Oman picks female executive to head up new oil major
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