Non-oil sectors saw an increased contribution to the GDP from 52.7 per cent in 2001 to 72.2 per cent in 2011.
High domestic demand, an expansionary fiscal policy and growth in the non-oil economy are identified as factors that will drive economic growth to an average of 5.1 per cent over the period 2013 to 2017.
During the period of 2013 to 2017, Oil production is estimated to expand 1.5 per cent annually. This is in comparison with an annual average of 5.7 per cent in 2008 to 2011 and a four per cent rise in 2012.
Due to the fact that the country has more exports than imports, trade surplus increased to USD 25.4 billion in 2011 from USD 5.1 billion in 2001. Key factors for this trade surplus increase remained to be crude oil and related products.
According to Vision 2020, the country aims to diversify its economy from oil and focus its efforts on privatisation and ‘Omanisation’. Furthermore, it looks to reduce dependence on the oil sector to nine per cent by the year 2020, while increasing the gas industry’s contribution to 10 per cent.
A decrease in the average inflation to 2.9 per cent was reported. This was in comparison to a 4.1 per cent figure in 2011 and 3.2 per cent in 2010. The slow down in inflation was chiefly because of two commodity groups, ‘food, beverage & tobacco’ and ‘rent, electricity, water & fuel’.
Given the fixed exchange rate regime of Oman, the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has to ensure monetary stability in the current uncertain global environment. The focus remains on liquidity management and supporting growth, while keeping inflation under check. In 2012, banks witnessed excess liquidity, as growth in deposits remained strong. This, coupled with an expansionary fiscal policy, resulted in a significant increase in total money stock.

Ahmad Al Harthy is aiming to continue his consistently strong start to the Avon Tyres British GT Championship season when he arrives at Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit this coming weekend, 25th/26th May, for the category’s first three-hour race of 2013.

So far in his maiden year of endurance racing, the 31-year-old Omani – who is dovetailing his British GT commitments with a season in the pan-European Blancpain Endurance Series – has produced some outstanding drives and is determined to secure his first podium sooner rather than later.

Finishing sixth last time out at Rockingham in British GT, having taken fourth and ninth place results during the championship opening double-header at Oulton Park, Ahmad and Oman Air Motorbase team-mate Michael Caine are currently equal sixth in the driver standings.

Round three a fortnight ago certainly wasn’t a straightforward outing for the Porsche 997 GT3R pairing, a somewhat harsh drive-through penalty early-on in the two hour encounter forcing a climb through the order. After a sensational drive from Ahmad during the opening stint, Caine also starred in the second half of the race and even a late puncture couldn’t prevent an excellent top six finish.

“It’s good to be back racing so soon after the previous round”, said Ahmad, “We had plenty thrown at us at Rockingham but we still came through with a strong points finish, the team did a great job with the car as they always do and Michael [Caine] put in a fantastic stint. Our race pace has been very good so far, I’m confident we have what it takes to fight for the podium at Silverstone.”

Although the Silverstone encounter will be the most challenging yet for Ahmad in the British GT series itself, the Oman Air, Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, Oman Ministry of Tourism, Nawras, National Bank of Oman and Muscat Eye Laser Centre-backed driver has already experienced the demands of a three-hour endurance race from the opening round of Blancpain at Monza in April.

“Concentration, focus and consistency are the main things to have in a long race like the three-hour we’ll have at the weekend”, he added, “I learnt a lot on my first outing in Blancpain and, honestly, it wasn’t as tough as I thought a three-hour endurance would be.

“Each time I get in the car in either championship I’m learning something new and I’m really enjoying it. We’ve shown we have the pace, we know we have a fantastic car in the Porsche, and with Michael’s experience I’m looking forward to, what will hopefully be, our best weekend yet.”

Following two free practice sessions on Saturday, 25th May, qualifying for round four will take place at 16.50. On Sunday, 26th May, the three-hour Silverstone GP race will begin at 13.00 and is set to be screened live on Motors TV – check local listings for details.

Provisional 2013 Avon Tyres British GT Championship Standings (after Rd3):
=6th Ahmad Al Harthy/Michael Caine & Jason Minshaw, 26pts

Photography credit Jakob Ebrey

For years, oil producers have relied on steam, created with natural gas, to heat rock below the surface and make the oil flow better. But with no natural gas easily available, Oman’s national oil company, a joint venture between the Sultanate and Shell, is now tapping the sun’s energy to heat the rock.

The process uses a system of mirrors that focus sunlight on a pipe colored an absorbent black, heating up water that is co-produced with the oil. The system uses extremely light mirrors, made of aluminum thinner than that of a soft drink can, sheltered in greenhouses to keep them out of the wind and dust.

