Corruption in Energy Sector hard nut to crack: Minister

Saleh Al Shaibany – Times of Oman – saleh@timesofoman.com

March 4th 2014

Dr Rumhy and Restucci of PDO

Muscat: Corruption in the energy sector is a hard nut to crack and gave no assurances that it would not happen again in the future, said Minister of Oil and Gas Dr. Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhy yesterday.

Answering a question about whether as oil minister he should take responsibility of the corruption in his sector, Rumhy said: “I am taking responsibility but I am not taking the blame for it”

The minister of oil and gas said he was “disappointed~ about the corruption in the oil and gas sector but the measures have been in place to prevent bribery for a number of years.

“I have personally asked the State Auditors since year 2000 to audit the oil and gas sector. But I don’t think we have anything in place to eradicate corruption to a zero level,” he said

“It is happening now and it will happen again in the future. We cannot monitor and regulate human behaviour and follow people around to find what they are doing all the time,” Rumhy told reporters in the annual oil and gas meeting.

A number of people have been sentenced on corruption charges in the last three months after officials of Oman’s premier energy sector including the country’s flagship oil producing company, PDO and its investment arm Oman Oil Company, were convicted of ‘phising’ off millions of Rials into private accounts.

Raoul Restucci, PDO Managing Director, answering a question said “We are shocked and angry but (corruption) represent a small number of employees. I don’t think we should control more but what we need is to learn from it. What is also needed is consequences management to make people more responsible to what they do”

END

See this also – http://majidall.com/as-to-why-i-had-left-my-last-oil-company-loc/

– Dated December 26, 2009 – As To Why I Had Left My Last Oil Company (LOC)!

Or Why I Am So Angry A Person!

Quote – Event – 1992 – This is the guy I had clashed with in the article The Lady In Red. I had this fear and phobia that I was going to be terminated – and I went in with trembling fear and trepidations that I would lose my job now – and was anyway prepared because as far as I know I had not stolen even one Baizas from The Company – and had not overpaid any Staff or Company – though my budget in my last job was over 16 million USA Dollars per year – and I had full control of this budget – unquote