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Oman gripped by action against oil corruption

Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 16.29.29Extracts from a PLATTS article by Tamsin Carlisle published 28 April 2014

The Oman government’s crackdown on graft in oil and gas contracting has become the talk of the town in Muscat, with opinions sharply divided on whether it is going far enough. Five officials of the gas division of Petroleum Development Oman, a joint venture between the government of Oman, Royal Dutch Shell, France’s Total and Portugal’s Partex, remain on trial in the Galfar cases, which are still before the court.  PDO Managing Director Raoul Restucci attributed the embroilment of Oman’s flagship oil and gas producer in the corruption scandal to a few bad apples. read more

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Shareholder Shell distances itself from Oman bribes case

AFTER the rumpus over the exit of Royal Dutch Shell’s legal director on Wednesday, the oil giant’s media team was no doubt hoping for a quiet end to the week. Sadly, it wasn’t to be. Yesterday, Diary picked up reports in the Arab press about corruption at Shell’s Omani joint venture, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO).

Screen Shot 2013-11-01 at 00.15.55

City Diary Edited by Harriet Dennys: Friday 24 January 2014. Page B4.

AFTER the rumpus over the exit of Royal Dutch Shell’s legal director on Wednesday, the oil giant’s media team was no doubt hoping for a quiet end to the week.

Sadly, it wasn’t to be. Yesterday, Diary picked up reports in the Arab press about corruption at Shell’s Omani joint venture, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO).

According to Reuters, the head of the tender committee at PDO, Juma AI Hinai, was this month sentenced to three years in jail and fined 600,000 rials (£938,000), after being found guilty of accepting a bribe from a local contractor. read more

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Shell Schools: Supporting Expat Families

by  Jon Mainwaring: Rigzone Staff: Thursday, June 21, 2012

A key concern for many oil field workers, whether based offshore or onshore in a remote location, is how to maintain a family life – particularly if the oil worker has a young family.

For a worker based out of Aberdeen, Scotland operating in the North Sea is a straightforward deal: several weeks of well-paid work on a rig followed by a few weeks of quality time at home with the family.

Regular, quality time with your family becomes a bit more complicated if you are working halfway across the world from them. Oil and gas operations in remote locations often do not have the kinds of facilities nearby that are required by a young family. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Petroleum Development Oman Takes Steps To Resolve Strike

May 30, 2012, 11:51 p.m. ET

LONDON (Dow Jones)–Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA)-led Petroleum Development Oman is taking steps to reach a speedy resolution to an industrial dispute with contracting staff that began last week, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

“Operations at Qarn Alam have started to resume and further talks are taking place at Fahud,” the company said, adding that the strike had resulted in a small reduction in oil production.

The company is currently working closely with the government, Royal Oman Police, contractors and other authorities in an effort to resolve the dispute that has caused significant disruption to the workforce. read more

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Royal Dutch Shell conducts global meeting in Oman

Sun, 04 December 2011

By A Staff Reporter – MUSCAT — Royal Dutch Shell’s Chief Executive, Peter Voser, has hosted 190 of his most senior management colleagues, at the luxury Shangri-La Hotel in Muscat.

The executives gathered with government dignitaries and business luminaries from around the world to discuss Shell’s global strategy and to celebrate a year of achievements.

The annual meeting, known as the 2011 Senior Executive Forum and usually held in Europe or North America, lasted for three days last month. read more

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We don’t want SHELL in Oman any more

Received from the “OmanOil 4us Campaign”

We are group of Omani youth, engineers and others who have started a campaign to demand the nationalization of PDO and therefore to cancel the PSA agreement between PDO (& hence SHELL) and the government of OMAN.

