Duqm Refinery runs at 110% of capacity, hits 255,000 bpd

Summary

• The Oman-Kuwait joint refinery produced about 255,000 barrels per day in 2026.
• Its design capacity is 230,000 bpd; 2025 revenues reached roughly $7 billion.
• Sustained overproduction turns a flagship partnership project into a steady earner for both economies.

The latest

Duqm Refinery is running at roughly 110% of what it was built to handle, producing about 255,000 barrels per day in 2026 against a design capacity of 230,000 bpd. Chief Executive Abdullah Al-Ajmi told the Oman News Agency the plant is strengthening its position as an industrial and strategic asset, converting crude into refined products for regional and global markets.

Details

• The headline number: Output of around 255,000 barrels per day in 2026 puts the refinery roughly 25,000 bpd above its nameplate capacity of 230,000 bpd, according to Times of Oman. That margin of about 10% is the operational claim at the centre of the announcement.
• The revenue line: Al-Ajmi said revenues reached approximately $7 billion during 2025, which he described as reflecting the growing size of the business. The figure covers the full year and was cited alongside the refinery's record of operating above design capacity.
• Diesel leads the slate: Diesel averaged about 115,400 barrels per day in the first half of 2026, according to the figures Al-Ajmi gave the Oman News Agency. That single stream accounts for close to half of total output, making the plant primarily a middle-distillate producer.
• Jet fuel and naphtha: Naphtha production averaged 61,100 barrels per day over the same six months, while jet fuel came in at 38,500 barrels per day. Naphtha is a petrochemical feedstock, tying part of the refinery's output to downstream industrial demand rather than transport fuels.
• Secondary products: The refinery also recorded 800 metric tonnes per day of LPG, 2,200 metric tonnes per day of petroleum coke and 500 metric tonnes per day of sulphur during the first half of 2026. These by-product volumes were disclosed as part of the same performance breakdown.
• The ownership story: Times of Oman described Duqm Refinery as one of the most prominent economic partnership projects between Oman and Kuwait, and as a model of joint cooperation in the energy sector. Al-Ajmi said it is capable of generating sustainable added value for both economies.
• What was not given: The announcement did not break down revenues by product, disclose profit figures, or say whether the 255,000 bpd rate is expected to be sustained through the rest of 2026. No export destinations or customer markets were named beyond a general reference to regional and global markets.

Background

Duqm sits on Oman's central coast outside the Strait of Hormuz, and the refinery was developed as a joint venture tied to Oman's push to build an industrial and logistics hub there. The Kuwaiti partnership gives the project a cross-border shareholding structure unusual among Gulf refineries.

Between the lines

Running 10% above design capacity is a performance claim, not a capacity expansion, and refiners typically extract that margin through debottlenecking and high utilisation rather than new units. The product mix is telling: with diesel near half of output and naphtha the second-largest stream, the plant's earnings are exposed to middle-distillate cracks and petrochemical feedstock demand rather than gasoline. The $7 billion revenue figure is a topline number, and no margin data was offered against it.

What's next

Watch for full-year 2026 production and revenue figures, any disclosure of profitability or dividends to the Omani and Kuwaiti shareholders, and whether second-half output holds near the 255,000 bpd rate reported for 2026.

Source: Times of Oman via ZAWYA; Oman News Agency