
PDO leads Oman's energy push with $1 bn gas project
The company's flagship gas initiative targets the Haima reservoirs — Amin, Miqrat and Barik — and brought 12 wells online last year. The project is expected to recover 2.22 billion cubic metres of gas and 0.34 million cubic metres of condensate, supporting domestic demand and securing future supply.
'In 2024, the Directorate of Project Delivery focused on the execution of a comprehensive portfolio of oil and gas extraction projects with a total value of $1 billion,' according to the Annual Report.
The development comes at a critical time as Oman seeks to bridge projected gas gaps between 2024 and 2026, and again beyond 2031. PDO's production adds long-term stability to the country's energy mix.
In parallel, PDO advanced into clean energy through three major renewable projects. In partnership with OQ Alternative Energy and TotalEnergies, the company is developing a 100 MW solar PV plant in north Oman and two wind farms totalling 200 MW in the south.
The projects will come online in 2026 and are expected to generate over 1.4 terawatt-hours of electricity annually — reducing emissions by more than one million tonnes per year. The shift supports Oman's goal to reach Net-Zero emissions by 2050.
PDO also remained Oman's leading exploration company in 2024, drilling 24 of the country's 54 oil wells and 9 of 19 gas wells. It accounted for 62% of the nation's total oil and condensate reserves.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Observer
3 days ago
- Observer
OQ investments boost Oman's fuel storage capacity
Major investments by OQ – the integrated energy group of Oman – in the country's fuel storage infrastructure are poised to strengthen its pivotal role in strategic fuel logistics, according to the Ministry of Energy and Minerals. Last year, the state-owned energy company – part of the Oman Investment Authority (OIA) – commenced work on two key fuel storage hubs located in strategically important regions of the Sultanate, committing a total investment of $328 million to the projects. The larger of the two hubs is under construction in Musandam Governorate, with a budget of $204 million. Work on the 14,536-cubic-metre capacity facility began in October 2024. Underscoring the importance of the project, the Ministry stated: 'The Strategic Fuel Reserve is part of the Group's commitment to sustainable economic development and to addressing the rising demand for petroleum products driven by population growth and increased commercial activities. The storage facility will serve as a strategic reserve for various fuels, including gasoline and aviation fuel, ensuring an uninterrupted supply during emergencies,' the Ministry added in its recently published 2024 Annual Report. Earlier, in August 2024, OQ broke ground on a separate Strategic Fuel Reserve located in Dhofar Governorate, in the far south of the Sultanate. The facility, with a planned capacity of 110,000 cubic metres, will enhance the governorate's resilience to potential energy disruptions, the Ministry said. 'The project aims to strengthen the local fuel supply in Dhofar and ensure preparedness for emergency situations by storing key petroleum derivatives,' it added. When fully operational—targeted for around April 2027—the two hubs will significantly boost Oman's strategic fuel reserve capacity, which is currently overseen entirely by OQ Group subsidiaries. They will complement the central national fuel storage terminal operated by wholly owned OQ Logistics at Al Jifnain, just outside the capital, Muscat. With a capacity of approximately 170,000 cubic metres, the Jifnain terminal is the largest fuel storage facility in Oman, meeting over 70 per cent of the nation's refined fuel consumption. It is supplied via pipelines connected to OQ's refineries at Mina Al Fahal (Muscat) and Suhar, as well as to Muscat International Airport. Another vital component of Oman's fuel storage ecosystem is the Ras Markaz Crude Oil Terminal, located near Duqm and overseen by Oman Tank Terminal Company (OTTCO). Connected to the Duqm Refinery via an 80 km pipeline, the terminal functions both as a regional crude storage facility and an export terminal. Since commencing operations just over two years ago, Ras Markaz has handled 491 vessels as of the end of April 2025. In this period, it imported over 950 million barrels of crude oil and exported approximately 17 million metric tonnes of petroleum products. Earlier this year, OTTCO signed a strategic partnership with Royal Vopak, the leading Dutch fuel logistics company, aimed at transforming Duqm into a global hub for storage services. The company is also exploring opportunities to support the development of advanced infrastructure for the storage, handling, and export of green ammonia.


