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Emerging trends in Oman's oil industry

Oman’s oil production increased by 7.1% to reach 297 million barrels in 2009, up from 277 million barrels in 2008, as per Deloitte’s analysis of production estimates released by the Ministry of National Economy (MoNE) in Oman. The witnessed increase is despite the contraction of world GDP by 2.2% and the reduction in global oil consumption by 1.3%. As per the latest MoNE figures analyzed by Deloitte, the first quarter of 2010 witnessed oil production of 77 million barrels, an increase of 8.7% compared with the first quarter of 2009. During the first quarter, exports also increased by 13.3%.

Oman’s oil exports are targeted towards high growth areas, mainly in the Asian region. China is the single largest importer of Oman’s oil output, representing a share of 35% of total oil exports during the first quarter of 2010. Thailand (17%) and Japan (16%) are the next largest importers of oil from Oman. Oil exports to Japan registered a tremendous growth of 46.6% during the first quarter of 2010 compared to 2009, followed by 30.8% for Thailand and 23.7% for China.