Arab country’s participation.   

Sri Lankan officials told a news conference on Tuesday that a joint venture between the Omani Oil Ministry and a Singapore investment vehicle owned by India’s Accord Group had agreed to build the 200,000 barrel per day refinery near Chinese-controlled Hambantota Port on the island’s south coast.   

The ministry was to take a 30 per cent stake, the officials said, representing what would be Sri Lanka’s biggest single foreign direct investment.   

“No one on this side of the panel is aware of this investment in Sri Lanka,” Omani Oil and Gas Ministry Undersecretary Salim al-Aufi told a news conference on Wednesday. “It came as news to me. I don’t know who is signing the cheque for $3.8 billion.”