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Observer
08-03-2025
- Business
- Observer
Can Oman successfully transition to a renewables and mining-based economy?
Oman's economy is currently heavily reliant on oil and gas, which form the backbone of its revenue and exports. Hydrocarbon revenues account for approximately 70% of budget income, while the sector contributes around 30% to GDP. However, excessive dependence on oil is not a sustainable long-term strategy due to the finite nature of reserves and the global shift away from fossil fuels. Oman's proven reserves stand at approximately 5.2 billion barrels of oil and 24 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, which—at current production rates—could last only a few more decades. Consequently, the country is focusing on boosting non-oil sectors, particularly mining. Mining has been identified as a key pillar for economic diversification in Oman's current Five-Year Plan and Vision 2040. The country is rich in diverse mineral resources, including metallic ores such as copper, chromite, iron ore, and manganese, as well as non-metallic minerals like marble, limestone, gypsum, silica, and dolomite. Some of these minerals have gained global significance—Oman is now the world's largest exporter of gypsum, thanks to its high purity and abundant reserves. Additionally, the country has a long history of copper mining, particularly in Sohar, which is now experiencing a revival. In December 2024, Oman's state-owned Minerals Development Oman (MDO) joined a growing list of mining firms that have begun exporting concentrated copper ore, marking Oman's reentry into global copper exports. MDO's first shipment in 30 year comprised around 900 tonnes of concenters mined from the Lasail mine in Suhar. The development of other copper mines, such as Al Bidaya and Al Ghuzayn, is also underway to enhance production in the coming years. The mining sector has undergone significant restructuring to maximize its potential. In 2020, the Public Authority for Mining was merged with the Ministry of Energy, forming the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, reflecting the strategic integration between traditional energy resources and mineral wealth. The ministry has been modernizing geological surveys and mapping, while also launching initiatives like the 'Mining Lab' in 2018 to accelerate investment by identifying viable projects. These efforts have led to numerous mining sites being opened for private and foreign investment. Promising resources To date, Oman has signed 16 mineral exploration and exploitation agreements, including: 12 metallic mineral concessions granted to MDO for development; An agreement with British company Knights Bay for laterite ore exploration; and Three agreements with Omani companies, such as Mawarid Mining and Tasnim, for potash and lithium extraction. This strategic approach—fostering partnerships between state-owned, private, and international firms—aims to accelerate mining projects while ensuring knowledge transfer and workforce development. Authorities expect these initiatives to triple the mining sector's GDP contribution by 2023, reaching approximately RO 378 million, while creating at least 1,600 direct jobs for Omanis. In the longer term, mining is expected to play an even greater role in the economy, particularly with the expansion of copper mining and potential commercial production of strategic minerals like potash (for fertilizer production) and lithium (for battery manufacturing). While mining revenues may not match oil earnings in the near term, they will provide a complementary economic pillar, ensuring income diversification and long-term sustainability even after oil reserves are depleted. Both mining and renewable energy are expected to serve as sustainable and diversified economic alternatives for Oman. In mining, the growing global demand for minerals—especially those used in future industries—makes the sector increasingly attractive. Copper, for instance, is crucial for clean energy technologies, including electric vehicles and power grids, meaning Oman's increased copper production has a secure export market. Additionally, the development of local downstream industries—such as copper alloy manufacturing, glass production from silica, and marble and ceramics industries—can enhance value-added exports rather than relying solely on raw material sales. Oman has already introduced legislation requiring investors to maximize local value-added processing before exporting minerals, ensuring long-term economic benefits. Renewable energy as a sustainable alternative Meanwhile, renewable energy represents the second key pillar of Oman's post-oil transformation. The country is rich in solar and wind resources and has set an ambitious goal of generating 30% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Several large-scale projects have already been launched to achieve this goal. In January 2025, Oman inaugurated Manah 1 and Manah 2, the country's largest-ever solar power plants, located in Manah with a combined capacity of 1 gigawatt. Covering 14.5 million square meters and equipped with over 2 