Nawras offers SMS link to Muscat Municipality

Oman-based communications provider Nawras has launched a new SMS service to help its customers easily access Muscat Municipality service centre information by using a mobile phone or handset.

Customers can check the status of building permits, rent contracts, technical inspections, parking violations and other services by simply sending an SMS to the Municipality rather than needing to pay a visit in person.

In a media release, Nawras product manager, Mohammed Al Najwani, said: “We are delighted to work with Muscat Municipality to enable our customers to get closer to the information they need and to access it in a fast and convenient way. Importantly, the information is on hand whenever it is needed.”

This service is useful for any customer who has made an application with the Muscat Municipality and wishes to follow up its progress in an easy way. Each application is given a reference number and with that number in hand, customers can track progress via SMS.

In a similar way, customers may also be able to enquire about parking violations.

This latest service follows the introduction of SMS parking, which enables Nawras customers to send an SMS to pay for parking instead of needing to find the relevant coins to feed a parking meter, the company said.

Source: www.arabianbusiness.com

HM visits Oman’s Special Force HQ

HIS Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday paid a visit to the Sultan’s Special Force at Al-Somoudh Garrison located in Halbaan on the second day of his state visit to the Sultanate of Oman.

According to a statement from Brunei’s Prime Minister’s Office, His Majesty was greeted by General Ali bin Majid Al-Ma’maari, the Minister of Royal Office and Brigadier Amar Al-Amri, the commander of the Sultan’s Special Force upon his arrival.

Following a briefing on the organisation and task of the Sultan’s Special Force, His Majesty was shown a display of the equipment used by the mobile regiment. His Majesty then proceeded to the gymnasium to witness a self-defence performance.

His Majesty continued the tour of the facilities with a visit to the anti-terrorism training area, where he saw demonstrations of rescue operations, involving a hijacked aircraft and hostages. His Majesty was then invited to try the regiment’s weapons at the firing range.

Before concluding the visit to the Al-Somoudh Garrison of the Sultan’s Special Force, His Majesty was invited to the Officers’ Mess where senior officers of the regiment greeted His Majesty. General Ali bin Majid and Brigadier Amar presented His Majesty with souvenirs shortly after His Majesty signed the guest book. In return, His Majesty presented military plaques to General Ali and Brigadier Amar.

On Wednesday night, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al-Said, the Sultan of Oman, hosted a state dinner at the Banquet Hall of Al-Alam Palace in honour of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam. The state dinner was also attended by Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmood Al-Said, Omani Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers and Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al-Said, Minister of Heritage and Culture as the Minister-In-Attendance.

Also present were other members of the Royal Family and state dignitaries as well as members of the Omani Government, members of the diplomatic corps and members of the official delegation of Brunei Darussalam.

Source: english.siamdailynews.com

‘Origin Oman’ to Highlight Importance of Product Packaging

Origin Oman, the country’s first workshop on packaging, will underline the vital role that the look of a product plays in selling it, according to organisers of the event.

“In today’s congested business world, packaging has become a critical factor; it can often make or break a product. It is generally accepted that 70-80 per cent of a consumer’s purchasing decision is made at the point of sale,” said Zuhair Al Zadjali, the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates’ Coordinator for Origin Oman. “If the packaging is right, people will buy a product without even trying it because most associate superior packaging with quality.”

Key experts addressing the seminar include Peter Ford, Reader in Design Innovation at Leicester’s De Montfort University. Ford is a major player in his field, having worked on product design and packaging initiatives with companies like Adidas, British Nuclear Fuels, Black & Decker, The Post Office and Lucas Automotive.

He will be joined by Rawan Darwish, Shaun Loftman and Stuart Jeal from Landor Associates — a firm with an international reputation for bringing innovative design solutions.

“Packaging is an important marketing strategy and one that Oman-based manufacturers shouldn’t neglect,” Ford said. “Most consumers judge a product by its packaging before buying. So it’s logical to say attractive packaging is crucial in order to get the first time buyer to choose your product. Without good packaging, who would buy it in order to try it? Your first step to enter the market is crushed if the packaging is ugly.”

Source: www.khaleejtimes.com

Oman 'focusing on summer season'

One of the biggest challenges to promoting Oman as a holiday destination is encouraging people to visit in the summer, according to a spokeswoman for the country's tourism ministry.

Alison Cryer, UK and Ireland tourism director at the ministry, pointed out that people who are willing to visit Dubai can also visit Oman as the countries have the same climate.

Ms Cryer also said that heading to the country's mountainous region is an option as these areas enjoy cooler temperatures in the summer.

Commenting on the overall appeal of Oman, the tourism ministry spokeswoman said: 'Its 6,000-year history and culture offers over 500 forts, castles and archaeological sites.

'With the tallest mountains in the region, Oman has world-renowned climbing, abseiling into caves and the second-largest underground cavern in the world.'

Oman shares borders with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Yemen in the Middle East and can be reached by catching flights to Muscat, its capital city.

Source: news.opodo.co.uk

Setting the Stage_Oman, Volume 186 - 17.04.2009

On April 8th Oman went one step further in achieving its goal of developing a top-tier academic system with the unveiling of a new classification framework for higher education. The latest guidelines are expected to, among other things, aid the development of more accurate educational data, thereby quickening the alignment of Oman with international benchmarks.

The Oman Accreditation Council, founded in 2001 with the goal of setting and regularly monitoring education standards, reviewed the classification framework of over 20 countries before deciding to adapt that of Australia and New Zealand – known as the Australian Standard Classification of Education framework – to an Omani context.

