Muscat, Oman - May 2013

Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has teamed up with Omantel to support the Middle East Leadership Academy (MELA) to offer scholarship and training opportunities for budding young business leaders from Oman and across the Middle East.  

The partnership is an extension of the strong corporate social responsibility strategies of both companies and offers promising candidates the chance to become part of one of the region's most innovative and exciting leadership initiatives.  

PDO and Omantel were joint sponsors of the fourth MELA session which was held in Muscat at the Barr Al Jissa Resort and Spa. Over 70 participants, business leaders, speakers and facilitators took part in the intensive 10-day experiential programme and attendees came from Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Qatar.

PDO Managing Director Raoul Restucci said: "Leadership skills and characteristics are key for any young professional today, and the extensive training that MELA offers and the opportunities within its network can benefit the next generation of Omani and regional business leaders.

"We are delighted to be associated with this excellent training scheme. A number of PDO staff have entered the academy since its launch in 2011 and have been schooled in areas such as team building, conflict resolution, social media, decision making, operational excellence and high productivity.

"I would also like to thank Omantel for its generous support of the MELA event this year which underlines its strong commitment to talent development and emphasises the overall quality of the leadership programme."

This year, PDO plans to train more than 450 staff on executive leadership or accelerated leadership programmes. The Company places great importance on being a good corporate citizen and has developed a number of structured social investment programmes which are implemented in close collaboration with the Government through a joint Social Investment Committee.

The Company works closely with the communities it operates in and within all aspects of Omani society and its social development programmes are targeted at boosting vocational training, vital infrastructure, education and heritage. The aim is to achieve a mutually beneficial and sustainable environment in which its oil and gas operations can be carried out.

Commenting on the MELA initiative, Omantel Chief Executive Officer Dr. Amer Awadh Al Rawas said: "We are pleased to partner with PDO and MELA in this great training programme. Equipping our people with leadership skills that prepare them to be better leaders in the future is a key pillar of our HR strategy.

"At Omantel, we recognise what it takes to be a leader on corporate and individual levels. Being the largest and the leading integrated telecommunications services provider, we place an immense significance on providing our people with quality training that can enhance and shape their leadership skills and thought processes  to ensure  that Omantel leadership is maintained for years to come. We believe the MELA scheme is a perfect programme that can enable us to achieve our training and development objectives."

"Building the capabilities of our internal teams is important to ensure our success and leadership. However, equal importance is also placed by Omantel on building the capacities of young Omanis as part of our CSR activities. Last year, Omantel partnered with different government authorities to sponsor local and overseas training opportunities for young Omani entrepreneurs. Again this year, we partnered with the Ministry of Manpower to provide on-job training for 30 General Diploma graduates with an opportunity to be part of the Omantel team when they successfully complete the training programme," Al Rawas pointed out.

MELA is a private, non-profit effort to nurture future leaders in the Arab world that is a joint initiative between Arab business leaders and the Society of International Business Fellows (SIBF), an American private, non-profit corporation whose members serve on a volunteer basis as many of the facilitators and instructors at the MELA workshops.  As part of a network of networks, MELA connects its members to similar and expanding networks encompassing over 1,000 leaders from the United States and Central Eurasia through the Society of International Business Fellows and the Central Eurasia Leadership Alliance. A new network will being launched in South Asia in 2014 giving regional leaders access to executives across the world.

MELA provides its members the opportunity to build lifelong bonds of trust with other leaders from business, education and civil society from across the region that ordinarily would take years to develop. To enter MELA potential members must first attend the MELA Leadership Workshop which offers the newest MELA members perspective on leadership development, bond with each other and the MELA mission, and begin the process of integrating into the larger MELA organisation.

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About PDO
PDO is the major exploration and production company in the Sultanate, accounting for more than 70% of the country's crude-oil production and nearly all of its natural gas supply. The Company is owned by the Government of Oman (which has a 60% interest), the Shell Group (which has a 34% interest), Total (which has a 4% interest) and Partex (which has a 2% interest). Gas fields and processing plants are operated by PDO exclusively on behalf of the Government.

PDO operates in a concession area of about 100,000 km2 (one third of Oman's geographical area), has more than 126 producing fields, more than 5,000 producing wells and a workforce of about 6,000 PDO staff and more than 35,000 contractors.

PDO's business approach is underpinned by the PDO vision to be renowned and respected for the excellence of its people and the value created for Oman and stakeholders. This is accomplished by the objectives set by PDO to engage efficiently, responsibly and safely in the exploration, production, development, storage and transportation of hydrocarbons in the Sultanate of Oman. Furthermore, PDO upholds and operates within its core values of honesty, integrity and respect seeking high standards of performance with the aim of furthering the long-term benefits of PDO shareholders, employees and the society of Oman.

About Omantel
Omantel is the pioneer provider of leading edge telecommunications services in the Sultanate of Oman connecting individuals, enterprises and government across the country through a state-of-the-art network. By offering an unmatched range of innovative products and after-sales service, Omantel is the market leader. We serve our customers nationwide through online channels, shops and distributors.

Omantel, continuously aspires to serve the Society by providing Telecom Services across the Sultanate of Oman and by supporting a sustainable development towards an ICT enabled country. Currently, our network reaches 97 % of the population and we strive to provide better coverage and speeds to the citizens in each region. We support communities of citizens through social partnerships and programs focusing on the environment, health and security. We have recently released our first Sustainability Report for 2012 and we will annually report our contributions to the Society through the Sustainability report.

Omantel is listed on the Muscat Stock Market and trades under the name OTL.OM. For more information, please visit our website www.omantel.com, meet us in one of our shops or call 1234.

About MELA
The Middle East Leadership Academy (MELA) is a private, non-profit MELA is a private, non-profit effort to nurture future leaders in the Arab world that is joint initiative between Arab business leaders and the Society of International Business Fellows (SIBF), an American private, non-profit corporation whose members serve on a volunteer basis as many of the facilitators and instructors at the MELA workshops.

The MELA approach is cross-sectoral. It brings together participants from multiple sectors (business, education, civil society and NGOs) to create a rich and varied learning environment as well as a network with multiple experiences and perspectives.

The MELA approach is also multi-level in that it brings together national, local and regional leaders, thus opening the way for exchanges of ideas, best practices and perspectives.

MELA is a bridge not only to SIBF but to its 10-year-old sister organization, the Central Eurasia Leadership Alliance (CELA). CELA spans nine nations of Central Asia and the Caucasus and is now a vibrant organization of some 400 members. CELA members include a provincial governor in Afghanistan; the head of Kazakhstan's national insurance company; and the international director for BP in Azerbaijan. MELA, CELA and SIBF together incorporate a global network of some 1,000 company heads, civil society leaders and public servants from over 25 countries.

For further information please visit the Middle East Leadership Academy [MELA website: www.mid-east-academy.com/

© Press Release 2013