Saturday 20 / April / 2024
Muscat: Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) on Tuesday launched a new online service aimed at helping Omani small and medium enterprises (SMEs) engage in business opportunities.
The Daleeli (My Guide) platform located on thepdo.co.om website will provide information, respond to queries, streamline the enquiry process and log all communications between PDO’s internal departments and external vendors.
It was officially launched by Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil and Gas, during the annual PDO Day, which is held every year in May to mark the anniversary of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said’s historic official visit to the Company’s Bait Mina Al Fahal (BMF) headquarters building in 2013.
Al Aufi toured 15 presentation stands showcasing key achievements of PDO’s directorates and presented prizes to the winners of the 12th Chairman’s Award for Excellence (CAE) and the fourth Dr Abdulla Al Lamki for Developing Talent Award (DALTA) competitions.
There was also an exhibition of photos of His Majesty taken by His official private photographer Mohammed Mustafa and two portraits of His Majesty by Omani artist Saud Al Hunaini.
PDO Managing Director Raoul Restucci said: “PDO Day is an opportunity for the Company to celebrate the anniversary of His Majesty’s visit and also showcase the efforts we are making every day to serve Oman.
“These extend beyond our core activities of efficient, safe and sustainable oil and gas exploration and production to supporting His Majesty’s vision of economic diversification, SME development and enhancing Omani skills and talents.
“Despite the oil price environment, we continue to ramp up our In-Country Value drive and support local suppliers. With more and more business being done online, it’s important we make it as easy, transparent and quick as possible for vendors, including Omani SMEs, to work with us.
“The new Daleeli service is a one-stop shop where suppliers can find out exactly how they can do that. It provides key information, streamlines interactions between PDO and suppliers and keeps a record of all communications between both parties.”
Daleeli complements another new user-friendly PDO digital system, Rabitah (Link), where vendors can register for business with the Company.
In his address to staff at the event, Restucci said: “PDO is determined to do all we can to create more job and training opportunities for Omanis, both within our sector and beyond, and develop a local supply chains. At the same time, we are staying the course on our key business activities, with a robust production portfolio and a determination to use these testing times to transform the way we work in a more efficient and productive manner, without compromising on our overarching priority of safety.” The winners of the CAE awards were the Miraah solar project in the technical category and Lekhwair team for their efforts in driving Lean business efficiency — a key strategic priority for PDO — in the non-technical category.
Miraah, which PDO is building with its partners GlassPoint Solar, will be the world’s largest solar plant at peak capacity and harness the sun’s rays to generate steam for use in thermal enhanced oil recovery.
The introduction of a visual management board system at Lekhwair to improve communication, help employees stay focused on goals and reduce waste has resulted in process safety improvement, equipment availability and production gains of 9.6% from 63,600 barrels per day in January 2015 to a record of 71,700 bpd in November 2015.
The DALTA winner was Mohamed Salim Shaikh, Corporate Function Discipline Head for Process Engineering at PDO. Mohamed, who is also Head of Process Optimisation in the PDO Front End Engineering Design Office, was recognised for his efforts to inspire and guide colleagues.
Restucci said: “I congratulate all the winners for their excellence. We had a record number of nominations for both the CAE and DALTA competitions this year which shows the extent of the outstanding work being done at PDO on behalf of the nation on a daily basis.”