million bifacial photovoltaic panels, the plants use automated dry-cleaning robots to maintain efficiency. These projects immediately increased Oman's renewable energy share from 6.6% to approximately 11%, while cutting carbon emissions by 1.4 million tonnes annually. Such initiatives provide sustainable energy for domestic electricity consumption, reducing the reliance on natural gas. Previously, 95% of Oman's electricity was generated using gas, but renewable energy expansion is now freeing up gas for petrochemical industries or LNG exports, generating additional revenues. Apart from solar energy, Oman has also developed its first commercial-scale wind farm—a 50-megawatt project in Dhofar, completed in partnership with Masdar (UAE). Future wind energy expansions are planned, particularly in central and southern Oman, where wind speeds are higher. Additionally, the integration of green hydrogen production with renewable energy presents a dual economic opportunity—firstly as an export commodity, and secondly for domestic industrial use to reduce carbon emissions. If Oman meets its ambitious green hydrogen targets—1 million tonnes by 2030 and over 8 million tonnes by 2050—this could create an export industry comparable in scale to its current LNG exports. The projected benefits include: saving 3 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually; and avoiding 7 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions by 2030. Strategic economic transition Transitioning to a post-oil economy will not be immediate or easy. The oil and gas sector still provides a significant share of government revenue and employment, so any abrupt decline could disrupt economic stability. However, Oman is pursuing a gradual and well-planned diversification strategy. While developing emerging sectors like mining, tourism, fisheries, and logistics, the country is also ensuring maximum efficiency in oil and gas production. For example, instead of merely exporting crude oil, Oman is increasing local refining and petrochemical output: The $7 billion Duqm Refinery, a joint venture with Kuwait, produces high-value derivatives; while Suhar's petrochemical complex is undergoing expansion. Such projects will continue to leverage Oman's hydrocarbon resources, even during the economic transition phase, while also laying the groundwork for future hydrogen-based industries. Additionally, Oman's economic diversification program (Tanfeedh) has already encouraged private sector investment in mining and industry, leading to numerous new ventures. In summary, Oman is betting on a combination of mining, renewable energy, and hydrogen to gradually reduce its reliance on oil. The success of this strategy depends on Oman's ability to attract investment, transfer technology, and train Omani professionals for these emerging industries. Current indicators are promising—the revival of copper exports, Oman's leadership in gypsum exports, and the completion of large-scale solar and wind projects all demonstrate a genuine commitment to building a diversified and sustainable economy. The author is the head of Oman Observer's Business section
Arab News
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Contemporary art at the Islamic Arts Biennale
JEDDAH: 'The role of contemporary (art) is to act as a link between the past, our present and this imagining of our future,' says Muhannad Shono, contemporary art curator at the second Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah, which opened in January and runs through May. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @ Shono's section of the biennale features 30 new commissions from local and international artists 'giving shape to the theme,' which this year is 'And All That is in Between' — drawn from a Qur'anic verse: 'To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is in between' — guiding artists and audiences to reflect on the spaces that exist between known boundaries, whether physical, spiritual, or conceptual. Set across multiple indoor galleries and integrated into outdoor spaces, the contemporary works are woven seamlessly into the Biennale's landscape alongside ancient artifacts. One striking example is in the AlMidhallah section, where Japanese artist Takashi Kuribayashi's installation, 'Barrels,' features a formation of oil barrels from which a tree emerges, with reflective mirrors blurring the line between man-made and natural elements. Pakistani artist Imran Qureshi's 'Zubaydah Trail (Between Sacred Cities),' meanwhile, is an immersive space where visitors are invited to kick off their shoes and sit and reflect between the Makkah Al-Mukarramah and Madinah Al-Munawwarah biennale pavilions. Deeply saturated, vibrant strips of color make the space feel both playful and serious at once. Each color and shape carries symbolic meaning — the zig-zag pattern represents the streaming water of Makkah's Zamzam well, while the green hue evokes the peacefulness of Madinah. There are many other beautiful works, such as Saudi artist Bilal Allaf's 'What I Heard in the Valley,' which draws inspiration from Sa'i, the ritual walk performed by pilgrims during Hajj and Umrah. 