3,000 Omani jobs in oil and gas in next three months

Muscat: The Omani oil and gas sector will create 3,000 jobs in the next three months, an official from the Oman Society of Petroleum Services (OPAL) has said. These jobs will be a part of the 25,000 jobs that the private sector has to create, as per the government’s directives. In all, the oil and gas sector is likely to deliver 5,000 jobs.
“We have already identified 2,000 jobs and we will be able to achieve the target of 5,000 without any issues,” Musallam Al Mandhari, CEO of OPAL, said. “It will not be easy, but we will be able to achieve it,” he added.
The Council of Ministers had announced on October 3 that 25,000 jobs would be created for Omanis in both private and public sectors within six months, starting December. The private sector companies have begun to hire Omanis in large numbers to comply with the directive.
With prices above $60 now, oil firms in the region are considering expansion plans that were held since 2015 due to low oil prices.
Moreover, new hydrocarbon discoveries are further fuelling the rise of Omani markets.
“At the moment, there is only 34 per cent Omanisation in the oil and gas sector. So, there is certainly an opportunity to make it go higher and I believe we can do this in the near future,” Al Mandhari said.
He was speaking at a press conference organised to announce the Oman Oil and Gas Exhibition and Conference, to be held in March.
Since its launch in 1998, the OGWA-SPE Exhibition and Conference has grown and become one of the most important and recognised oil and gas events in the region.
In Oman, it has become the landmark event for the sector, playing a major role in helping boost government initiatives for viable alternatives to the current extraction and exploration techniques and technologies, providing a ready platform to present key projects and potential business and investment opportunities, and to encourage trade.