November 05, 2024 [Reuters]- Oman’s OQ Base Industries (OQBI), the methanol, ammonia and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) arm of state-owned OQ, plans to list an up to 49% stake on the local stock exchange, it said on Monday, adding to a string of IPOs in the Gulf country.
The listing is part of a privatisation programme by state-owned energy group OQ, which is helping Oman – a small non-OPEC oil producer – to diversify its economy and cut its debt.
It would follow the flotation of OQ’s exploration and production business, which raised about $2 billion last month in the country’s biggest IPO ever.
OQBI is in talks with potential investors and working with bankers “to determine the fair price for the shares”, CEO Khalid Khalfan Al Asmi told Reuters, without providing further details.
Based in Salalah, home to Oman’s biggest port, OQBI operates three strategic divisions: methanol, ammonia and LPG products.
Methanol is a lower-carbon fuel while ammonia is mainly used in fertilisers and chemicals. LPG includes propane, butane, and cooking gas, which are used as fuel for cars, heating.
The company has a combined capacity of 1.8 million metric tons per annum of production (mtpa), with methanol accounting for around 1.1 mtpa of the total.
OQBI, which exports all of its produced methanol and ammonia and 87% of its LPG products, was leveraging its strategic location near major shipping lines, Al Asmi added.
It expects to pay a dividend of 32.7 million Omani riyals ($85 million) for 2024 and distribute a dividend at least 5% higher than this year’s payout for 2025 and 2026.
The company posted revenue of more than $500 million for the 12 months (LTM) to the end of June 2024, it said.
OQBI said that all the proceeds from the offering will be distributed to the selling shareholders, with the subscription period expected to start this month. The shares are expected to begin trading in December.
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