Oman

Oman is a Middle East country on the Indian Ocean touching Saudi Arabia with a population of three million and capital city of Muscat. The country allows the U.S. the use of military port and air base facilities.

Media
The BBC says of the country's media:


 * The government operates Oman's main broadcasters. The first private radio station launched in May 2007. The use of satellite dishes is permitted, and stations from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen may be picked up. A press act allows the government to censor publications for political or cultural reasons.

Examples of public relations in Oman

 * MPiRe, a PR firm with the slogan "Public Relations in Oman...and beyond." The first PR agency in the Sultanate of Oman to provide Social Media and PR 2.0 services. Its clients include the Crowne Plaza Muscat, Environment Society of Oman, FRiENDi mobile, Lloyd George Management, Marina Bandar Al Rowdha, Nawras, Embassy of India, Embassy of Sri Lanka, just to name a few. Lead by Maurizio Monte the company is starting to get recognition within the whole GCC. For more information please visit the blog http://oman-collective-intelligence.blogspot.com/


 * Momentum PR, a firm that states it was "founded as a result of a serious need in the Sultanate of Oman for a dedicated PR agency. The large corporate as well as the small and medium sized enterprises had a need for a local solution to all of their marketing needs."


 * Trans-Arabian Creative Communications (TRACCS), a firm with "a fully-fledged office in Muscat ... led by seasoned Omani practitioner Hassan Al Saleh and supported by the network's strong lead offices in Saudi Arabia and U.A.E., TRACCS aims to make a major contribution to building an indigenous public relations industry and profession in the Sultanate."

U.S. military bases in Oman
The U.S. has three military bases in Oman which in 1981 signed as access agreement with the United States. Oman has long supported the presence of the U.S. in the Gulf. The three bases are:


 * Masirah Air Base
 * Thumrait Naval Air Base for anti-submarine patrol planes
 * US Air Force use of Seeb International Airport, which is Oman's largest airport

Tobacco industry documents on Oman

 * Philip Morris Dubai Voluntary Code of Conduct for the Marketing of Tobacco and Tobacco Products in the Sultanate of Oman Bates No. 2501048054-2501048057

Proposed Coal Plants
Oman Power and Water Procurement Company is considering building a coal-fired Gulf power plant, the Al-Duqum Independent Water and Power Project (IWPP). It has made significant progress with the awarding of the technical and financial advisory contracts: the technical advisory contract has been awarded to Australia's WorleyParsons and the financial advisory contract has gone to KPMG. Al-Duqum IWPP will be the first coal-fired power plant in the country, and one of the first in the Gulf region. The Al-Duqum IWPP will have a generating capacity of 1,000 megawatts (MW) and is estimated to cost US $2 billion to build, and is proposed that it would come online in 2015.

Leaders

 * Qaboos Bin Said Al Said, Sultan, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Oman and coal
 * U.S. military bases overseas

External resources

 * Timeline: Oman, BBC, accessed January 2008.