(Bloomberg) -- Oman’s government named Haifa Al Khaifi as head of a new company that controls the country’s biggest oil block, a rare appointment for a woman in a male-dominated sector in the Middle East.
Al Khaifi will be chief executive officer of Energy Development Oman, which ultimately owns the sultanate’s 60% stake in Block 6, a huge field capable of producing around 650,000 barrels of crude each day.
She joins from Petroleum Development Oman LLC, the Persian Gulf nation’s state-run oil and gas exploration and production firm, where she was chief financial officer. Al Khaifi is also chairwoman of the Saudi Arabian unit of State Street Corp., the Boston-based custodian and money manager.
Bloomberg reported in November that Oman, which is struggling to finance a budget deficit that soared last year, may issue around $3 billion of bonds off the back of Block 6. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is advising the government on the plan, according to a person familiar with the matter.
EDO was set up in December and it holds a stake in PDO as well as the interest in Block 6, which contains about three-quarters of Oman’s oil. EDO is tasked with investing in conventional and renewable energy resources in the country and abroad.
Ibrahim Al Eisri was named chief financial officer, joining from wealth fund Oman Investment Authority.
Almost all large energy companies in the Middle East are still run by men, though the nations such as Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have appointed women to senior positions at their state firms.
While Oman isn’t a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, it’s part of the cartel’s wider 23-nation grouping, known as OPEC+. That alliance has been curbing oil production since around May last year to prop up prices in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
Oman pumped 722,000 barrels of crude a day last month. Royal Dutch Shell Plc holds 34% of Block 6, while Total SE owns 4% and Partex Oil & Gas 2%.
(Updates with State Street role in third paragraph.)
Últimas Noticias
Debanhi Escobar: they secured the motel where she was found lifeless in a cistern
Members of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office in Nuevo León secured the Nueva Castilla Motel as part of the investigations into the case
The oldest person in the world died at the age of 119
Kane Tanaka lived in Japan. She was born six months earlier than George Orwell, the same year that the Wright brothers first flew, and Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize
Macabre find in CDMX: they left a body bagged and tied in a taxi
The body was left in the back seats of the car. It was covered with black bags and tied with industrial tape
The eagles of America will face Manchester City in a duel of legends. Here are the details
The top Mexican football champion will play a match with Pep Guardiola's squad in the Lone Star Cup
Why is it good to bring dogs out to know the world when they are puppies
A so-called protection against the spread of diseases threatens the integral development of dogs
