Energy and mining labs to kick off on Sunday

Muscat: As part of the government efforts to diversify the economy as per the Ninth Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), the Ministry of Oil and Gas and the Public Authority for Mining are organising energy and mining labs, supported by the Implementation Support and Follow-up Unit.
The labs will be attended by representatives from both public and private sectors, experts and representatives from the civil society.
The labs will kick-off on Sunday and run for six weeks in Oman Institute for Oil & Gas, Innovation Park Muscat, near Sultan Qaboos University.
Through these labs, the ministry and authority aim at activating the enablers, exploiting the resources of energy and mining sectors, and overcoming the difficulties both sectors face, in order to develop initiatives and projects that enhance the contribution of these sectors in the economy. This will be achieved by defining the strategic intention which will be discussed during the labs, then translated into achievable initiatives and projects that will be implemented according to a specific timeline and a clear scientific methodology.
The energy strategy includes enhancing energy security by diversifying energy sources to generate electricity without gas. This can be achieved by finding alternative energy sources, enhancing the provision of gas and electrical energy to the industrial sector to expand the economic industries, in addition to governing the energy sector by implementing improvements and syndicating the governance of the sector with the laws and regulations related to gas and electricity.
Regarding mining, the Public Authority for Mining seeks to increase the production of minerals in the Sultanate, which in turn will double the local production of the sector. To achieve this, the Authority made attracting investments from the private sector one of its main priorities, which cannot be achieved unless investment permits and licenses are facilitated. Moreover, the labs will include assessing many investment opportunities including mining concession areas which have complete permits and are ready for investment, specifying the required infrastructure to develop the sector, in addition to discussing social responsibility activities represented in the society, environment, supporting small and medium enterprises, building skills and capabilities through education, training, and setting a road map for innovation in the mining sector to double the revenue from mineral resources.
It is hoped that the participants of energy and mining labs will provide their opinions, suggestions and initiatives to achieve the strategic intentions of the two sectors, which, in a later stage, will be followed up with all relevant stakeholders, through specific performance indicators and a specific timeline that ensures its full implementation.