Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) today boosted Omani job and training opportunities by signing six contracts worth US$650 million over the next 10 years.
The deals for the supply, installation and maintenance of 29 centrifugal compressors were signed with international engineering companies Siemens LLC, General Electric International LLC, and Omani firm OHI Petroleum & Energy Services LLC and its partners MAN Diesel & Turbo Schweiz AG.
The contracts all contain In-Country Value (ICV) provisions to retain more of the oil and gas industry’s wealth in the Sultanate for the training of Omani engineers and the local manufacturing of components such as vessels, coolers and transformers.
The signings took place at the third edition of the Business Opportunities Forum at the Oman International Exhibition Centre at Seeb under the auspices of His Highness Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said.
The event, organised by the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI), aims to create a platform for companies and institutions to expand business, build awareness and present investment opportunities from large firms and promote the efforts and programmes of private sector companies in the field of ICV.
PDO Managing Director Raoul Restucci said: “Despite the current difficult oil price environment, these signings show that we are committed to staying the course and making significant investments which will directly increase Omani jobs and training opportunities and build a robust and sustainable local supply chain.
“Since 2011, our ICV strategy has so far created more than 15,000 National Objectives job and training opportunities for Omani jobseekers and we are working all the time to develop and support Omani service and manufacturing capabilities.”
The compressors are planned to be installed at 11 PDO projects, including the Yibal Khuff mega project, Lekhwair, Mabrouk and the second phase of the Saih Nihayda and Kauther Depletion Compression projects.
The suppliers have committed to maximising the local content in their submitted contract plans. This should lead to the recruitment and training of a number of Omanis as engineers and technicians and maximise the use of PDO’s in-house repair workshops.
PDO received one award at the OCCI event for the largest one-off contract with Siemens LLC worth US$210 million.
The PDO booth at the two-day OCCI event features presentations on the Company’s ICV efforts, including an array of artisan products made by its social enterprise Banat Oman which has given vocational training to more than 200 women from low-income backgrounds.