'The overall theme of the biennale is interpreted across five galleries and, of course, across the contemporary interpretations as well,' says the biennale's artistic director Abdul Rahman Azzam. Contemporary art here serves as a bridge, as Shono suggested, linking the past, present, and possible futures. AlBidaya, which translates to 'the beginning,' is one of the galleries where this concept comes to life, exploring the emotional connections between objects and ideas. 'In the beginning, we were kind of focusing on the heavens and the earth. But then we realized that the true power and potential of this biennale is 'all that is in between,'' Shono tells Arab News. 'This idea of the inclusive, the expansive, the layered, the transformative space that is liminal, that is not interested in its edges, it's not focused on the binary of options of right and wrong and light and dark and good and evil. It is more interested in that new space that we are exploring.' Shono was a featured artist at the first Islamic Arts Biennale in 2023. His role this time is very different, but it's an opportunity he embraced wholeheartedly. 'I responded yes immediately and I threw myself into the work,' he says. 'It was a shift in priorities, it was a shift in what I thought my year was going to look like, and it was completely kind of throwing yourself into the process, into motion. 'The most surprising part about preparing was how natural it felt. (I wanted to make sure) that I went through this with a smile, and because I experienced the last edition, I knew what it was going to end up feeling like. So it wasn't an attempt to top anything or compete with anything but more to do it honestly and naturally, as I would do my own work.' What was especially important to him as a curator was working with younger Saudi artists and emerging voices. 'The word 'change' is used a lot here in Saudi and the Biennale really embodies that, bringing in the past — which was very rigid… did not want to be negotiated with, did not want to change its narrative or the parameters of its definitions and space — and bringing contemporary thoughts embodied in contemporary art practices, whose roles are to question, think laterally, reimagine, reinterpret,' he says. 'It's a big testimony to what the country's going through. And so when I was invited, I really wanted to do it — this speaks to my work and I wanted to extend that into the role of curation.' Many of the featured artists were present at the opening, engaging with visitors. '(Art) is not just about showing things; it's about experiencing things, exchanging things. It responds to your presence. It reacts to you,' says Shono. He is grateful to see so many visitors eager to engage with Saudi Arabia's art scene. The experience, he believes, speaks for itself. 'Every visit, every person who takes that leap of faith — beyond the stereotypes — is enacting change, is experiencing something that can't be reversed because you're really coming in contact with the truth, with people, their lives, their generosity, their authenticity,' he says. While he is curating the spaces, he does not want to curate the impressions. 'I think most of the people are coming here and seeing for themselves what is going on in this country,' he says. 'I grew up here in Saudi, so to see a country go through this very rooted experiment of social change… it's important for it to succeed not only for the sake of this country, but for the entire region.'
The National
27-01-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
How the Islamic Arts Biennale is broadening the definition of traditional art through its contemporary works
Impeccable craftsmanship and numerical attention to detail have long been hallmarks of historical Islamic art, from the calligraphy and border designs on the sacred pages of the Quran to the geometric and floral patterns found on the carpets, lamps and architecture of the region. Often, these aspects sought to reflect upon the beauty of divine creations, namely the natural world and its seemingly perfect interconnectedness. Many of the contemporary artists showcasing works at the 2025 Islamic Arts Biennale also draw inspiration and subject matter from the natural world – however, in a very different way. The biennale's contemporary interventions are featured in its indoor and outdoor spaces, including the galleries of AlMadar and AlBidaya and the sprawling AlMidhallah, situated under the canopy of the Western Hajj Terminal, which features site-specific commissions. 