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PDO celebrates 40th anniversary of oil exports

MUSCAT — Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), which accounts for more than 80 per cent of Oman's crude oil production and nearly all of its natural-gas supply, celebrated the 40th anniversary of oil exports.

On July 27, 1967, the oil tanker Mosprince arrived at Mina Al Fahal in Muscat to load the first export cargo of Omani crude. Since then, PDO has exported over 7.5 billion barrels of crude oil for the benefit of the Sultanate.

To celebrate this occasion, PDO held a grand bash at the Shangri La Hotel here inviting ambassadors and Omani dignitaries and released a book tracing the history of PDO written by ex-British ambassador to Oman Sir Terence Clark.

The book titled Underground to Overseas: The Story of Petroleum Development Oman, was launched by Nasser bin Khamis Al Jashmi, undersecretary, ministry of oil and gas.

"More than forty years ago, the Omani Government entrusted us with the challenging task of developing an oil industry in Oman and today PDO has become an integral part of the Omani society," PDO's managing director John Malcolm said at the ceremony.

Underground to Overseas traces PDO's history from its very first days with interviews with over 200 past and present staff members.

"This is a book not only about the past; it is also about the present with a glimpse into the future," said Sir Terence about the book published by Stacey International.

"It shows through the accounts of individual Omanis how, with the support and encouragement of PDO management, what was originally a rather exclusive expatriate company has been transformed into an integrated member of the wider Omani community."

PDO is owned by the Government of Oman (which has a 60 per cent interest), the Shell Group (34 per cent), Total (4 per cent) and Partex (2 per cent). Gas fields are operated by PDO exclusively on behalf of the Omani Government.