Times of Oman
3 days ago
- Times of Oman
India's retail inflation headed below 2% RBI tolerance band in July: Nomura
New Delhi: Retail inflation in India, which has been on a declining trend providing further respite to common people, is expected to head below RBI's 2 per cent lower tolerance band, this July, according to Nomura. Continuing its downward trend, retail inflation in India hit a new over six-year low in June, at 2.1 per cent. "Headline inflation moderated below market expectations...," multinational investment and brokerage firm Nomura said in a report this week. A sharp decline in prices was reported in a number of food categories, offsetting the seasonal uptick in vegetable prices. Food and beverages inflation fell in June, with a sequential drop in prices of pulses, cereals, and spices, while higher prices were observed for eggs, meat, and fish, edible oils, and vegetables; the latter in line with seasonal trends. Against this backdrop of moderating retail inflation in India, Nomura recently lowered its 2025-26 headline inflation forecast to 2.8 per cent, from 3.3 per cent, well below the RBI's forecast of 3.7 per cent. "While the hurdle for a rate cut at the next meeting in August appears high, we expect 25 basis point cuts in each of the October and December meetings to a terminal rate of 5.00 per cent," the Nomura report read. "We also expect banking system liquidity to be kept in a surplus for effective monetary policy transmission," it added. Daily data for the first 13 days of July suggest headline inflation is tracking even lower in July, at around 1.5 per cent, Nomura asserted. The inflation rate is within the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) manageable range of 2-6 per cent. Retail inflation last breached the Reserve Bank of India's 6 per cent upper tolerance level in October 2024. Since then, it has been in the 2-6 per cent range, which the RBI considers manageable. Food prices were a concern for Indian policymakers, who wished to sustain retail inflation around 4 per cent. Inflation has been a concern for many countries, including advanced economies, but India has largely managed to steer its inflation trajectory well. The RBI held its benchmark repo rate steady at 6.5 per cent for the eleventh consecutive time, before cutting it first time in about five years in February 2025. Analysts expect inflation to remain under control, allowing the RBI to focus on supporting economic growth. The recent 50 basis points repo cut was quite an indication. The inflation outlook for the year 2025-26 has been recently revised downwards from RBI's earlier forecast of 4 per cent to 3.7 per cent. "We expect credit growth to remain subdued and see downside risks to the RBI's 2025-26 forecasts for GDP growth (6.5 per cent) and inflation (3.7 per cent)," the Nomura report read. Separately, Wholesale inflation (WPI) in India turned negative in June at (-) 0.13 per cent as against 0.39 per cent in May. In April 2023, the wholesale inflation last went into negative territory and continued for seven straight months. Similarly, in the initial days of COVID-19, in July 2020, too, the WPI was reported to be negative.


Observer
4 days ago
- Observer
OQEP, TPAO ink exclusive pact to evaluate Oman upstream blocks
MUSCAT, JULY 16 OQ Exploration & Production New Ventures LLC, a subsidiary of OQ Exploration & Production (OQEP), has signed a tripartite Exclusivity Agreement with the Omani Ministry of Energy and Minerals and Türkiye's state-owned energy giant Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO). The agreement grants the parties exclusive rights to evaluate specific oil and gas blocks in the Sultanate of Oman for a three-month period. Publicly traded OQEP disclosed the agreement in a filing to the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) on Wednesday, July 16. According to Turkish media, the agreement was signed during the official visit to Muscat by Türkiye's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, earlier this week. During the visit, Bayraktar held bilateral talks with Eng Salim bin Nasser al Aufi, Oman's Minister of Energy and Minerals. As part of the visit, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between the two countries. The MoU commits both sides to exchange technical expertise, align regulatory frameworks, explore joint energy projects and examine financing mechanisms aimed at enhancing efficiency and accelerating the transition to cleaner fuels. Potential areas of collaboration include crude oil exploration, LNG trade, renewable energy development, energy storage technologies and alternative fuels. A dedicated workstream will also explore opportunities in green hydrogen production, storage and transport — an emerging focus area under Oman's net-zero 2050 strategy. Separately, OQEP and TPAO signed another agreement to explore broader opportunities for investment and cooperation in other energy-related domains. TPAO, wholly owned by the Turkish government, is Türkiye's national oil company. While originally integrated across exploration, production, refining, marketing and transportation, it has since the 1980s focused primarily on exploration and production. In addition to its significant domestic footprint, TPAO is active internationally in countries such as Azerbaijan, Libya, Pakistan, Hungary, Somalia, Iraq and Russia. From deepwater production in the Black Sea to seismic exploration globally, TPAO plays a key role in Türkiye's push for energy independence and regional leadership in hydrocarbons. OQEP — Oman's largest pure-play upstream operator and the upstream arm of majority state-owned OQ Group — has a portfolio of around 15 onshore and offshore assets. With a daily output averaging around 230,000 barrels of oil equivalent, OQEP accounts for roughly 14% of Oman's total hydrocarbon production. In addition to its core operations, OQEP also holds a 20 per cent stake in Marsa LNG, a low-carbon marine LNG bunkering project under construction at SOHAR Port and Freezone, led by TotalEnergies. Earlier this year, OQEP was designated by the Ministry of Energy and Minerals to support the joint marketing of up to 11 new concession blocks to be launched as part of multiple bid rounds in 2025. The effort is being undertaken in partnership with the Ministry and Toronto-based Scotiabank, a global leader in oil and gas M&A advisory, with deep finance and technical expertise in the energy sector.