Our goals are:

-Nationalization, take back the 40% currently owned the private shareholders through legal process
-Restructuring the company completely and thoroughly
-Dividing block 6 into smaller concession areas; easy ones which can be solely operated by national resources and more difficult ones which require sophisticated technologies and high capital investment which can be offered for PSA’s
read more

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Unrest Spreading to Petroleum Development Oman

By John Donovan

Printed below is a self-explanatory email sent this afternoon to Mr. Michiel Brandjes, Company Secretary & General Counsel Corporate, Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

From: John Donovan <[email protected]>
Date: 4 April 2011 15:01:00 GMT+01:00
To: [email protected]
Subject: Middle East Unrest Spreading to Oman? Demands made to Oman Government

Dear Mr. Brandjes

Printed below is a letter from staff representatives of Petroleum Development Oman (PDO Oman), a company which for several decades has been closely associated with Shell. read more

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Royal Dutch Shell profiting from Sultan’s absolute rule in Oman

By Mika

Unrest has reached Oman, the usually “sedate” and “tranquil” Sultanate on the southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula. Inspired by uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Bahrain, Omani youth took to the streets to challenge government corruption, cronyism, unemployment and a lack of democracy. Protests spread across the desert country, with police firing bullets and teargas from helicopters, killing at least six demonstrators. Sultan Qaboos exercises absolute power over his kingdom, as he has for forty years since he deposed his father. read more

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WikiLeaks: Oman secret plans to take gas fields away from Royal Dutch Shell

By John Donovan

Secret cable from U.S. embassy in Muscat records a meeting in March 2008 between U.S. Admiral William J. Fallon and Sultan Qaboos. During the meeting, the Sultan expressed concerns about Iran and also revealed intent to “boost production by taking smaller and less productive gas fields away from Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) — 60% owned by the government and 34% owned by Royal Dutch Shell — and awarding them to outside companies such as
British Gas and BP.”

Viewing cable 08MUSCAT174, ADMIRAL WILLIAM J. FALLON’S MEETING WITH SULTAN

Reference ID: 08MUSCAT174 Created: 2008-03-01 05:05 Released: 2010-11-28 18:06 Classification: SECRET//NOFORN Origin: Embassy Muscat

VZCZCXRO2105 PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV DE RUEHMS #0174/01 0610549 ZNY SSSSS ZZH P 010549Z MAR 08 FM AMEMBASSY MUSCAT TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9318 RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 MUSCAT 000174 

SIPDIS 

NOFORN
SIPDIS 

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/01/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER ENRG KWMN IR IZ MU
SUBJECT: ADMIRAL WILLIAM J. FALLON'S MEETING WITH SULTAN
QABOOS 

Classified By: Ambassador Gary A. Grappo for Reasons 1.4 (b, d) 

-------
SUMMARY
------- 

1.  (C) Sultan Qaboos discussed both domestic and regional
issues during his February 19 meeting with Admiral William J.
Fallon, CENTCOM Commander.  On the domestic front, the Sultan
described his desire to empower the government to be more
responsive to citizen concerns.  Seeking to strengthen the
role of Omani women, the Sultan plans to convene a conference
in 2009 designed to increase the participation and leadership
of women in all aspects of Omani society.  Sultan Qaboos also
shared plans for continued infrastructure development in Oman
and described efforts underway to obtain more natural gas.
On Iraq, the Sultan advised against a premature withdrawal of
U.S. forces and stated that more regional assistance would be
forthcoming if Iraqis would "come together" to take charge
of, and invest in, their own country.  Sultan Qaboos shared
U.S. concerns about Iranian meddling in Iraq and elsewhere,
but contended that Tehran knew confrontation with the U.S.
was not in its interest.  Iran's "charm offensive" in the GCC
had succeeded in lessening suspicions of some officials about
the true intentions of Iranian policies.  End Summary. 

2.  (C) CENTCOM Commander Admiral Fallon, accompanied by the
Ambassador, met February 19 with Sultan Qaboos bin Sa'id for
approximately 2 hours at one of the Sultan's castles -- Husn
al Shumugh -- in the interior of Oman.  (Note:  The Sultan
was outside of Muscat on his annual 4-6 week "meet the people
tour" during which he visits selected sites outside the
capital.  End Note.)  The Sultan appeared in good health and
was cheerful, although he commented that his role as ruler of
Oman was demanding and did not allow him time to do all the
things he wanted to do, such as reading more books.  "My
office is wherever I am," he stated, noting that he
constantly had to attend to paperwork and urgent requests
from his staff, among other tasks.  The Sultan added that
despite his busy schedule, he always made time to "watch the
news," though he did not elaborate on his preferred media
outlet. 

