The panellists argued instead that sustainable exploitation policies and advanced exploration and production technologies would help ensure that Oman’s mainstay hydrocarbon industry will continue to play a pivotal part in fuelling the nation’s economic growth well into the future.
Taking part in the panel discussion on oil and gas were Dr John Malcolm, Managing Director, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), Dr Brian Buckley, General Manager and Chief Executive, Oman LNG, Nicholas Barakat, Managing Director, Octal Petrochemicals, and Freddie Lee, Director, Barclays Natural Resource Investments. Harvey Shapiro, Senior Adviser at Institutional Investor Conferences, the organisers of the two-day forum, chaired the session.
Arguing against the premise that oil and gas would disappear in 40 years or so, Dr Malcolm noted that the Sultanate, while a mature oil province, has been producing oil for over 40 years and natural gas for over 30 years. The large amounts of oil and gas still in place, he said, could be sustainably developed through economic means of recovery.
Echoing this argument, Oman LNG’s Dr Buckley said he believed Oman’s hydrocarbon potential was far greater than what has been presently proven. He also noted the government’s balanced policies in exploiting the country’s resources for national development, employment generation, and social economic growth in general.
During the hour-long panel discussion, the panellists provided their perspectives on Oman’s energy sector, which accounts for more than 60 per cent of export earnings and around 50 per cent of GDP. They also offered their views on such issues as the success of Oman’s economic diversification programme, and the environment for foreign investors in the energy and downstream industries. The participants were unanimous in their assessment of Oman as a broadly attractive destination for foreign investment in the energy, industrial and downstream sectors.
Octal’s Nicholas Barakat said the project’s promoters found in Oman all the “trappings” necessary to support the successful establishment of a world scale Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) plant at Salalah Free Zone.
This investment, underpinned by Salalah’s advantageous geographical location and a modern transport and support infrastructure, is poised to grow to $ 1.2 billion by 2012.
