PDO outlines stiff 2030 emissions targets
Beyond a flashy pledge of long-term carbon-neutrality lie some meaningful medium-term goals that could substantially speed up Muscat’s lagging decarbonisation efforts
Scepticism was the reaction when state-controlled Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), the sultanate’s main oil producer, unveiled plans in early September to become carbon-neutral by 2050. Like the government’s ‘goal’ to cut historic economic dependence on hydrocarbons by more than three-quarters within two decades, PDO’s superficially eye-catching aim essentially rebrands physical inevitability as environmental virtue. The country’s reserves/production ratio stood at a mere 15.4 years at end-2020, according to BP’s latest Annual Statistical Review. Barring the improbable discovery of a long-elusive elephant, Oman will have little crude left to pump by mid-century. PDO’s task since the early 2
Also in this section
24 January 2025
Domestic companies in Nigeria and other African jurisdictions are buying assets from existing majors they view as more likely to deliver production upside under their stewardship
23 January 2025
The end of transit, though widely anticipated, leaves Europe paying a third more for gas than a year ago and greatly exposed to supply shocks
23 January 2025
The country’s government and E&P companies are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to increase domestic crude output as BP–ONGC tie-up leads the way
22 January 2025
The return of Donald Trump gives further evidence of ‘big oil’ as an investable asset, with the only question being whether anyone is really surprised