(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Abu Dhabi- Oman Oil Co, the sultanate's investment arm in the energy and energy related sectors, is seeking advice from banks to sell some energy assets and list units on the local stock market, following plans by its larger peer Saudi Arabian Oil Co to offer shares to the public.
Oman Oil, which has stakes in overseas businesses, wants to attract more foreign investment into the country, H E Mohammed al Rumhy, Oman's Minister of Oil and Gas, said in an interview in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. He didn't identify the banks involved in the energy sales. State-run Salalah Methanol Co will issue stock to the public, he later told reporters at a conference in Abu Dhabi.
'We are looking at the IPO option because we want to give a boost to the local stock market, and we want to see more foreign direct investments coming to the country,' H E Rumhy said in the interview.
Countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council are restructuring national oil companies - selling shares, merging units and cutting costs - following a drop in crude prices. Saudi Aramco is planning an initial public offering, which the government claims will be the world's largest. Qatar Petroleum is merging its two liquefied natural gas divisions, Qatargas and RasGas.
Oman, the largest Arab oil producer outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, is expanding its energy industry and developing new sources of revenue as lower crude prices squeeze government coffers. It's building a port and metals factory in Duqm.
The government is not considering selling shares in state-owned Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), H E Rumhy said. PDO accounts for more than 70 per cent of the country's crude production and almost all of its natural gas supply.
Bloomberg
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