-------------------
CONCERNS ABOUT IRAQ
------------------- 

3.  (C) The Sultan expressed concern over a premature
withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.  Recognizing recent
improvements in the security situation, he counseled that
American troops should only leave "when the time is right."
He stressed that Iraqis had to "take charge" of the fate of
their country, but questioned whether the different factions
would be able to "come together" to accomplish this.  He
pointedly asked the Admiral, "Do you really think Prime
Minister Maliki and his government are capable of pulling the
country together?"  The Sultan did not directly respond to
Admiral Fallon's comment on the need for assistance and
investment for Iraq from elsewhere in the region.  Instead,
he stated that if the Iraqi people helped themselves and
invested in their own country, others would follow suit. 

4.  (C) The Sultan appeared to follow events in Iraq closely.
 He commented, for example, that the Kurds had apparently
"come out well" in recent central government talks on budget
issues, and asked about the status of electricity production
in Iraq.  The Sultan seemed to take a particular interest in
Admiral Fallon's discussion of Iraqi Shia leader Abdul Aziz
al-Hakim, including the status of Hakim's health and his
possible successors. 

--------------------------
INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
-------------------------- 

5.  (C) In addition to emphasizing the need for outside
investment in Iraq, Admiral Fallon highlighted the importance
of assistance from regional states for infrastructure
development in Afghanistan and other Central Asian nations.
Again the Sultan sidestepped the issue and shifted the
conversation to the critical role of roads and highways in
economic development.  He then mentioned infrastructure
projects for Oman currently under consideration, including
construction of a new dam and a freight rail line from the
northern port of Sohar to the planned port in Duqm.  The
Sultan hoped that the southern port of Salalah could be
linked by rail to Muscat and, eventually, to other GCC
states. 

MUSCAT 00000174  002 OF 003  

--------------
IRANIAN ISSUES
-------------- 

6.  (C) The Sultan commented that the Iranians are "not
fools," and claimed that Tehran realized there are "certain
lines it cannot cross" (i.e., direct confrontation with the
U.S.).  Regarding GCC relations with the Iranian government,
he stated, "Iran is a big country with muscles and we must
deal with it."  He continued that Iran's "charm offensive" in
the region had achieved a degree of success as some GCC
authorities (he did not mention names) were now less
suspicious of Iranian intentions.  The Sultan added,
laughing, that "I must say that as long as (the U.S.) is on
the horizon, we have nothing to fear." 

7.  (C) Responding to Admiral Fallon's frustration with
Iranian interference in Iraq, the Sultan remarked that
Iranian meddling abroad was "almost a game" to the regime in
Tehran, and said that Iran's leaders would have to stop this
practice if Iran wanted to "join the world as a noble
country."  The Sultan hoped that Iraqi leaders would clearly
tell and convince Iranian President Ahmadinejad during his
upcoming visit to Iraq to cease Iran's unhelpful interference
in their internal affairs.  On the possibility that Iran is
waiting out the President's final term before re-assessing
its strategy, the Sultan said that Tehran should realize that
it has to deal with the U.S. as a country, and not just the
current administration. 

------------------
THE SEARCH FOR GAS
------------------ 

8.  (C) After noting Iranian dependence on imports of refined
fuel, the Sultan described Oman's efforts to obtain more
natural gas to fuel growing domestic power needs and
large-scale industrial projects.  Oman had committed too much
of its limited gas production to long-term liquefied natural
gas (LNG) export contracts.  As a result, the government was
trying to boost production by taking smaller and less
productive gas fields away from Petroleum Development Oman
(PDO) -- 60% owned by the government and 34% owned by Royal
Dutch Shell -- and awarding them to outside companies such as
British Gas and BP.  The Sultan claimed these firms were in a
better position to increase productivity in these fields, and
pointed to the progress of U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum
Company in raising oil production in former PDO concession
areas, such as Mukhaizna. 

