Muscat, 8 March 2017 - Oman is well on track to become a dynamic platform between Middle East and Asia, with its 2020 development plan aimed at diversifying its industry and support the development of local content through its In Country Value strategy. This emerged today at the “Business Forum 2017 Oman & Italy’ held in Muscat, Oman, at the presence of Omani and Italian top Government authorities, as well as more than 80 Italian companies and about 300 Omani companies.

This is the first Italian economic mission to Oman and has been centered on Orpic’s Liwa Plastic Industries Complex (LPIC) project Engineering, Procurement and Construction package EPC2, the 895 million USD polymer units project which Maire Tecnimont is executing in Suhar, 150 km north of Muscat, for Orpic, the national refining and petrochemicals company.

The Forum has been organized by Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italian Ministry of Economic Development, Confindustria (Association of Italian Industries), Italian Trade Agency - ICE and Maire Tecnimont; and from Omani side by Orpic, and by OCCI (Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry).

The event has been officially opened by H.E. Dr Ali bin Masoud al Sunaidy, Oman Minister of Commerce and Industry, and it was attended by H.E. Ivan Scalfarotto, Italian Undersecretary of Ministry for Economic Development, Licia Mattioli, Vice President Confindustria, Giorgio Visetti, Italian Ambassador to Muscat,Ahmed Al Jahdhami, Orpic CEO, and Fabrizio Di Amato and Pierroberto Folgiero, Chairman and Group CEO of Maire Tecnimont. The Business Forum saw also the participation of H.E. Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, Undersecretary to the Ministry of Oil and Gas, and HE Talal Al Rahbi, Deputy Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Planning, as well as representatives of SACE and SIMEST, and other relevant Omani and Italian business associations.

During the event, the companies of the two countries had the opportunity to network, in order to foster relations between the respective entrepreneurial systems. This is a sound evidence of the role of the oil & gas supply chain as a driver to unlock value at the local level. Moreover, in the framework of the Italian economic mission the Omani-Italian Friendship Association has been officially launched.

Tomorrow, Orpic and Maire Tecnimont will guide the Forum's Italian delegation inside the Suhar Orpic complex and Tecnimont construction site.

Fabrizio Di Amato, Maire Tecnimont Chairman, commented: “This is a key initiative to foster business relationships between Oman and Italy. The Italian technology-driven value chain is indeed a perfect fit for Oman’s industrial dynamics, focused on unlocking value in the hydrocarbons processing sector.”

Maire Tecnimont S.p.A.

Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. is a company listed with the Milan stock exchange. It heads an industrial group (the Maire Tecnimont Group) that leads the international Engineering & Construction (E&C), Technology & Licensing and Energy Business Development & Ventures markets, with specific competences in plants, particularly in the hydrocarbons segment (Oil & Gas, Petrochemicals and Fertilisers), as well as in Power Generation and Infrastructures. The Maire Tecnimont Group operates in approximately 30 different countries, numbering around 45 operative companies and a workforce of about 4,900 employees, of whom over half work abroad. For more information: www.mairetecnimont.com.