Oman energy company OQ Exploration and Production to offer 25% in IPO

Oman : Oman’s state energy company OQ SAOC plans to sell a 25% stake in its exploration and production business in an initial public offering that could be the Gulf country’s biggest on record. The IPO of OQ Exploration & Production’s is expected to start this month and the shares will begin trading on the Muscat Stock Exchange in October, according to a statement Monday. The share sale could raise about $1 billion,

Listings in the Middle East have picked up after a summer lull, and investor appetite has been strong. There have been a flurry of announcements over the past month across sectors, including a perfume maker, two flour millers, an oil services provider and a food delivery firm. Oman is also pursuing an ambitious privatization strategy of its own. OQ has hired Morgan Stanley and local banks to work on the IPO of its methanol and liquefied petroleum gas unit, That share sale is also slated for this year although timings may change, people familiar with the matter said at the time.

Oman is the biggest Persian Gulf oil producer that’s not a member of OPEC. The government is hoping to boost industries such as energy, transport and tourism through an influx of capital from state asset sales. The Gulf nation is also chasing an upgrade to emerging market status by broadening its capital markets — the Muscat Stock Exchange is among the smallest bourses in the region.

Last year, OQ floated its gas pipelines business in a $749 million IPO as well as its oil-drilling unit Abraj Energy Services SAOG. Meantime, Oman’s wealth fund is planning several dozen listings over the next few years, including the state power utility and a logistics firm,