Energy

Oman may have huge hydrocarbons wealth, but accessing oil and gas supplies has long proved a challenge. More positively, the difficulties associated with exploiting oil and gas reserves – which are dispersed in complex clusters – have made the nation a global leader in advanced hydrocarbons recovery techniques. For international oil companies with the capacity for enhanced oil recovery techniques, Oman therefore remains an attractive destination for investment. This comes as the Ministry of Oil and Gas is redoubling its efforts to maintain and expand crude oil production to meet domestic demand: the expansion of the refining facility at Sohar and the development of a new refinery operation are together set to more than double the output of refined products and open the door to a new export business. This is part of a 10-year plan that outlines spending of $60bn-70bn between 2013 and 2022 on oil exploration and production, and around $40bn on its efforts to exploit gas resources. At the same time, the Sultanate has made an effort to diversify its energy base in recent years, with several new programmes for solar and wind technology in the pipeline. This chapter includes interviews with Harib Al Kitani, CEO, Oman Liquefied Natural Gas (Oman LNG), and Nasser bin Khamis Al Jashmi, Undersecretary for the Ministry of Oil and Gas.