Oman gearing up for energy transition and maritime sector decarbonisation
Speaking during the first edition of the Oman Maritime, Ports and Energy Forum held here on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, Muhanna Moosa Baqer, Director General of Ports and Marine Affairs at the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Information Technology, said: 'The world is on the cusp of a profound energy revolution, and Oman is intent on realizing its potential to catalyze the changes required.'
According to Baqer, the maritime logistics sector plays a dual role in both facilitating and driving the energy transition.
'Shipping and ports are both the drivers and facilitators of the energy transition across the globe. Shipping will increasingly transport cargo such as LNG, hydrogen, ammonia, and CO2 to all corners of the world, and the industry is a lynchpin in the development of this new and exciting global supply chain infrastructure,' he said.
In addition to transporting new energy resources, the sector will also become a consumer of alternative low and zero carbon marine fuels, said Baqer.
'As well as transporting new energy sources, shipping will be consumers of this energy, using alternative low and zero-carbon marine fuels to propel the global merchant fleet.
Additionally, he shared that ports will become vital energy hubs and 'gateways for the import, export, and storage of low-carbon and renewable energy', while also supporting a developing bunkering sector for alternative marine fuels.
This evolving role of the maritime sector comes amid increasing global pressure to decarbonise the sector.
'Shipping and ports have a huge responsibility for the successful delivery of decarbonization on a national and global basis. To facilitate this, we are seeing the introduction of a raft of national, regional, and global environmental regulations, which together set out ambitious targets for the decarbonization of shipping and ports, which will also accelerate the pace of the energy transition.' A major example, according to Baqer, is the International Maritime Organization's proposed Net Zero Framework, which aims to set mandatory emissions limits and introduce carbon pricing across the shipping sector.
'If adopted, they would enter into force in 2027, and the IMO's Net Zero Framework will be the first in the world to combine mandatory emissions limits and GHG pricing across an entire industry sector. So, the world is on the cusp of a profound energy revolution, and Oman is intent on realizing its potential to catalyze the changes required.'
Consequently, Oman's port and maritime sectors are actively evolving to meet future demands, he said. 'The country's maritime and port sectors are focused on developing cutting-edge logistics excellence in tandem with meeting the requirements of environmental sustainability and stewardship.' Additionally, he shed light on the intersecting role Oman plays in both maritime trade and the energy transition.
'Oman also has a leading and proactive role to play as a key producer of renewable energy. A very recent example of this is the agreement to establish the world's first liquid hydrogen import corridor, which will connect the Port of Duqm, the Port of Amsterdam, and key logistics hubs in Germany.'
Concluding his remarks, Baqer noted that the Oman's maritime sector is ready for the change. 'Oman's maritime, boats, and bunkering sectors are building on their heritage and preparing to catalyze the change.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
21 hours ago
- Observer
Oman's digital transformation performance up 80%
Muscat - The National Program for Digital Transformation (Tahawul) (2021-2025) has recorded an 80 percent increase in overall performance since its launch until the end of May 2025. The program achieved a 19 percent qualitative leap over its performance recorded at the end of the first half of last year, confirming the effectiveness of the implemented strategies and the levels of progress achieved in organizational and digital structures as an effective tool for leading the digital transformation in the Sultanate of Oman towards a digital government that applies the highest standards of efficiency, speed of implementation, and quality of services. The average readiness of government institutions for digital transformation rose to 81 percent, a seven percent increase over the rate recorded at the end of June 2024. Meanwhile, the readiness of the digital infrastructure in government institutions rose to 86 percent, and procedures for 96 percent of targeted and priority government services were simplified, including 381 services whose procedures were simplified in Manjam's laboratories for simplifying government procedures. 74 percent of targeted and priority government services were digitized. 48 government agencies completed 11,439,542 digital transactions between January and May 2025. 33 advisory and enabling sessions were held in the areas of digital transformation, and 4,100 services were documented and indexed in the digital guide for government services. Dr. Ali bin Amer Al-Shidhani, Undersecretary for Communications and Information Technology at the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology and Chairman of the Technical Committee for the Government Digital Transformation Program, said that the results and performance indicators of the "Transformation" program reflect the extent of concerted national efforts and the commitment of government institutions to proceed with confident steps towards a promising digital government. He praised the level of institutional integration with the program's vision and objectives, which embodies the ability to keep pace with digital transformations with confident and deliberate steps. Al Shidhani affirmed that the "Transformation" program is moving forward to continue enhancing the efficiency of digital services, improving infrastructure, completing the digitization of more services, and empowering national competencies, in line with an ambitious national direction to build a more innovative future that meets the aspirations of the Sultanate of Oman's renewed renaissance. Among the most notable achievements of the National Government Digital Transformation Program (Tahweel) over the past period is the launch of the unified government services portal, which includes 23 government services for a number of government agencies. The number of portal users reached 35,746, while the number of service requests completed through the portal reached 3,905. The Visual Library section was activated in sign language to support the use of the portal by people with disabilities. The electronic payment gateway (OmanNet) has also been fully operational, contributing to an increase in the volume of electronic payment transactions and reducing the risk of fraudulent transactions. The total number of transactions executed through the platform reached 14.5 million digital transactions during the first quarter of this year. The number of active users of the electronic document and records management system "Wusool" has reached more than 17,000, and the total number of documents created through the system has exceeded 1.5 million, providing services to 20 government entities using the system. The number of digital transactions signed via electronic authentication during the first half of 2025 reached approximately 1,572,638 digital transactions. The number of data records exchanged via the National Electronic Integration Platform during the same period reached 163 million records. More than 90 digital community consultations were conducted to enhance the government's efforts to activate the digital participation approach across various government institutions and governorates in the Sultanate of Oman. It may be noted that the National Government Digital Transformation Program falls under the umbrella of the National Digital Economy Program. The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, in coordination with all government agencies, has drawn up a roadmap and an implementation plan for the program spanning the period (2021-2025) to transition to a digital government based on governance principles and the use of emerging technologies to create a future-oriented government agency that provides an integrated digital experience.
