State-owned Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has signed a protocol with The Research Council (TRC) and Oman’s Ministry of Oil and Gas to encourage research and development (R&D) activities to develop the Sultanate’s energy sector.
The Times of Oman newspaper reports that the Oman Energy Industry-Academia R&D Protocol was signed at a ceremony on Monday at the Ministry of Oil and Gas.
Among the signatories were Dr Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhi, Minister of Oil and Gas, Dr Hilal bin Ali Al Hinai, secretary general of TRC and Raoul Restucci, PDO’s managing director.
The protocol is expected to maximise the utilisation of national research funding via a fund matching approach, to support industrial research and innovation, fulfill the mandate of bridging the gap between industry and academia, and contribute towards the establishment of centralised research facility at IATI to be carried out through research funding.
“Academia cannot do research for research’s sake; efforts have to be focussed in order to deliver applied results that are useful to the profitability of Industry and to Oman as a whole,” Hinai was quoted as saying.
“Leveraging the considerable opportunity in Oman is a journey that must be equally shared by industry and academia. The success of these partnerships is integral to Oman’s economic health, as oil and gas production accounted for the vast majority of government revenues in 2015,” he said.