Greenhouses are a cheap, mature technology, said Rod MacGregor, president and chief executive of GlassPoint, the Fremont, Calif., company that built the system. Putting the thin mirrors inside them saves steel and other materials over all, he said.

The system has been running since late last year. It is a pilot, but it is made of modules that could be easily replicated, said Mr. MacGregor. At full size, about 100 times as large as the pilot, it could displace 80 percent of the natural gas that would otherwise be needed. (Some natural gas is burned at night, and on days with clouds or dust storms, to keep the system warm.)

GlassPoint has a much smaller system running in an oil field in Kern County, Calif. Another firm, BrightSource Energy, has a solar system operating at an oil field in Coalinga, Calif., which uses a different design.

Mr. MacGregor said his system could save money if natural gas were priced above $5 per million B.T.U. — above the price in the United States, but below what Oman gets for gas it exports.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: May 24, 2013

An article on Tuesday about Oman’s use of solar power to heat oil underground and improve the flow from old wells misstated the capacity of the demonstration system it is using. If it were scaled up to 100 times its current size, it would displace 80 percent of the natural gas that would otherwise be needed to heat the oil; the existing system does not displace that much natural gas.

Source: New York Times

The drop in the surplus is the result of increased public spending, which outpaced revenue, analysts say. Total public expenditure up to March this year stood at RO 2.525 billion against RO 1.970 billion in the corresponding period last year. At the same time, net oil revenue reached RO 2.714 billion with a production expenditure of RO 190.9 million and revenue from gas amounted to RO 370 million. Corporate income tax contributed RO 137.7 million while RO 5.2 million was from capital revenue.

Other revenues amounted to RO 229.6 million. Oman based its 2013 budget on a projected oil price of $85 per barrel with an expected expenditure of RO 12.9 billion and a deficit of RO 1.7 billion. The state’s public revenue for 2013 is estimated to be about RO 11.16 billion compared to RO 8.8 billion in the 2012 budget, growth rate of 27 per cent. The budgeted expenditure is estimated to be RO 12.9 billion in 2013 compared to RO 10 billion in the 2012 Budget, an increase of 29 per cent.

The deficit is estimated at RO 1.7 billion in 2013 from RO 1.2 billion in 2012, which implies a deficit at 15 per cent of revenue, the highest of the last five year budgets. At the same time, the budget aims to grow its GDP growth at 7 per cent and non oil GDP at 10.6 per cent, while limiting inflation at 3 per cent for 2013. The budget has unravelled most of the concerns and focus on core GDP growth despite an array of events which affected the global and regional economy over the last two years. While the planned spending in 2013 gives cushion to some of the sectors in the non-oil sector space, which makes its diversification path more clear to achieving the government’s Vision 2020.

As of 2012, Oman’s actual oil alone accounted to 75 per cent of the total revenue, while gas accounted to 11 per cent and non-oil sector accounts for the rest. “Historically Oman had an average variance of RO 1.2 to RO 1.5 billion in revenue during 2004-11. However, the last two years had generated revenue in excess of RO 5.2 billion upon elevated oil prices. The excess has been primarily generated from oil based revenues to the tune of 4.6 billion, while gas based and non-oil revenues have been in the range of RO 700 million”, point out analysts at United Securities.

Unlike the previous years, the only thing that is not seen in 2013 is large overspending given the higher fiscal break even, unless the country fetches very high prices for its oil. Usually the government tends to overspend around 10 to15 per cent of the budgeted amount on infrastructure projects.

© Oman Daily Observer 2013

The oil activities during 2012 grew by 20.9% due to the 6.5% increase in the average price of Omani oil. The crude oil production rose by 4.6% to hit 297.7 million during the period.

The domestic product for non-oil activities grew by 12% in 2012 to hit RO15936 million compared to RO14227 million in 2011. This rise is attributed to the increase in the added value of the service and industrial activities by 16.4% and 4% respectively.

The bulk increase in the service activities was attributed to the growth of the added value for the public administration and defence activity which grew by 30.1%. During the period, the added value for the wholesale and retail grew by 15.3 compared to 15.8% for other services that include health and education 12.3% for transport, storing and communications, 10.5 for financial brokerage and 14.9% for hotels and restaurants.

The added value for the industrial activities rose from RO 4776.9 million in 2011 to RO 4967 million in 2012 due to the increase in the added value of the basic petrochemical materials by 3.8%, 4.7% for construction and 14.7% for electricity and water supplies.

His Majesty the Sultan made an inspection tour of the premises and was briefed on some important projects being implemented by the company in a number of concession areas that are expected to contribute to increasing the Sultanate’s future production of oil and gas and boosting their reserves.

