Oman Energy

Solar energy looks set to play a growing role in Oman’s energy mix as the Sultanate moves to address the two-fold challenge it faces of meeting rising demand for electricity while reducing state support for the power sector.

Extensive plans to shift the focus of Oman’s oil export capacity away from the crowded Gulf waterways are gathering pace, led by the establishment of the newly-formed Oman Tank Terminal Company which will build, own and operate a huge storage facility positioned along the Sultanate’s eastern coast.

Stepping up efforts to capitalise on its hydrocarbons wealth, Oman is boosting its downstream industrial capacity by expanding the petrochemicals sector and providing the fuel stocks needed to power other industries. However, the success of this programme still pins much of the country’s economic growth on its oil and gas resources.

The utilities sector is turning to private and foreign investors to help spur the growth needed to meet local demand. The construction of 16 power and water projects worth $3.1bn are slated to increase water desalination capacity in the country, as well as improve wastewater treatment and conservation awareness.

As Oman looks to renewable energy as a way to meet the increasing calls on its national electricity grid, investors are eyeing the Sultanate as a base for the production of technology needed to convert the rays of the sun into energy and profits.

The Omani government is moving forward with plans to raise prices for natural gas in an effort to recalibrate the supply-and-demand equation, with local demand for the feedstock rising rapidly on the back of industrial expansion and domestic supplies limited.