9.  (C) Looking offshore, the Sultan said he hoped that new
gas fields would be found in the Gulf of Oman to help ease
the country's natural gas shortage.  India's Reliance
Industries was currently exploring a deepwater oil and gas
block in this body of water, but had made no significant
discoveries yet.  Qatar would begin supplying gas to Oman by
2013, the Sultan noted, but not in quantities sufficient to
meet outstanding needs.  He added that Oman was still
supplying limited gas from Musandam to Ras al-Khaimah in the
UAE due to an agreement he made with its emir -- and which
the Sultan felt he could not break -- well before Oman was
squeezed for this resource. 

---------------------------
THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION
--------------------------- 

10.  (C) Sultan Qaboos shared that he placed a great deal of
importance on education, and noted that a study of history
provided the context needed to better understand present
trends and events.  Regarding claims that some rulers in the
region wanted to keep their people uneducated in order to
more easily control them, the Sultan explained that this
strategy could easily backfire as it also left the populace
more susceptible to influence by extremists, such as the
Muslim Brotherhood.  Former Egyptian president and
pan-Arabist leader Gamal Abdal Nasser, the Sultan said, had
"set the region back" by being "anti-everything" and engaging
in vitriolic rhetoric designed to keep the masses ignorant. 

-----------------------------------
EMPOWERING THE GOVERNMENT AND WOMEN
----------------------------------- 

11.  (C) On domestic politics, the Sultan announced that he
would hold the first-ever combined meeting of his Cabinet of
Ministers and the Majlis al-Shura (the directly elected lower 

MUSCAT 00000174  003 OF 003  

house of Oman's bicameral advisory body) on February 26.  By
meeting together, the Sultan hoped that the Cabinet and the
Majlis would learn how to cooperate better and jointly focus
on important issues.  He commented that both bodies also
needed to "demonstrate more leadership" and avoid past
foot-dragging on promises made to the populace.  "People need
to see the results of decisions," the Sultan stated. 

12.  (C) Letting Admiral Fallon and the Ambassador in on a
"secret," the Sultan confided that he planned to call for a
conference of all "notable women" in Oman in 2009 in a bid to
encourage Omani women to expand their participation and
leadership in different aspects of Omani society.  Minister
of Social Development, Dr. Sharifa bint Khalfan al-Yahyaiya
(one of Oman's three female cabinet ministers) will chair the
meeting on the Sultan's behalf.  Lamenting that no women won
seats in the October 2007 election for the Majlis al-Shura,
Sultan Qaboos observed that Omani women were stuck in
tradition and needed to be empowered to "take more charge"
and to be "less shy."  "Some customs (regarding women)," he
added, "shouldn't be kept."  Nevertheless, gradual change is
occurring in Oman, the Sultan asserted.  His philosophy was
to "let it happen," rather than hold it up to public debate,
as the latter course of action often led to factional
fighting, internal strife, and other ills. 

---------------------------------------------
A RECURRENT THEME: MORE RESPONSIVE GOVERNMENT
--------------------------------------------- 

13.  (C) In concluding the meeting, Sultan Qaboos returned to
his goal of improving the responsiveness of the Omani
government to citizen concerns.  He stated that he would be
pressing "harder" on his ministers to engage in more and
better public relations efforts before the Omani police and
to effectively enforce their decisions so that the people
could see the benefits of announced actions.  Giving one
particular example, the Sultan said that rather than simply
announce a new development project, the government should
explain the downstream employment opportunities the project
would generate for Omani citizens.  Effective cooperation
between ministries and the Majlis Oman was also needed to
strengthen the civil institutional framework in Oman, the
Sultan added. 

-------
COMMENT
------- 

14.  (S/NF) In discussing his desire for operational change
in the senior government ranks, the Sultan twice implied (but
did not directly state) that such change was needed to
prepare the country for his eventual departure from power.
The Sultan's comments indicated that he may feel the
government is too dependent on his authority and should be
empowered to run more effectively without constant direction
from the palace.  End Comment. 

15.  (U) This message has been reviewed by Admiral Fallon.
GRAPPO  read more

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The globe’s most hydrocarbon-rich region facing prospect of critical shortages of gas

"...so far, no discoveries have been made and this year Total of France pulled out of the project, selling its stake to Royal Dutch Shell and Aramco."