'All these are part of a contemporary intervention into the theme And All That Is In Between,' says Saudi artist Muhannad Shono, who is the curator of contemporary art at the biennale. "Contemporary art becomes a link between our historical past objects and the narratives they embody. That link is of the now, but it must have an eye on imagining the future. If we lose sight of our contemporary creative practice today, we end up forgetting the past, and we have no future.' Shono points out that objects and artworks we now deem historical were once contemporary. They used the technology and materials available at the time, depending on their location and access, and responded to novel ideas of the era. As such, a trajectory is concisely drawn between the historic objects and the contemporary works at the biennale. It is most noticeable, perhaps, in the proximity of the inner spaces, as artefacts are juxtaposed with works by Ahmed Mater, Asif Khan and Hayat Osamah, to name a few. The AlMidhallah area, however, is where most of the commissioned pieces are being exhibited, especially those that challenge traditional conceptions of Islamic art. In Watering the distant, deserting the near, Bahraini-American artist Nasser AlZayani presents an installation that honours Ain Adhari, a natural spring in Bahrain that has dried up as a result of climate change and human exploitation. It is a fate that has befallen several springs in the region. The installation, comprised of thick panels of sand, is engraved with the inscription of a 1970 poem by Ali Abdulla Khalifa named Adhari. The poem commemorates the spring, grieving its fate while reflecting on social imbalances. Watering the distant, deserting the near will slowly erode at the site. The poem it bears will gradually become illegible, making a thought-provoking statement about memory and the loss of cultural heritage. Fatima Abdulhadi, meanwhile, explores the significance of the basil plant in domestic and religious settings in I Wish You in Heaven. The Saudi artist took cues from a statement her mother often made about the smell of basil being the scent of paradise. The plant is found in several public spaces across Saudi Arabia, and is often used to mark happy occasions, as well as to mourn the deceased. The installation comprises a walkway abreast with basil plants and framed with a series of doorways of suspended meshes. As visitors walk through to the other side, they are enveloped in the scent of the plant, as well as its shadows that are cast upon the mesh. Lebanese artist Tamara Kalo, who works between Riyadh and Beirut, is showcasing a very different style of work, one that pays homage to the Islamic Golden Age of scientific achievement as much as it does to the Quran. The Optics of a Rising Sun is a reimagining of the camera obscura (Latin for dark chamber) conceived by the medical Arab mathematician Ibn al-Haytham. The copper sculpture invites viewers to stand in its middle and view their surroundings through an inverted perspective. The work pays tribute to Ibn al-Haytham's discovery that human vision is the result of light entering the eye and then being processed by the brain. Its use of copper, meanwhile, is an homage to the crafts of the Abbasid Caliphate. The work also draws from a verse in the Nur chapter of Quran, which describes Allah's light as coming from an olive tree that is situated neither east nor west. Iqra Tanveer and Ehsan Ul Haq drew inspiration from a different chapter of the Quran for their installation. The Pakistani artists, who work between Lahore and Amsterdam, turned to a parable from chapter Al-Kahf, which tells the story of a group of people who withdraw into a cave and are put in a state of sleep, waking up many years later to the dawn of a new age. Sleepers of the Cave explores this tradition from sleep to wakefulness. Abstract sculptural figures around the site give the impression of figures stretching out from their years-long slumber. Similar to AlZayani's work, they are constructed from materials that will disintegrate – perhaps underscoring the dire realities of climate change that are impending. The installation in the middle strikes a more hopeful note, however, featuring a panel of rippling water that brings to mind the original parable's message of rejuvenation. Asim Waqif's Min Rukam is perhaps the largest of the works in the outdoor area of the terminal. An edifice constructed from criss-crossed and lined bamboo sticks that were harvested from Assam, India, the installation uses traditional building techniques to create parametric forms. Viewers are invited to walk within the structure, feeling the bamboo bend under their steps and be enveloped by the sounds of creaking amplified by speakers. The work at once draws a connection between the durability of the building technique and the fragility of the craft and materials it uses. Min Rukam makes a statement about the fate of traditional crafts while simultaneously reflecting upon notions of sustainable architecture practices and questioning the number of opportunities given to artisans. Each of the commissioned works under AlMidhalla offers a new way of thinking about Islamic art in a contemporary setting, and how faith can be a means of comprehending pressing environmental and social issues. 'I wanted artists who were present, who were ready to engage, to be responsive to the now, to this transformative moment we're in,' Shono says. 'There are emerging artists who remind me of my younger self and established artists whose tenacity and faith in their imagination has taken them far. There is very much an urgency of being present, being engaged, and giving shape to the in-between – objects, timelines and ideas. All help define this expansive, inclusive space that has no edges.'
