Muscat outsources oil sector expansion
Bid round and first-ever private refinery shows the government is looking to external investment
Oman is delegating the task of eking-out additional income from its oil sector to foreign and private investors as it focuses on sustaining output from existing fields, tying-up downstream loose ends, securing gas supplies and—increasingly—adapting to a decarbonised future. In mid-July, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) announced the Mid-East Gulf’s first bid round since last year’s oil price crash, just weeks after a Chinese investor was revealed to have formally committed to a long-mooted second greenfield refinery at the nascent Duqm economic hub on Oman’s east-central coast. Licensing round The three-block auction follows a familiar pattern—covering lightly explored acr

Also in this section
5 August 2025
After failed attempts to find a buyer for its stake in Russia’s largest oil producer, BP may be able to avoid the harsh treatment meted out to ExxonMobil and Shell when they exited—and could even restart operations if geopolitical conditions improve
1 August 2025
A number of companies have filed arbitration claims against Gazprom over non-deliveries of contracted gas or other matters—and won. The next step is to collect the award, but this is no easy task
1 August 2025
Europe’s refining sector is desperately trying to adapt to a shifting global energy landscape and nowhere is this more apparent than in its largest economy
1 August 2025
The Middle East natural gas playbook is being rewritten. The fuel source offers the region a pathway to a cleaner, sustainable and affordable means of local power, to fasttrack economic development and as a lucrative opportunity to better monetise its energy resources.