Oman welcomes Russian companies to Energy market: Expert

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
1 Jul 2023 11:58

Oman has reportedly submitted the necessary data to the Russian energy company Zarubezhneft and the geological holding RosGeo.

View of the seafront in Muscat, Oman, February 12, 2010(AP)

Director of the Russian-Oman Business Council Vladimir Dergachev said that Oman is interested in hosting Russian companies to participate in mineral exploration and extraction.

"During the last meeting in the spring of this year held at the Omani Ministry of Energy and Minerals, the new minister announced Oman's willingness to see Russian companies on the sultanate’s market. This statement was followed by a proposal to provide for the participation of our companies in tenders for the oil exploration and mining areas, after which we received the corresponding maps containing distinct areas of the subsoil plots with delineated borders," Dergachev told Sputnik.

Oman has reportedly submitted the necessary data to the Russian energy company Zarubezhneft and the geological holding RosGeo.

According to Vladimir Dergachev, Executive Director of the Russian-Oman Business Council, Oman may become a transit route for Russian energy, as well as other goods to the Middle East and Southeast Asia due to Oman's geographic location suitable for processing transport, flows via the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

"It is advisable to view Oman more broadly as a window to the Middle East region and Southeast Asian countries … We would consider the development of the India-Iran-Oman logistics hub as a central hub in the Persian Gulf and Central Asia, where the Omani port of Sohar … is expected to play a key role," Dergachev told Sputnik.

Additionally, the director said that Oman's geographic location allowed for cross-border travel and the support of traffic flows along the North-South transportation corridor.

Back in May, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov met with his Omani counterpart and Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq on an official visit where they discussed the war in Ukraine and general relations.

Sultan Haitham "stressed the need to adhere to the rules of international law and to intensify efforts to reach political and diplomatic solutions through dialogue," Oman's state news agency reported.

Talks should preserve "the independence, sovereignty and sound co-existence of countries and peoples," he said.

Lavrov praised "the Omani wisdom in dealing with various regional and international issues".

According to the Russian state news agency TASS, Lavrov will also meet with Oman's Deputy Prime Minister, Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said.

In recent years, bilateral trade between the two nations has increased, with Russia mostly supplying wheat to Oman. Oman sells largely plastics and perfumes to Russia in exchange.