(Company corrects period for revenue figure in paragraph 10 to

12 months to end-June not first half)

By Federico Maccioni

DUBAI, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Oman's OQ Base Industries

(OQBI), the methanol, ammonia and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)

arm of state-owned OQ, plans to list an up to 49% stake on the

local stock exchange, it said on Monday, adding to a string of

IPOs in the Gulf country.

The listing is part of a privatisation programme by

state-owned energy group OQ, which is helping Oman - a small

non-OPEC oil producer - to diversify its economy and cut its

debt.

It would follow the flotation of OQ's exploration and

production business, which raised about $2 billion

last month in the country's biggest IPO ever.

OQBI is in talks with potential investors and working with

bankers "to determine the fair price for the shares", CEO Khalid

Khalfan Al Asmi told Reuters, without providing further details.

Based in Salalah, home to Oman's biggest port, OQBI operates

three strategic divisions: methanol, ammonia and LPG products.

Methanol is a lower-carbon fuel while ammonia is mainly used

in fertilisers and chemicals. LPG includes propane, butane, and

cooking gas, which are used as fuel for cars, heating.

The company has a combined capacity of 1.8 million metric

tons per annum of production (mtpa), with methanol accounting

for around 1.1 mtpa of the total.

OQBI, which exports all of its produced methanol and ammonia

and 87% of its LPG products, was leveraging its strategic

location near major shipping lines, Al Asmi added.

It expects to pay a dividend of 32.7 million Omani riyals

($85 million) for 2024 and distribute a dividend at least 5%

higher than this year's payout for 2025 and 2026.

The company posted revenue of more than $500 million for the

12 months (LTM) to the end of June 2024, it said.

OQBI said that all the proceeds from the offering will

be distributed to the selling shareholders, with the

subscription period expected to start this month. The shares are

expected to begin trading in December.

It has hired Morgan Stanley ( MS ), Bank Dhofar and Bank Muscat for

the IPO.

(Reporting by Federico Maccioni;

Editing by David Goodman and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)