Oman picks female executive to head up new oil major

  • Date: 21-Jan-2021
  • Source: Arabian Business
  • Sector:Oil & Gas
  • Country:Oman
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Oman picks female executive to head up new oil major

Oman's government has named Haifa Al Khaifi as head of a new company that controls the country's biggest oil block, a rare appointment for a woman in a male-dominated sector in the Middle East.

Al Khaifi will be chief executive officer of Energy Development Oman, which ultimately owns the sultanate's 60 percent stake in Block 6, a huge field capable of producing around 650,000 barrels of crude each day.

She joins from Petroleum Development Oman, the Gulf nation's state-run oil and gas exploration and production firm, where she was chief financial officer. Al Khaifi is also chairwoman of the Saudi Arabian unit of State Street Corp, the Boston-based custodian and money manager.

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Bloomberg reported in November that Oman, which is struggling to finance a budget deficit that soared last year, may issue around $3 billion of bonds off the back of Block 6.

JPMorgan Chase & Co is advising the government on the plan, according to a person familiar with the matter.

EDO was set up in December and it holds a stake in PDO as well as the interest in Block 6, which