Oman A secretive land

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Oman A secretive land
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Contents

• General Information
• Historical overview
• Oil Discovery
• 1970 Omans Renaissance
• 1980-1990 A decade of economic turmoil
• Oil blessing or curse? Longer-term perspectives
• Conclusion

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General Information
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Oman

• Population 2,567,000 (July 2005 est.)
• Religions Ibadhi Muslim (75), Sunni Muslim,
  Shia Muslim
• Monarchy ( Sultan Qaboos)
• Strategic location (Strait of Hormuz)
• Member of the Gulf Cooperation Council but not of
  the OPEC

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Historical Overview

• Ancient times the incense and spice route
• Towards independence (1650)
• The heyday of the Omani empire
• A history dominated by the struggle of
  conflicting interests (tribal, ethnic, political,
  commercial, geographic)
• The decline of the 20th Century

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Oil Discovery

• Oil and Politics ? oil industry concentrates
  wealth and power in the hands of the governments
• Oman a Rentier state?
• Oil and Economy ?in 2004, oil gas revenues
  accounted for 78 of the government revenue
• ?Oman owns its own National Petroleum
  Company
• The reign of Sultan Said a restrictive rule

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Omans renaissance

• July, 23rd 1970 Sultan Qaboos takes over power
• Political changes
• 1971 Oman enters the UN
• 1981 Creation of a State Consultative Council
• 1996 Basic Statute of the State
• Economical and social development
• Infrastructure (roads, ports, hospitals)
• Education
• Healthcare

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1980-1990 A decade of economic turmoil

1. A recurrent problem a limited resource base
2. Fluctuating prices of the oil market
3. The hiccups of the modernisation program

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Evolution of crude oil prices since
1961 (Source BP Statistical Review of World
Energy 2005)
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Oil Blessing or Curse?

• 1980-1997 general improvement of the
  populations well-being
• Omans economy remains based on a monocultural
  exportation (Oil)
• The oil industry creates little employement
• 3 alternatives
• Economic diversification
• Omanisation
• Privatization

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Economic diversification

• Natural gas
• In 2005 ? 5 of the GDP
• Limited resources
• Minerals
• Copper
• Coal
• Marble

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Economic diversification

• 3. Agriculture and fisheries
• Date and frankincense producer
• Cattle herds (goats, camels, cows)
• Fishing ?Oman has 3165 km of coastlines

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Economic diversification

• Tourism
• Today, this sector represents less than 1 of the
  GDP
• Massif investment
• ? 1billion/year from the private sector

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Omanisation

• In 1997, 65 of the labour forces were
  expatriates ?conflicts with the younger
  generations now confronted to unemployment
• The government now aims to replace foreign
  workers by qualified omanis

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Privatization

• A key element in the economic policy
• Privatization mainly in the industrial,
  commercial and tourism companies
• In the public sector (water, electricity, postal
  services)

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Conclusion

• Mitigated progress
• Institutional weaknesses
• Population torn between tradition and modernity
• An important population growth rate (3,32 in
  2005)
• Oman needs to be more incorporated in regional
  policies

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Bibliography

• Allen, C. H., Rigsbee, W. L. II., Oman under
  Qaboos, from Coup to Constitution, 1970-1996,
  Frank Cass Publishers, 2002.
• Beasant, J., Oman the true-life drama and
  intrigue of an Arab State, Mainstream Publishing,
  2002.
• Joyce, M., The sultanate of Oman a twentieth
  century history, Praeger, Westport, 1995.
• Mansur, A. S., Oman beyond the oil horizon
  policies toward sustainable growth, ed. by Ashan
  Mansur Volker Treichel, Wahsington D.C
  International Monetary Fund, 1999.
• Plekhanov, S., A reformer on the Throne Sultan
  Qaboos Bin Said Al Said, Trident Press, 2004.
• http//www.moneoman.gov.om
• http//www.omanet.om
• http//www.omantourism.gov.om