Petroleum Development Oman
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| Government-owned corporation | |
| Industry | Oil & Gas |
| Founded | 1937 (as Petroleum Development of Oman and Dhofar ) 1967 (as Petroleum Development Oman ) |
| Headquarters | Muscat, Oman |
| Revenue | $11.4 billion (2007) |
| Owner |
Oman Government - 60% Royal Dutch Shell - 34% Total - 4% Partex - 2% |
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Number of employees
|
8,500 |
| Website | Official Website |
Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is the major oil exploration and production company in the Sultanate of Oman. It accounts for about 70% of the country's crude oil production and nearly all of its natural gas supply. The Company is owned by the Government of Oman (which has a 60% interest), the Shell Group (which has a 34% interest), Total (which has a 4% interest) and Partex (which has a 2% interest). Gas fields and processing plants are operated by PDO exclusively on behalf of the Government.
A geological survey of the country in 1925 by the D'Arcy Exploration Company found no conclusive evidence of oil. Twelve years later, however, when geologists began intensively searching for oil in neighboring Saudi Arabia, Oman's Sultan Said bin Taimur granted a 75-year concession to the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC). Pausing only for the Second World War, exploration for oil was underway in Oman.
The exploration and production operations were to be run on behalf of the IPC by Petroleum Development (Oman and Dhofar) Ltd. The operating company had four shareholders, each with an interest of 23.75%: the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, the Anglo-Persian Company (which would eventually become the British Petroleum Company, or BP), Compagnie Française des Pétroles (a predecessor of today’s Total) and the Near East Development Company (whose shareholders were Standard Oil of New Jersey and Socony-Vacuum, today’s ExxonMobil). The remaining 5% stake was held by a fifth shareholder, Partex, representing the interests of the oil magnate, Calouste Gulbenkian.
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