World Finance: Oman LNG's social investments in Sur have had a clear impact on improving
the quality of life for local people. From constructing a walkway over one of the main
- and very busy - roads in the city, to building a promenade along the Albarr beach, to vocational
training for residents in Qalhat village: the oldest village in Sur, and a close neighbour
of the Oman LNG gas plant.
Qalhat village is the closest village to Oman LNG, situated around five kilometres west
of the gas plant. And it's developed considerably since 2000, with the company supplying a desalination
plant, and also distribution systems to the households.
Over the years, Oman's corporates have realised that backing social causes, small business
initiatives, and NGOs, does not make them stand out. Companies like Oman LNG want to
showcase a more active role in society: such as by creating jobs.
This has led to initiatives such as this: teaching Qalhat village women a trade.
This programme teaches women tailoring, providing a vital income for families, and supplying
rent for housing so that women, once trained, can start their own businesses.
Oman LNG has also built and supplied equipment for a local kindergarten, offering a start
in education to local children up to the age of five.
Social investment really is one of the ways the company contributes to Oman's national
development. Even before the company liquefied its first volumes of natural gas in 2000,
it invested OMR20m to help establish Sur General Hospital.
Dr Mohammad Ibrahim Alfarsi, Executive Director, Sur General Hospital: We are proud of Oman
LNG for supporting this hospital from the beginning.
Oman LNG donated a lot of equipment, like a CT scan, another CCU, and BICU. This is
of great benefit to the community. And this has serviced all of the patients - not certain
types of people, but all of the patients get the benefits. And in the future we will continue
our co-operation between Oman LNG and Sur Hospital for better health services to our community.
World Finance: LNG is a growing energy market; and with more and more consumers turning to
non-oil based energy sources, it's likely to sustain itself
as a forerunner in energy development for years to come.
Mohammed Bin Hamad Al Rumhy, Minister of Oil and Gas, Oman: We are facing challenges. Now,
everybody wants gas in the country. The local entrepreneurs want gas. I want gas so that
I can export more: I think it's good business for creating wealth for the country. Heavy
industry that we need in the country wants gas.
The standard of living in the country, I think, is growing: everybody wants to build homes,
everybody wants to live comfortably. And all that requires energy - which is electricity
here - and water: that requires gas. So gas demand is a major challenge in this Ministry,
in the government. How can we meet the ever-growing opportunities in LNG business, while at the
same time meeting the local requirement of gas?
So, we are doing our bit. Sometimes you need a bit of luck to find more gas, both off-shore
and on-shore. More exploration, to revisit our old fields, to see if we can produce more
gas so these requirements are met and balanced. Including the future of Oman LNG.
The life of Oman LNG was assigned to be 25 years. We are almost 15 years into that, so
we have 10 more years. But I think in the next 10 years a lot of opportunities exist
in finding more gas, and keeping the industry going.
These are exciting times for the gas industry.
So I think Oman will continue to play its little, important role in the world.
To add a little bit more, a few more drops, of that requirement.
Oman LNG is small, in terms of number of people. Its setup is smallish. But it has created
huge wealth as a source of income, of foreign earnings. So all in all, it's a major contributor
of economic growth.
World Finance: In the near future, it's unlikely that Oman will challenge the likes of neighbouring
Saudi Arabia and the UAE in terms of oil and gas output. But the contribution that Oman
LNG can make to the region is not to be ignored: both in growing Oman's wealth, and improving
its quality of life.