Congratulations on the 50th anniversary of the first export of Omani oil and PDO’s 80th anniversary! As you look back at the success journey, what have been the key reflections?

Over the last 80 years, PDO has matured into a world-class operating company whose focus and ambition go beyond conventional oil and gas requirements. The Company has focused on developing professionals able to deliver across the full spectrum of socio-economic expectations and demands. Year-on-year growth since the first exports in 1967 continued to record production last year, but more importantly performance has been underpinned by firm foundations for a company that has consistently focused on developing and unleashing talent, value and opportunity across its full spectrum of operations, and is committed to serving Oman to its best of its ability.

Over the years, the Company has overcome significant technical and commercial challenges, and consistently seized the opportunity to deliver no matter what the obstacle. The sure and steady continuous improvement journey has enabled us to weather storms and unsettling periods, each time emerging stronger and fitter. Despite and irrespective of the low oil prices in the last two or so years, few oil and gas MDs and CEOs can stand up proudly and firmly state that whilst others retrenched, their company stayed true to its vision and its course, and increased activities and delivery of all key priorities (from safety to production, to job creation) across every directorate. Yesterday’s achievements and today’s talent provide us with the desire to face the future with much determination, capability and confidence and establish the next 80 years of legacies.

What is the message you would like to share with the nation at this time of celebration?

We are proud to serve Oman and will continue to focus on the success of all those around us before our own. No matter what the challenges all around us, PDO is well equipped and hugely committed to deliver another 80 years of community support and operational excellence, guided and led by the unwavering support and visionary leadership of His Majesty.

What makes PDO unique in Oman in terms of responsibility and expectations?

We feel and act as part of the community, first and foremost recognising that we will not succeed if communities around us don’t. We stand true to our vision, which is about being renowned and respected for the excellence of our people and the value we create for Oman and all our stakeholders. It’s about excellence and continually raising the bar; it’s about developing and unleashing people as the one and only source of sustainable advantage and it’s about creating value beyond oil and gas – that’s a given – but making sure we contribute to the success of all those around us.

You joined PDO in 2010. How has the company changed in that time?

The last seven years have seen many political, economic and social changes across the world and across the region. PDO has become more open and transparent in its dealings as public expectations and scrutiny have increased and we have significantly stepped up our engagements with external stakeholders to highlight our key activities, programmes and projects.

The scale, scope and efficiency of our operations have increased significantly as we have intensified our efforts to deliver value for Oman. For example, our well engineering teams are now performing more than 20,000 well interventions a year, compared with 11,000 in 2012, despite similar resourcing and lower expenditure levels.

There has also been a step-change on In-Country Value, where we have redoubled our efforts to create jobs and training opportunities for Omanis, both in our industry and beyond, in support of His Majesty’s government, and to Omanise our supply chain.

Continuous improvement is our way of life and we launched our Lean programme when oil prices were high, thereby enabling us to be better prepared for the lower oil price environment. Lean has transformed the way we work by stripping out waste and streamlining our practices across all aspects of our business. It’s integral to all we do internally, and there remains much scope for expanding our Lean practices across our supply chains.

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