Rex Fuels conference heads to Muscat on July 27

Rex Fuels Global Expo & Conference will hold its 20th edition in Muscat, Oman, on July 27, 2026, at the Grand Millennium Hotel. The event is timed to the new India-Oman trade agreement and Oman’s growing role as a logistics and transshipment hub for Gulf, India and Africa trade. Why it matters: - Rex Fuels Global Expo & Conference is positioning its 20th edition around a major shift in regional trade flows between India, Oman and wider markets in the Gulf, Africa and Asia. - Oman’s port network and the new India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement are creating fresh opportunities for energy, logistics, manufacturing and trade finance. - The event is aimed at companies trying to move first on those changes before trade routes and investment patterns settle. What happened: - Rex Fuels Global Expo & Conference 2026 will take place on 27 July 2026 at the Grand Millennium Hotel in Muscat. - The event marks the conference’s 20th edition. - Rex Fuels says the conference will bring together buyers and sellers from the bitumen, petrochemicals, petroproducts, shipping, logistics, steel and steel slag sectors, along with investors and policymakers. The details: - Oman sits outside the Strait of Hormuz, giving its ports a different risk profile from northern Gulf routes. - Salalah, Duqm and Sohar are the country’s three major ports. - Salalah is among the world’s top transshipment hubs and sits near major East-West shipping lanes as well as routes linking the Gulf with East Africa and South Asia. - Duqm, on Oman’s central coast, is anchored by the Special Economic Zone at Duqm, which has drawn capital from Asia, Europe and the Gulf. - Sohar, in northern Oman near the UAE border, functions as a gateway into GCC markets. - Together, the three ports provide redundancy, scale and strategic flexibility across Oman’s coastline. - FY2025–2026 bilateral trade between India and Oman is valued at US$11.18 billion. - Indian imports from Oman have risen 246.4%. - The India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement took effect on 1 June 2026. - The agreement gives duty-free access to more than 98% of Oman’s tariff lines. - Rex Fuels plans 20 focused sessions at the conference. - One track, “CEPA Unlocked,” will focus on sector-specific opportunities in energy, logistics, manufacturing and trade finance. - A second track, “The Three-Port Playbook,” will examine capacity, infrastructure plans, investment frameworks and commercial models for Salalah, Duqm and Sohar. - A third track, “India–West Asia–Africa: The New Corridor,” will examine the emerging trade corridor linking South Asia, the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa. Between the lines: - The choice of Muscat reflects how Oman is becoming more central to India’s trade strategy as companies look for alternatives to congested or politically exposed routes. - The conference is designed less as a general industry gathering and more as a deal-making forum focused on where infrastructure, policy and capital are converging. - Oman’s appeal is not just geographic. The country is trying to turn location into durable commercial advantage through ports, zones and trade policy. What’s next: - Rex Fuels will use the July 27 event to push discussions on how businesses can position themselves inside the India-Oman trade opening. - Attendees are expected to get sector-specific guidance on port selection, routing and investment opportunities tied to the new corridor. - The broader test will be whether the CEPA and Oman’s port ecosystem translate into faster commercial uptake across trade, shipping and industrial supply chains. The bottom line: - Muscat is becoming a strategic meeting point for the next phase of Gulf-India trade, and Rex Fuels is betting its 20th edition will capture that shift.