Dr Mohammed bin Hamad al-Ruhmi, Minister of Oil and Gas affirmed in a statement today published in the Al Shabiba newspaper that the oil and gas exploration works are going on and that it will not be affected by the oil price crisis, which he described as “occasional”.

He pointed out there is a remarkable turnout by international companies to work in the Sultanate.

He confirmed that the Sultanate does not intend to revise the contracts of oil companies at present and that the Sultanate’s interests in such contracts are secured. He also said that these contracts are binding for both parties and may not be changed every now and then.

The Minister also pointed out that the Sultanate sells its oil through the market as per the contracts it has with a number of companies in Asia. Besides, the purchases of Omani oil by China takes place at the market, therefore there is nothing to worry about losing customers.

He added that the Sultanate endeavors to ensure value addition of its oil and gas production not only through extracting and selling it, but also by refining it and setting up oil & gas based industries. It also rehabilitates Omani labour force in this field.

He affirmed that Oman Oil Company’s investments are continuing and doing well and that the company has no intention to postpone any of its projects including Duqm Refinery whose works will be launched during the coming stage.

As for the Sultanate’s initiative to reduce production by 5 to 10 per cent if an agreement is reached among OPEC and non-OPEC countries, he said that the Sultanate is ready to join this initiative to ensure fair price of every oil barrel. He also said that the Sultanate’s initiative was commended by a large number of oil-exporting countries.

The Minister of Oil and Gas pointed out that the cost of oil extraction in the Sultanate is about $27 per barrel including the operational cost for oil extraction, which is less than $10 per barrel.

As for the oil production levels of the Sultanate in December 2015 and January 2016, he said that while the average production level ranges between 980,000 to 990,000, the production exceeded the one million barrel barrier during last December 2015 and January 2016.

Dr al-Rumhi stated that the work for the Iranian gas pipeline is underway and that a remarkable progress has been made.