Oman’s oil production rose to one of its highest levels of around 941,400 bpd from 878,900 in the same period.

As crude prices remained above $100 a barrel, the surge in output boosted Oman’s oil income by about 17.3 per cent to around RO1,801.8 million from RO1,535.6 million in the same period.

As the local football club, which until 1978 plied their trade in the Northern Premier League, prepare for their first FA Cup final, never mind the combined forces of finance, logic and Manchester City piled up against them, the suggestion is that with the Latics you never know: keep believing and all will be fine.

According to the club’s long-serving goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi, it is a philosophy which runs through Wigan Athletic, a spirit born of finding themselves almost inevitably in a position of jeopardy in the Premier League at this time of the year.

“We are used to this situation, for the last three seasons,” he says. “It is not easy. But if you believe, you can go through all these things and get stronger. For us now every game is a cup final. I think we can finish the season in a brilliant way.”

For Al Habsi, there is more than simply a collective need to retain an upbeat demeanour. After three years of being Wigan’s first-choice keeper, playing more than a century of Premier League games, he has found himself this season eased out by the young Spanish player Joel Robles. Yet he remains apparently fully dedicated to the cause, full of bounce and enthusiasm. Take his reaction to the latest defeat, against Swansea, one he observed from the bench.


“It was very disappointing. We played a great game, had a lot of chances. It was so disappointing. But the good thing about this time of the season, you don’t have long to think about games. The next one is there so quick.”

For Wigan the next one is the biggest in the club’s history. And for Al Habsi himself, it offers the chance of rehabilitation. He has played in every round of the FA Cup, was recalled for the semi-final against Millwall last month and is cheerfully hopeful that he will be stepping out at Wembley this afternoon. If he does he will be making history himself: the Omani will be the first player from the Middle East to play in an FA Cup final. The very thought has been making national news back home.

“I feel that honour,” he says. “Everywhere in Oman people are speaking about the Cup final. Not just in Oman, actually, but across the Middle East. Everyone wants Wigan to win now. Except maybe in Abu Dhabi.”

Half the country appears to be coming to watch the only Omani to play professional sport in Europe reach the pinnacle of his career. “All my family is coming from Oman, my mum, my brother, my friends. The president of the Oman Football Association, the Minister of Sport, they are coming too. It is the first time, a big time.”

Although he watched the final on television throughout his childhood, Al Habsi never dreamed that he would one day be playing in it. Indeed, it was not until he had an unexpected encounter with a legendary English keeper that he even thought he had the potential to become a professional. At the time he was working as a fireman and had just been picked for the Omani under-18s.

“He was waiting for me outside and I didn’t know who he was. And he came to me and he said: ‘I’m John Burridge, I’m the national manager and from tomorrow I want you to come and train with me’. When I went for the first session, he said: ‘Listen to me, focus, train hard and you’ll play in the Premier League one day’. I thought he was joking. Players from Oman just didn’t make it to the Premier League. We watched the game on TV and it was like another planet. To be honest, I laughed at him. He said: ‘No, I’m serious about that’.”

Burridge may be largely recalled in this country as an eccentric who went to bed clutching a football, but he could certainly spot talent. Under his tutelage, Al Hasbi soon became an international and was invited for a trial at Manchester City, who wanted to sign him but were prevented by visa restrictions. Instead, the tall, angular, athletic keeper went to Norway, spent three years there before finding his way to Bolton.

“The most difficult three years for me to adapt was in Norway. It was so cold. I had to get used to conditions. I had never played in the rain, never had a slippery ball. It was very difficult. When I came to England it was a lot warmer.”

His later move from Bolton to Wigan required another, more subtle adjustment. “I had to change the way I played. Big Sam [Allardyce] he wants me to kick it a long way. At Wigan, the manager wants me to roll it out short, or to pass it to the full-back. It means every day I have to practise passing, ball control.”

Such practice made him one of the most consistent keepers in the Premier League. Or it did until he found himself recently watching from the bench. Not that demotion has diluted his positivism.

“We are a squad, especially at this time you have to be together, you cannot think of yourself. In the end it is the manager who decides. So I accept his decision. As the reserve goalkeeper you have to be ready. I didn’t play three games before the semi-final. I didn’t know if I was going to play in that. He only told me just before the game. And I was ready. I kept a clean sheet. If I had been head down in my own mind, I wouldn’t have been ready. I am always ready to help the team in any way.”

This afternoon, that is likely to mean starting against City, the club that might have signed him. And from there Al Habsi will be in line for quite an end to his season. “Oman has a great chance to go to the World Cup, for the first time ever . Win our next two games at home in June and we can go straight to Brazil. Imagine, by the end of this season I could still be in the Premier League, have won the FA Cup final and be going to the World Cup.” That is what you call the very definition of Wigan optimism.

