Middle East oil refineries, flush with new production capacity and some of the most efficient plants in the world, are bracing for increased competition in 2025, with Oman’s Duqm and Bahrain’s Bapco moving ahead with their capacity expansions this year.

The region is already contending with the 615,000 b/d Al-Zour refinery in Kuwait and Iraq’s 140,000 b/d Kerbala plant. Bapco refinery raised its capacity to 300,000 b/d in 2024 and is targeting 400,000 b/d in 2025, the company said. And Duqm this year increased its nameplate production capacity to 255,000 b/d from 230,000 b/d after just one year of operation