OQ, formerly known as Oman Oil Co., is following in the footsteps of Saudi oil giant Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. in trying to raise money through the markets. It could also give a boost to its local stock exchange, Muscat, long considered the quietest among Gulf Arab states.
OQ will offer up to 25% of the shares of its exploration and production division, according to the announcement. It did not offer proposed values for the deal, although Bloomberg cited unnamed officials with knowledge of the deal who suggested the company could be worth a total of $8 billion, making the stake being offered worth about $2 billion.
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“The intention to list OQ Exploration and Production reflects our commitment to opening up new growth opportunities for both the company and the Sultanate of Oman,” OQ CEO Ashraf Hamed Al Mamari said in a statement.
The plan calls for the listing to take place in October, pending regulatory approvals. Dividends of $150 million are planned for the first two quarters thereafter, with an expected dividend of $600 million annually, plus a dividend linked to its performance.
OQ was established in 2009 and is Oman’s third largest company in the oil industry, after state-owned Petroleum Development Oman and US-based Occidental Petroleum.
Oman, at the eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is a member of the OPEC+ coalition, though not of the cartel itself. It produces around a million barrels of oil a day and China remains the main customer for its crude.
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Oman’s late Sultan Qaboos bin Said used oil revenues to modernise a nation that had just three schools and harsh laws banning electricity, radios, eyeglasses and even umbrellas when he seized power in a 1970 coup.
He died in January 2020. His successor, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, has sought to shore up the sultanate’s finances while maintaining its position as a key interlocutor between Iran and the West.
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