Oil production in Oman rose more than 6 per cent in the first quarter, figures showed today, defying some predictions that output was in irreversible decline.
The sultanate produced an average of 786,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and natural gas condensate in the three-month period, up from 741,000 bpd in the first quarter last year, according to statistics from the ministry of national economy.
The figures are already higher than forecasts for the year offered by the Omani oil minister, Mohammed al Rumhy, in December.
Mr al Rumhy predicted the country would produce between 750,000 and 760,000 bpd this year, and said output would eventually exceed 805,000 bpd.
The production lift was a result of using advanced technology to recover more oil from fields and the government's push to develop smaller fields, said Robin Mills, a Dubai-based petroleum economist.
"It's certainly possible for them to sustain that, and even get some increases in the next few years," Mr Mills said.
The rise in production runs against the regional trend, which has seen output fall in the past eight months as a result of cuts by OPEC, of which Oman is not a member.
OPEC leaders have called on prominent oil exporters like Oman, Russia and Norway to reduce production in solidarity with the group to boost the price of oil.
Mr Mills said the Omani oil industry and its foreign partners deserved credit for boosting output, even when sceptics said it was not possible. The country's production closed in on 1 million bpd in 2000, only to see it fall throughout the decade to a low of 710,000 bpd in 2007.
Proponents for the "peak oil theory", which predicts a sudden collapse in world oil output, have singled out Oman in the past.
But the Omani government has made clear to Total and Royal Dutch Shell, its longtime partners, that it was willing to invest in expensive technology known to squeeze more oil from its ageing fields.
The country has recently been a test site for some of the most advanced oil recovery technologies available, including liquid polymers that thicken water found in oil wells, allowing engineers to put more pressure on oil that is left in the reservoir.
The government also opened up some fields to other partners, including Occidental Petroleum and several smaller firms that focused on smaller fields that the international oil companies had passed over.
cstanton@thenational.ae
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8 UAE companies helping families reduce their carbon footprint
Greenheart Organic Farms
This Dubai company was one of the country’s first organic farms, set up in 2012, and it now delivers a wide array of fruits and vegetables grown regionally or in the UAE, as well as other grocery items, to both Dubai and Abu Dhabi doorsteps.
www.greenheartuae.com
Modibodi
Founded in Australia, Modibodi is now in the UAE with waste-free, reusable underwear that eliminates the litter created by a woman’s monthly cycle, which adds up to approximately 136kgs of sanitary waste over a lifetime.
www.modibodi.ae
The Good Karma Co
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www.instagram.com/thegoodkarmaco
Re:told
One Dubai boutique, Re:told, is taking second-hand garments and selling them on at a fraction of the price, helping to cut back on the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of clothes thrown into landfills each year.
www.shopretold.com
Lush
Lush provides products such as shampoo and conditioner as package-free bars with reusable tins to store.
www.mena.lush.com
Bubble Bro
Offering filtered, still and sparkling water on tap, Bubble Bro is attempting to ensure we don’t produce plastic or glass waste. Founded in 2017 by Adel Abu-Aysha, the company is on track to exceeding its target of saving one million bottles by the end of the year.
www.bubble-bro.com
Coethical
This company offers refillable, eco-friendly home cleaning and hygiene products that are all biodegradable, free of chemicals and certifiably not tested on animals.
www.instagram.com/coethical
Eggs & Soldiers
This bricks-and-mortar shop and e-store, founded by a Dubai mum-of-four, is the place to go for all manner of family products – from reusable cloth diapers to organic skincare and sustainable toys.
www.eggsnsoldiers.com
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UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures: Monday, first 50-over match; Wednesday, second 50-over match; Thursday, third 50-over match
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
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Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
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