Oman's Salalah port to shut down after severe cyclone warning

Oman's Port of Salalah will be closed as of 5 pm local time (1300 GMT) on Oct. 22 after a national alert of an impending storm heading for the southern part of the country and nearby Yemen.

The closing will stay in effect until further notice, the port said in an Oct. 22 statement on X, the former Twitter platform.

Salalah, the largest port in Oman, has a liquid bulk terminal with handling capacity of 6 million mt/year, accepting fuel oil, methanol, LPG and vegetable oil. The port has a dedicated 4.5 km pipe that links the terminal to the Salalah free zone and a tank farm with capacity of 1.2 million mt, according to its website.

Oman's National Emergency Management Committee earlier on Oct. 22 ordered residents to evacuate coastal regions of Salalah, Rakhyut, Dhalkut and Jazirat al-Hallaniyyah in advance of the tropical cyclone Tej, which is intensifying over the Arabian Sea. It was expected to make land on Oct. 24, according to Oman Meteorology.

Oman LNG has facilities more in the north part of the country.

Last year, Oman state energy company OQ was moving ahead with a hydrogen project in the southern Salalah free zone in partnership with US-based Air Products and Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power. OQ did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.