AWS Engineering managing director Abdullah Hassan Al Maqbali tells TOGY about how government policies to level the playing field for super local community contractors are harming competition. AWS Engineering is the engineering, procurement and construction arm of Rimal Global Technical Services, a holding company founded in 2010 to mainly service the oil and gas industry.
Has the development of SLCCs and local community contractors (LCCs) harmed small Omani companies that do not have this status?
We are a privately funded oil and gas company owned and managed by Omani stakeholders. Similar to LCCs and SLCCs, we are also a local company and should have equal opportunities. Companies registered as an LCC or SLCC have a single source of projects. PDO awards contracts to these companies regardless of their experience. This form of government intervention in the oil and gas industry is anti-competitive and will result in inefficiency.
Should state-owned oil and gas companies be denationalised, considering low oil prices?
The government and PDO have experiences of such oil cycles before, and they will increase production to maintain the margins for the stakeholders. To boost productivity, nationalised companies such as Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company, and drilling company Abraj Energy Services should be privatised.
In general, independent companies are more effective than publicly owned firms as they are profit-driven. Private businesses do not have to promote the interests of the government and will take decisions based solely on efficiency and value. Strong public sector involvement in the oil and gas industry slows down competition.
Is it difficult for Omani companies to find the right personnel to fill positions?
It is easier to fill senior management positions when compared to labour-intensive posts. Omanis would love to work no matter what the job is. There is a common misperception that Omanis will not accept work as a bricklayer or pipefitter, and this is simply not true. The majority of staff constructing the main oil pipeline stretching across the country in 1945 were Omanis. There are a lot of nationals that are willing to work, but they are simply not provided the opportunity.
I disagree with the Ministry of Manpower’s decision to limit the number of expatriates entering the market. Even though my priority is to develop my country and the indigenous population, and I am more comfortable dealing with Omanis, the government should not restrict my recruiting options as a private corporation.
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