Muscat Daily
a day ago
- Muscat Daily
Digital services surge as Oman advances towards e-govt goals
Muscat – The National Programme for Digital Transformation – Tahawul – has achieved an 80% overall performance rate since its launch in 2021, marking a 19% increase over the results recorded in mid-2024. The figures, released at the end of May 2025, highlight progress made across government institutions in digital infrastructure readiness, simplified public services and increased adoption of e-services. According to Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, the average readiness of government bodies for digital transformation reached 81%, while infrastructure readiness stood at 86%. Procedures for 96% of targeted government services were simplified, including 381 services revised under Manjam Labs – a collaborative initiative to improve government service efficiency. Additionally, 74% of priority services have been digitised, and between January and May this year, 48 government agencies processed more than 11.4mn digital transactions. A total of 4,100 services were indexed in the government's digital services guide, and 33 advisory sessions were held to support public sector digitalisation. H E Dr Ali bin Amer al Shidhani, Undersecretary for Communications and Information Technology and Chairman of Tahawul's technical committee, said the results reflect national efforts and institutional commitment to the programme's objectives. He noted that the direction of the transformation aligns with Oman's broader digital economy goals and aims to enhance service delivery and empower local talent. H E Dr Ali bin Amer al Shidhani, Undersecretary for Communications and Information Technology Among key achievements is the launch of a unified government services portal, now offering 23 services from various agencies. The platform has recorded 35,746 users and processed 3,905 service requests. A library in sign language has also been activated to support users with disabilities. The OmanNet electronic payment gateway is now fully operational, handling 14.5mn digital transactions in the first quarter alone. The system is designed to reduce fraud risk and encourage electronic payment adoption. The Wusool system for electronic document and records management has registered over 17,000 active users and processed more than 1.5mn documents across 20 government entities. In the first half of 2025, over 1.57mn digital transactions were signed using electronic authentication. The National Electronic Integration Platform exchanged 163mn records, while more than 90 digital public consultations were held to enhance citizen participation in policymaking. Tahawul is a core initiative under Oman's National Digital Economy Programme. It runs from 2021 to 2025, targeting a shift to a fully digital government based on principles of good governance and adoption of emerging technologies.
Times of Oman
a day ago
- Times of Oman
Oman: Digital transformation performance up 80%
Muscat: The Government Digital Transformation Tahawul Programme (2021–2025) has recorded an 80% increase in overall performance since its launch until the end of May 2025. The programme has achieved a notable increase of 19% this year compared to end of first quarter of last year, reaffirming the efficiency of the applicable strategies and levels of progress made in the digital and regulatory framework as an efficient tool for leading digital transformation in the Sultanate of Oman. The average digital readiness of government entities increased to 81% this year, an increase of 7%, recorded in June 2024. The digital infrastructure readiness at the government entities also increased to 86%. A total of 96% of targeted priority services have been simplified, including 381 services whose procedures were simplified through Manjam Labs for government process simplification. Nearly 74% of targeted services of priority have been digitalised. As a result, 48 government establishments have completed over 11.4 million digital transactions from January to May 2025. Dr. Ali bin Amer Al Shizani, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, who is also Chairman of the Technical Committee of the Government Digital Transformation Programme, said that the results and performance indices of Tahawul programme reflect the collective national efforts and the commitment of the government establishments in steadily heading towards a promising digital government. He also valued the level of institutional integration with the vision and objectives of the programme. He said that the Tahawul programme continues to boost the efficiency of the digital services and improvement of the basic structure and completion of digitalisation of more services.