Classification of higher education essentially breaks down programmes of study under three tiers. "Broad fields" are distinguished from each other based on theoretical nature and reason for study; "narrow fields" are subdivisions of the former and are distinguished by a more specific purpose of study; and "detailed fields" are a subset of narrow fields and are distinguished by particular methods of study

. The hierarchal system is useful in recording more complex data across national lines and is now one of many country-specific classification frameworks generally thought to be more comprehensive than the first international system developed by UNESCO in the 1970's, known as the International Standard Classification of Education. This measure was last updated in 1997, but most countries have since developed their own frameworks in light of the evolving effects of recent technologies on nearly all fields of study

. Like many states in the region, Oman is embarking on an economic diversification programme, a large part of which is aimed at developing a knowledge-based economy and a well-trained population to guide it.

Accordingly, improving the quality of education within the country has been a primary concern of the government and especially Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, who has pushed for extensive educational reforms since coming into power in 1970. Expansion in the higher education sector has been remarkably swift – the Sultanate's first public university, Sultan Qaboos University, opened in 1986 – and today the country boasts seven public and 24 private universities.

The introduction of a new classification framework represents a significant step in the Ministry of Higher Education's (MoHE's) push towards meeting international best practices in higher education, although there is still work to be done.

"Our institutions are not quite there yet," Patricia Groves, an adviser to the MoHE, told OBG last year. "But we're striving for international standards – we should be there within five years at the very most."

The MoHE is taking a multi-pronged approach to quality improvements within the sector. It encourages foreign investment by offering tax, land and grant incentives to private universities. In return, the ministry screens investors through its stringent quality standards, only accepting private institutions affiliated with a Western university.

It is also planning to establish an academic chair programme in a bid to increase the level of instruction by attracting professors from Western universities to the Sultanate for short periods of time.

Developing an internationally recognised higher education system is also crucial to the long-term economic development plans of Oman. As oil and gas prices remain volatile, the importance of the non-hydrocarbon sector grows. To achieve a shift towards a knowledge and service-oriented economy, the Omani people must have the skill set to match. Moreover, the Sultanate's population is predominantly composed of young people, making an education sector of both sufficient capacity and high quality doubly important.

With the adoption of a new, more comprehensive classification framework, the Sultanate is one step closer to making the goals of economic diversification and Omanisation a concrete reality.

Source: www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com

Oil flows from Petroleum Development Oman's new field

Petroleum Development Oman by فيرو ز بكر

Heritage Oil Limited ("Heritage" or the "Company")(TSX:HOC)(LSE:HOIL), an independent upstream exploration and production company, announces it has completed the sale of Eagle Energy (Oman) Limited ("Eagle Energy"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Heritage, to RAK Petroleum Oman Limited for US$28 million, plus a working capital adjustment of $0.4 million. Eagle Energy holds a 10% interest in Block 8, Oman.

Highlights

- Sale of Eagle Energy for cash consideration of US$28 million

- Cash proceeds of US$28 million received and will be reinvested in core activity areas of Uganda and Kurdistan

- Heritage's reserves reduced by only 2% with the sale

- Heritage continues strategy of creating shareholder value through focusing on core assets

The effective date of the transaction is 31 December 2008. The cash consideration of $28 million and a working capital adjustment of $0.4 million have been received. Heritage acquired Eagle Energy, which has a 10% interest in Block 8 offshore Oman, in 1996. Block 8 contains the Bukha field which has been producing since 1994 and the West Bukha field which commenced production in February 2009. Block 8, Oman generated profit of $1.0 million for the year ended 31 December 2007 and had gross assets of $21.1 million as at 30 June 2008, net to Heritage.

RPS Energy estimated Heritage's proved plus probable reserves as at 31 December 2007 at 62.1 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), of which 1.7 million boe were attributed to Eagle Energy's interests in Oman, therefore this sale represents only a 2% reduction in reserves.

Sale proceeds, which have already been paid to Heritage, will be used this year to continue the Company's activities in Kurdistan and Uganda. Over the last 12 months Heritage has had remarkable success with the drill bit in Uganda, including the discovery of the Buffalo-Giraffe field which is considered, by management, to be the largest onshore oil discovery in Sub-Saharan Africa in the last two decades.

Tony Buckingham, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"This transaction demonstrates Heritage's strategy of realising value for shareholders within the portfolio. A minority interest in a non-operated licence with negligible reserves was no longer considered integral to the portfolio. We believe the cash proceeds from the sale will enable Heritage to generate substantially greater value by focusing resources on its core activity areas in Uganda and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq."

Notes to Editors

- Heritage is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The trading symbol is HOIL. Heritage has a further listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:HOC).

- Heritage is an independent upstream exploration and production company engaged in the exploration for, and the development, production and acquisition of, oil and gas in its core areas of Africa, the Middle East and Russia.

- Heritage has a producing property in Russia and exploration projects in Uganda, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malta, Pakistan, Tanzania and Mali.

- For further information please refer to our website at www.heritageoilltd.com.

If you would prefer to receive press releases via email please contact Lindsay Carpenter (lindsay@chfir.com) and specify "Heritage press releases" in the subject line.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION:

Except for statements of historical fact, all statements in this news release - including, without limitation, statements regarding production estimates and future plans and objectives of Heritage - constitute forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results include risks and uncertainties such as: risks relating to estimates of reserves and recoveries; production and operating cost assumptions; development risks and costs; the risk of commodity price fluctuations; political and regulatory risks; and other risks and uncertainties as disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in its Prospectus and elsewhere in Heritage documents filed from time-to-time with the London Stock Exchange and other regulatory authorities. Further, any forward-looking information is made only as of a certain date and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking information or statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management of the Company to predict all of these factors and to assess in advance the impact of each such factor on the Company's business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking information.