Transcript Oil and development in Oman

Oman
A secretive land
Contents
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General Information
Historical overview
Oil Discovery
1970: Oman’s Renaissance
1980-1990: A decade of economic turmoil
Oil: blessing or curse? Longer-term
perspectives
 Conclusion
General Information
Oman
 Population: 2,567,000
(July 2005 est.)
 Religions: Ibadhi
Muslim (75%), Sunni
Muslim, Shi’a Muslim
 Monarchy ( Sultan
Qaboos)
 Strategic location (Strait
of Hormuz)
 Member of the Gulf
Cooperation Council but
not of the OPEC
Historical Overview
 Ancient times: the incense and spice
route
 Towards independence (1650)
 The heyday of the Omani empire
 A history dominated by the struggle of
conflicting interests (tribal, ethnic,
political, commercial, geographic…)
 The decline of the 20th Century
Oil Discovery
 Oil and Politics:  oil industry concentrates
wealth and power in the hands of the
governments
 Oman: a Rentier state?
 Oil and Economy: in 2004, oil & gas
revenues accounted for 78% of the
government revenue
Oman owns its own
National Petroleum Company
 The reign of Sultan Said: a restrictive rule
Oman’s renaissance
July, 23rd 1970: Sultan Qaboos takes over power:
1.
Political changes
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2.
1971: Oman enters the UN
1981: Creation of a State Consultative Council
1996: “Basic Statute of the State”
Economical and social development
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Infrastructure (roads, ports, hospitals…)
Education
Healthcare
1980-1990: A decade of
economic turmoil
1. A recurrent
problem: a limited
resource base
2. Fluctuating prices
of the oil market
3. The hiccups of the
modernisation
program
Evolution of crude oil prices since 1961
(Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2005)
Oil: Blessing or Curse?
 1980-1997: general improvement of the
population’s well-being
 Oman’s economy remains based on a
monocultural exportation (Oil)
 The oil industry creates little employement
 3 alternatives:
– Economic diversification
– Omanisation
– Privatization
Economic diversification
1. Natural gas
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In 2005  5% of
the GDP
Limited resources
2. Minerals
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Copper
Coal
Marble
Economic diversification
3. Agriculture and
fisheries
• Date and
frankincense
producer
• Cattle herds (goats,
camels, cows)
• Fishing Oman has
3165 km of
coastlines
Economic diversification
4. Tourism
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Today, this sector
represents less than
1% of the GDP
Massif investment
 1billion/year from
the private sector
Omanisation
 In 1997, 65% of the labour forces were expatriates
conflicts with the younger generations now
confronted to unemployment
 The government now aims to replace foreign workers
by qualified omanis
Privatization
 A key element in the economic policy
 Privatization mainly in the industrial,
commercial and tourism companies
 In the public sector (water, electricity,
postal services)
Conclusion
 Mitigated progress
– Institutional weaknesses
– Population torn between tradition and
modernity
– An important population growth rate
(3,32% in 2005)
 Oman needs to be more incorporated in
regional policies
Bibliography
• Allen, C. H., Rigsbee, W. L. II., Oman under Qaboos, from Coup to
Constitution, 1970-1996, Frank Cass Publishers, 2002.
• Beasant, J., Oman: the true-life drama and intrigue of an Arab State,
Mainstream Publishing, 2002.
• Joyce, M., The sultanate of Oman: a twentieth century history, Praeger,
Westport, 1995.
• Mansur, A. S., Oman beyond the oil horizon: policies toward
sustainable growth, ed. by Ashan Mansur & Volker Treichel,
Wahsington D.C: International Monetary Fund, 1999.
• Plekhanov, S., A reformer on the Throne: Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al
Said, Trident Press, 2004.
• http://www.moneoman.gov.om
• http://www.omanet.om
• http://www.omantourism.gov.om