Oman Oil Trader Seeks U.S., Africa Footholds in Growth Push - Bloomberg Business

Oman Oil Trader Seeks U.S., Africa Footholds in Growth Push - Bloomberg Business:



"Oman, the largest oil producer in the Middle East outside of OPEC, plans to buy, lease or build fuel-storage tanks in East Africa to boost sales on the continent and open a U.S. office to trade refined products and Latin American crude.



Oman Trading International Ltd. intends to invest less than $50 million in facilities to store fuel in Mozambique or Tanzania to help supply markets in Africa’s landlocked interior, Chief Executive Officer Talal Al Awfi said in an interview Sunday at his office in Dubai. He declined to specify the target markets. His company, a joint venture with Vitol Group, the world’s largest independent energy trader, plans to open a U.S. office in the first half of 2016.



Infrastructure investments in Africa and a physical presence in the U.S. are vital for the company to extend its reach beyond traditional markets in Asia, Al Awfi said. Oman sells most of its oil to China, where Middle Eastern crude producers face growing competition from suppliers outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia to become China’s top supplier in May, according to data from the Beijing-based General Administration of Customs."



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