The monthly report also added that the total exported crude oil in April 2013 amounted to 24,968,849 barrel, an average of 832,295 bpd, a 0.14% rise in comparison with last month.

The report pointed out that the Asian markets have received, as usual, the bulk share of the Omani crude oil exports. China topped the list of Omani crude importers in April 2013 with 48%, followed by Taiwan with 15%.

As for the movement of the oil markets during April 2013, the average price for American crude oil in New York (Chicago) market amounted to USD 92.27 per barrel, a 0.99 cents lower compared to the trading of March 2013.

The North Sea (Brent) basket averaged USD 103.43 per barrel, a USD 5.76 lower comparing to last month.

It is worth mentioning that the global crude oil prices trading in April 2013 witnessed a remarkable decline influenced by fears of a global economic slowdown, particularly with the abundance of supply and the rise in oil production in the United States and a decrease in the demand.

On the other hand, the trading Oman Crude Oil Future Contract at Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME Oman) witnessed a decline in price in the same month as it has been the case with other crude oils. Trading averaged between USD 96.84 and USD 108.35 per barrel. Oman crude Oil official price for June 2013 delivery settled at USD 101.81 barrel a day, a decline by USD 3.69 compared to May 2013 delivery.
Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) said that Oman oil price (July delivery) has reached 101,84 US Dollars.

The DME statement said that the price of Oman oil declined 27 cents from the price yesterday (Tuesday), which was 102,11 US Dollars.

It is worth noting that the average price of Oman oil (June Delivery 2013) has stabilized at 101 US Dollars and 81 cents, thus 3 US Dollars and 69 cents per barrel lower than May delivery 2013.

Conducting this naval drill “Sharp Dagger” comes within the framework of the annual training plans pursued by RNO that aim at exchanging naval expertise and sustaining the levels of readiness of the RNO Fleet and its personnel in various marine disciplines in a manner that comes in line with their national tasks.

The RNO participating ships returned back to Said bin Sultan’s Naval Base marking the end of the drill.
Oman was once one of the world’s great sea powers, and its strategic location, proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, long coast and ports on the Indian Ocean give its navy a high priority. Applying his military experience, Sultan Qaboos successfully modernised his armed forces. He is committed to the protection of international shipping in Omani territorial waters, which include an important part of the Strait of Hormuz; this Strait is vital to the Gulf region and is the corridor through which most of the region’s oil production is shipped to the outside world. In addition, this important maritime passage has been utilized for the shipment of many of the region imports and exports.

The Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) has a fleet of gunboats, fast missile boats and support, training, cargo and hydrographical survey vessels,which can be deployed to protect the Sultanate’s coasts and territorial waters and monitor the passage of ships and oil tankers through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. RNO also provides support for joint amphibious and marine transport operations. Three new advanced ocean patrol boats built to the highest operational specifications reinforce the RNO’s capability in Omani waters and the open seas. The Said bin Sultan Naval Base with its world-class facilities is one of the Sultanate’s leading naval establishments.

Held for the first time in 2007 at Sultan Qaboos University, this years’ event has been expanded to a three-day event which will take place at Sohar University on May 5th, Majan College University on May 6th and Sultan Qaboos University on May 7th.

Team scores will be based on four criteria including whether the egg has landed unharmed without cracks or dents, whether the egg itself has touched the ground, if the egg lands within the landing zone and finally, the creativity and performance of the egg-landing machine.

Each team must consist of two students but only one of the team members will be allowed to access the 15m high platform. The egg-landing machine must not be larger than 1 cubic meter (1x1x1), should not weigh more than 5kg and must not contain any materials that could impact or contaminate the ground.

As prizes, the winning team from each university will receive a beginner’s course in kite surfing. The second place team will win a scuba diving experience and the third place team will receive go-karting tickets. The overall winning team will experience an all-expenses paid trip to Sky Dive in Dubai.

Event Details

Location
Oman (Map this address )
Start
MAY 4, 2013 at 10:00 AM
End
MAY 7, 2013 at 6:00 PM
About

Are you ready to defy gravity? At the Red Bull Gravity Challenge we are looking for people who are prepared to work against gravity with wit and a great deal of imagination. The challenge? Who can manage to drop an egg from the dizzying heights of 15 meters and get it to land safe, sound and unscathed? Have your brain juices started flowing? If so, get to building!

Sohar University
4th May; 10:00am-12:00pm
the green Area

Majan College University
6th May; 11:00am-1:00pm
At the Parking lot

Sultan Qaboos University
7th May; 3:30pm-6:00pm
At the College of Engineering