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Shell to step up upstream investment in Middle East

Khaleej Times (United Arab Emirates): Shell to step up upstream investment in Middle East

“Global oil giant Royal Dutch Shell said it would significantly boost investments in the Middle East’s upstream sector following the recent signing of landmark business agreements in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Oman and Libya”

23 October 2005

BY ISAAC JOHN

DUBAI — Global oil giant Royal Dutch Shell said it would significantly boost investments in the Middle East’s upstream sector following the recent signing of landmark business agreements in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Oman and Libya.

“During the past five years, Shell Upstream alone has invested some $2 billion in the region, and this figure is set to increase significantly,” said Raoul Restucci, Executive Vice-President for Shell Exploration & Production for the Middle East and the CIS. read more

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Reuters: Shell Oman Marketing H1 net profit up 68 pct

Reuters: Shell Oman Marketing H1 net profit up 68 pct

Wed Jul 20, 2005

MUSCAT, July 20 (Reuters) – Shell Oman Marketing Co (SHEL.OM: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday its first-half net profit rose 68 percent to 3.75 million rials ($9.7 million).

A company statement attributed the rise to a higher gross margin, increased sales of aviation fuel due to growing air traffic to the sultanate, more exports of lubricants and other factors.

Earnings per share increased to 0.375 rial from 0.224 rial, said the statement posted on the Muscat stock market Web site. Net assets fell to 18.1 million rials from 20.6 million rials, it said. read more

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OMAN SIGNS OIL AGREEMENTS WITH GROUP OF INT’L COMPANIES

Asia Pulse: OMAN SIGNS OIL AGREEMENTS WITH GROUP OF INT’L COMPANIES

MUSCAT, June 22 Asia Pulse – The government of the Sultanate Tuesday signed a production sharing agreement (and a joint operating agreement) for the development of the Mukhaizna field with occidental Mukhaizna LLC, Liwa Energy Ltd, a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, Shell Oman Trading Company Limited, Total E&P Oman, Oman Oil Company and Partex (Oman) Corporation.

Dr. Mohammed bin Hamad al-Rumhi, Minister of Oil and Gas signed the production sharing agreement (and joint operating agreement) on behalf of the Government of the Sultanate and with the companies participating in the new venture at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. read more

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Shell hopes loss of Omani field is just a warning

FINANCIAL TIMES: Shell hopes loss of Omani field is just a warning

By James Boxell

Published: May 4 2005

Royal Dutch/Shell’s loss of the right to develop the Mukhaizna field in Oman is a serious blow to the oil company as it tries to recover from last year’s reserves overbooking scandal.

For although this part of Oman currently only produces 10,000 barrels of oil a day – minuscule compared with the 3.8m barrels Shell extracts around the world – Oman is Shell country.

Yet, having agreed a deal with Shell six months ago, the sultanate appeared to change its mind and this weekend handed the contract instead to Occidental Petroleum of the US. read more

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BLOOMBERG: Occidental Ousts Shell in Developing Oman Oil Field

BLOOMBERG: Occidental Ousts Shell in Developing Oman Oil Field

2 May 2005

Occidental Petroleum Corp., the fourth- largest U.S. oil company by market value, will replace Royal Dutch/Shell Group in a $2 billion oil field project in Oman.

Occidental and its partner, Abu Dhabi’s Liwa Energy Ltd., plan to raise production from the Mukhaizna deposit to 150,000 barrels a day “within a few years” from the current 10,000 barrels, the parties to the agreement said in an e-mailed statement today after yesterday’s signing ceremony. read more

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The Independent (UK): Shell suffers Oman oilfield setback

The Independent (UK): Shell suffers Oman oilfield setback

Philip Thornton

May 02, 2005

Shell, the oil company, suffered a fresh blow yesterday after it lost the right to develop a large oilfield in Oman after a dispute over how to boost output.

The Gulf state said it had reassigned its Mukhaizna oilfield to Occidental of the US and a United Arab Emirates partner.

According to reports in the region, Oman wanted Shell, the dominant foreign investor in the sector, to pump in more cash to boost production. Oman, a non-Opec producer, had wanted to raise output from Mukhaizna from 10,000 barrels a day to at least 80,000, according to reports. read more

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