February 2016
3
CONTENTS
Issue No. 1 February 2016
QUARTERLY NEWS JOURNAL OF OMAN'S OIL AND GAS SECTOR
60 Oil glut a boon to Oman Shipping
4 Editor's word
National shipping line Oman Shipping Company SAOC (OSC) is reaping the benefits of a strong uptrend in tanker freight rates.
8 Market Highlights Snapshot of events, trends and developments in Oman's Oil and Gas sector
20 A safety-net for Oman’s oilfield industry Exclusive interview with HE Salim bin Nasser al Aufy, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Oil & Gas
26 Weathering the oil storm Value creation, sustainability, business improvement and expenditure savings are the mantras shaping Petroleum Development Oman’s (PDO) response to the international oil price rout.
34 Redeployment strategy yields early success stories The government-sanctioned Redeployment Strategy is beginning to deliver positive results...
40 Leveraging the ingenuity of the Independent Oman-Lasso Exploration & Production Karawan Ltd is bringing more than just investment and expertise to bear on the development of its newly acquired Block 54 onshore Oman.
46 A renewable solution
64 Joint Supplier Registration System A success story for Oman’s Oil & Gas industry
66 OPITO Developing a sustainable talent pool
68 The Contango Conundrum 72 Finding another Yibal or Fahud The business of finding large oilfields is becoming harder and harder with time, says Prof. Wiekert Visser.
86 SME Fund: Special schemes to support ICV.
78 OPAL: Nurturing HR Best Practice 80 OPAL Awards recognise industry excellence 94 OPAL’s growing family: 335 members and counting!
98 Upcoming events
GlassPoint has teamed up with PDO to bring to life a more economical and sustainable solution to producing heavy oil.
52 DME flagship Oman crude contract Oman’s Ministry of Oil and Gas took the landmark decision in 2007 to migrate all of its oil pricing to the DME
56 ICV: Creating shared value ICV aims to foster direct employment and local entrepreneurship through the provision of goods and services...
Impressum
Chief Executive Officer Communication Executive Manager (Magazine Executive Editor) Communication & Event Officer
Musallam bin Rashid Al Mandhry Abdullah bin Salim Al Harthy
Creative Consultant
Nenad Valentik
P. O. Box 493 / Postal Code 133 Sultanate of Oman Tel. (968) 24 605 700 Fax. (968) 24 604 255
www.opaloman.org info@opaloman.org opalmag@opaloman.org
Azza bint Hamad Al Hilaliya
Acting CEO - OEPPA and Editor in Chief (Oman Arabic Daily) Editor in Chief (Oman Daily Observer) Magazine Editor HoD Business Development Department Business Development Department
Saif bin Saud Al Mahrouqi Abdullah bin Salim Al Shueili Conrad Prabhu Fatima bint Mohammed Al Gheilaniya Prem Varghese Karen Jane Stephen Abdulaziz bin Shehab Al Shukaili