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Oman

September 14, 2024

Muscat 5:07 am

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Jennifer Gnana event

Al-Monitor expands Gulf coverage with new talent led by Jennifer Gnana

Preparations for 44.01's first project in UAE are well underway. This DAC + mineralisation pilot with ADNOCGroup , Masdar and FNRC will be the first carbon negative project by an energy company in the Middle East.

Analysis

Oman’s sleepy tech sector showing signs of promise

Global investors are putting millions into an Omani carbon removal startup, signaling a breakthrough for a market that has lagged behind Gulf neighbors targeting tech growth.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Men wearing thawbs walk past a billboard promoting the transition to renewable energies at the UNFCCC COP28 Climate Conference the day before its official opening on November 29, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The COP28 is bringing together stakeholders, including international heads of state and other leaders, scientists, environmentalists, indigenous peoples representatives, activists and others to discuss and agree on the implementation of global measures towards mitigating the effects of climate c

GCC’s renewable energy push pays off with Qatar, UAE taking lead

Several Gulf states rank relatively high on the World Economic Forum (WEF) Energy Transition Index, reflecting their efforts to transition toward renewable energy and reduce their dependence on fossil fuels.

Analysis

What’s behind Islamic State’s first attack in Oman?

ISIS has not affected Oman as much as it has other Gulf countries, in part due to the sultanate’s strong security and lack of radicalism, according to one expert.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Latest News

Are GCC states prepared for net zero in aviation?

Ground crews prepare an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, powering one of its engines with a hundred per cent Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), for a demonstration flight at the Dubai International Airport in Dubai, on January 30, 2023. - Emirates said it successfully flew a Boeing 777 powered by sustainable aviation fuel today, as the Middle East's largest airline aims to halve its jet fuel consumption. The Dubai-based carrier has used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) since 2017, but said its test flight w

Interview

Oman to phase out polluting industries 'too difficult to decarbonize'

Omani energy minister

Salim Al Aufi

With Salim Al Aufi

Oman Minister of Energy and Minerals

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As it seeks to rival China and Pakistan, India sets its sights on Oman trade deal

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) shakes hand with Deputy Prime Minister of Oman Sayyid Asaad ahead of the G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi on September 9, 2023. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Sovereign fund-led economy: Oman takes a page from Saudi Arabia

An aerial view shows the Central Business District (Ruwi) in the Omani capital Muscat on April 9, 2021. (Photo by Haitham AL-SHUKAIRI / AFP) (Photo by HAITHAM AL-SHUKAIRI/AFP via Getty Images)

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

Karen Young

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

(L to R) EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud during a plenary session titled "Transforming for a New Era", during the Doha Forum in Qatar's capital on March 26, 2022. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

What does EU visa relaxation for Saudi, Bahraini, Omani citizens mean?

Under the new rules, Bahraini, Omani and Saudi Arabian nationals will be eligible for multiple-entry visas, allowing them to visit the Schengen area (the EU’s 27 member states as well as Bulgaria and Romania) and move freely between them.

A man walks past a stranded car on a flooded street in Dubai following heavy rains on April 18, 2024.

Dubai's record rainfall spotlights Gulf’s troubled relation with water

The Gulf’s longterm love–hate relationship with water lies behind a year and a half's worth of rain that fell on Dubai in 24 hours. It includes climate change-induced shifting rainfall patterns, groundwater extractions and unsustainable consumption.

United Arab Emirates

This photograph taken on Sept. 22, 2022, shows logos of TotalEnergies.

Oman LNG deal spree continues with France's TotalEnergies

The French energy major is also working on the Marsa project in Oman, which it claims is the first LNG bunkering hub in the Middle East.

HAITHAM AL-SHUKAIRI/AFP via Getty Images

Oman launches $5 billion 'Future Fund' in sign of economic progress

Oman’s economy is improving by some metrics as the Gulf state seeks to diversify.

BEDMINSTER, NEW JERSEY - JULY 28: Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Yasir al-Rumayyan, head of the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, look on from the second tee during the pro-am prior to the LIV Golf Invitational - Bedminster at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster on July 28, 2022 in Bedminster, New Jersey. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

What does Donald Trump's latest $200 million deal with Saudi Arabia entail?

The former president, who is now the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party, has long had significant business ties to Saudi Arabia via his properties and the LIV Golf league.

David Cameron

UK’s Cameron heads to Oman to discuss Houthi attacks, Red Sea escalation

Ahead of the visit, the foreign minister told the Conservative Middle East Council that Britain is ready to bring forward the moment when it officially recognizes an independent Palestinian state.

Sultanate of Oman, Muscat, Qurum: the Oil and Gas Exhibition Center.

Oman's oil and gas sector drives 30% GDP growth in 2022

Oman’s hydrocarbon sector growth rate was 61.6% from 2021 to 2022, compared to non-hydrocarbon sector growth at 16.9% during the same period, according to the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) 2022 Annual Report.

An ad for hydrogen-powered cars.

Analysis

Oman sets sights on being Middle East leader in green hydrogen

The International Energy Agency said earlier this month that Oman is looking to significantly increase its domestic production of hydrogen from renewable electricity.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Omani Police

Oman seizes 6 million pills in Captagon bust with Saudi Arabia

A video shared by the Royal Oman Police shows agents unloading what appears to be white cardboard boxes filled with bags of Captagon tablets encased in moss-colored bricks.

Kuwait's Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah (R) meeting with Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L), in Kuwait City

Iran's FM visits Kuwait, then UAE in latest Gulf charm offensive

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian arrived in Oman on Tuesday to meet with Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi as part of his Gulf tour that began in Doha.

United Arab Emirates

Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi (R) meets with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Muscat, on April, 25, 2023. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran’s FM visits Qatar, Oman as indirect talks with US see momentum

Qatar and Oman have maintained communications with Iran and Saudi Arabia, also playing a mediating role between Washington and Tehran.

Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi speaks during a press conference with his Iranian counterpart (unseen), Tehran, Iran, Nov. 19, 2022.

Interview

US, Syria exchange messages on journalist Austin Tice, Oman’s FM says

Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi also discussed Syria's re-integration, prospects for normalization with Israel and talks to end Yemen's war in an interview with Al-Monitor.

Sayyid Badr Albusaidi

With Sayyid Badr Albusaidi

Foreign Minister of Oman