Five million barrels of crude oil reserves in Oman

Oman\'s reserves of oil are estimated at five million barrels and those of gas at 12 trillion cubic feet, said Minister of Oil and Gaza Mohammad Bin Hamad Al-Romhi. The government of the Sultanate of Oman attaches great importance to oil investment, where cost of investment in exploration has reached 143.5 million dollars (55 million Omani Rial) over the past five years, he added in a press release published here on Tuesday. Investment in producing companies, in 2011, reached more than US six billion (328.2 billion Omani Riyal), the minister said. These enterprises confirm the government bids to increase production of oil and gas, by increasing investment in enhanced production projects, and also in the discovery of new oil fields. Oman\'s production of crude oil and condensate oil reached this year 900,000 barrels per day. Its output of natural gas stood at 4.3 billion cubic feet per day. Current oil price on world markets has been volatile recently, however, Oman\'s Ministry of Oil and Gas considers the current price as reasonable. Muscat also believes that the current prices of the oil serve investment in crude oil supplies, investing in renewable energy alternatives as well. Nevertheless, Muscat believes that the fair price is around US 100 per barrel. Oil prices are subject to a lot of factors, including demand, which in turn depends mainly on growth rates in the world, namely top oil-consuming nations.