Construction at the Duqm Refinery in Oman will begin next year, the Kuwait Oil Minister, Bakheet El Rashidi, said, KUNA reports.  

The minister indicated that $5 billion in loans for the project will be finalized during the first quarter of 2018, according to Bloomberg.

The project is a joint venture between Kuwait Petroleum Company and Oman Oil Company.

The joint venture has already signed contracts with a number of international companies, such as Petrofac, Saipem, and Tecnicas Reunidas for work on the refinery.

The project is expected to take 42 months to complete, Bloomberg reports.

The refinery has a planned capacity to handle 230,000 barrels per day (b/d).