First among equals

Fatma Al-Kharusi, finance director, Petroleum Development Oman, talks to Colette Steckel about women's rights, Omanisation and social investment

With a career spanning over 30 years at major exploration and production company Petroleum Development Oman, Fatma Al-Kharusi - finance director and the first woman on the company's top management team - is one of the most experienced and respected businesswomen in the Sultanate and, I dare say, the Middle East. Two years ago, she was invited to speak at the Women in Business International Forum in Syria, and previous to that in Dubai. The forum was an opportunity for women in the Middle East to acknowledge the role they play in business; a role that has seen considerable change over the years as the region increasingly recognises the valuable contribution made by women in the workplace.

How do attitudes in Oman compare? It is a question that Fatma says she is often asked. 'Today, you find some very senior Omani women owning or running all kinds of businesses from trade to finance to IT,' she begins. 'It's not strange to see a woman leading a business in Oman. There is nothing to stop them from doing that here; in Oman women are encouraged to play their part in the development of the country.' Omani women enjoy a wide range of civil and political liberties, along with equal rights to education and healthcare. Women are able to train and work in all aspects of society and have also been appointed to high-level posts in the government and private sectors; several women were previously elected to the State Council and there are currently three female government ministers in tourism, higher education, and social development. Last month, in commemoration of International Women's Day, Dr Sharifa bint Khalan Nassir Al Yahya'eyah, Minister of Social Development, paid tribute to the exceptional achievements of Omani women in all sectors, and noted that the Government guarantees women equal rights. And, in a written statement to Gulf News in March, Dr Nora N Alnahedh, resident representative of the United Nations Population Fund, commented that Oman is one of the most advanced countries in the Gulf region as far as women's rights are concerned.

Fatma agrees that women in Oman today have more professional choices available to them; a far cry from when Fatma embarked on her accounting career. 'Before 1970, if you wanted to get an education, particularly if you were a woman, you had to study outside Oman,' explains Fatma, noting that three boys-only schools were open in Oman. A university education was out of the question too: the country's first university - Sultan Qaboos University - was opened in 1986. Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who deposed his father in 1970, has been credited with modernising Oman's economy and infrastructure, opening the country to tourism and repealing social restrictions. Fatma refers to the change in rule as Oman's emergence from 'the dark ages' - a renaissance. She continues: 'In the space of a decade, the whole country changed; you couldn't recognise the place.'

Degree

Fatma returned to her native Oman with a degree in commerce and accounting from the University of Nairobi, and took up the position of payroll accountant at PDO in 1974. In that year, the Omani Government acquired a 60% shareholding in the company (Shell owns a 34% stake). The company fuels Oman's economy, producing over 500,000 barrels of oil a day, 90% of the country's oil production and all of the country's gas, with new technology helping to detect and extract oil and gas from fields in the Sultanate, ensuring PDO's continued importance to government revenues.

In many respects, Fatma's appointment was a significant one, not only for Fatma who would see her career progress to a directorship, but also for the company. 'Back in those days, there were hardly any private companies in the country. I was the first Omani woman on the senior staff at mainstream PDO,' says Fatma. Her own career trajectory has seen her move into a plethora of roles within PDO and Shell in auditing, management accounting and financial management, along with postings in London and Kuala Lumpur. She was appointed finance director in 1996. 'I don't think I ever sat down for a moment and thought "I want to be in that role by such and such a time". It was “take each day as it comes and do your best”.'

While the number of female employees at PDO has risen over the years in tandem with the Government's pledge to promote equal opportunities for women in the workplace, the balance between foreign expatriates and Omanis has altered dramatically. A government-sponsored policy of replacing foreign expatriate workers with local workers, or Omanisation, has yielded results. The company's overall Omanisation percentage - at just under 80% - is relatively high for the industry, while three- quarters of the executive directors are Omani. In 2006, the total number of Omanis in the organisation was 3,879, which makes PDO the largest private sector employer of Omanis in the Sultanate. 'PDO was, and still is, the largest company in Oman, playing an important part in the country's economy and development,' comments Fatma. 'This company has been here since the days when there was hardly any infrastructure; when there were few schools. We've been educating and training our staff for a long time. We need to nurture local talent.'

This is not just altruistic but makes good business sense as well, of course. PDO's managing director, John Malcolm, has referred to the shortage of staff to work on the company's projects, particularly in enhanced oil recovery, which requires specialist and highly technical skills. And, with a tight labour market worldwide in the oil and gas industry, recruitment is proving difficult. Fatma agrees that resources are in short supply and that competition from oil and gas companies worldwide means that demand is high. 'Managing the supply chain is one of the biggest challenges that I face as finance director. It used to be the case that contractors or staff with niche skills were quite easy to source internationally, but now there is such a scarcity worldwide that it is increasingly difficult to do so.' This, she adds, is a consequence of the cyclical peaks and troughs that mars the industry: low oil prices force companies to shed staff, while high oil prices and project successes have companies searching for contractors to fill the staffing gaps. 'There are so many huge oil and gas projects going on worldwide that we are now in a contractors' market. We aren't able to pick and choose anymore. Costs have increased and you can't get the right people,' rues Fatma. 'This means that we need to revisit our strategy and enhance it in such a way that we can attract contractors.'

Inclusive

Building relationships with worldwide contractors is key, but also of significance is a decade-long initiative to support local contractors in consultation with the Ministry of Oil and Gas, local Government authorities and tribal sheikhs. 'I believe it's important for Omanis to feel part of the company,' says Fatma. 'One of our social investment projects is to develop the people living in the company's concession area; the way we do that is to train local people, giving them the skills to set up their own companies, which could then provide services to PDO. In the long run, it is cheaper than mobilising people from the outside and, at the same time, you have local people who are proud of their involvement in the business. It is right that a large company like PDO should contribute to the development of Oman.'

Fatma is visibly enthusiastic about social projects that empower local communities and is an active member of the combined Government/PDO Social Investment Committee, which endorses a variety of projects throughout the country. In 2006, PDO committed to an investment of RO1.5m in a range of initiatives that impact local communities, from building veterinary clinics and health centres to establishing craft centres where women can work together. 'We have been attempting to revive some dying arts and crafts,' explains Fatma, pointing to a framed object hanging above her desk. 'That is a vessel for carrying kohl that is made out of camel bone. We found a 70-year-old, man, a sole survivor of such craftsmen, and invited him to train a group of women to ensure this art doesn't die out. We've provided a crafts centre and tools, and have helped the women sell their work in the marketplace. I am very proud of what the company is doing.'

Closer to her professional roots, Fatma has also been instrumental in highlighting the need for a robust and recognised accounting education in the Sultanate; she is on the Government's accreditation committee for private institutes. She enthuses about the presence of ACCA in Oman (from 2005) that she exclaims was long overdue in the Sultanate, arguing that, in the past, she was uncertain of the standard of service from tuition providers to which she sent her staff. 'I am delighted that at last we have a professional body like ACCA represented here in Oman. It helps ensure that tuition providers are accredited and provide a service of the highest education standard. That way, organisations like PDO know their staff will get the best professional qualification.'

But she concedes that despite the satisfaction of seeing her young proteges grow in confidence and stature, she feels a personal loss when staff quit the company. 'In recent years, there has been a lot of commercial growth in the country and suddenly everyone wants Omanis. Who is the biggest trainer of them all? PDO. If you look at the Omani finance managers of many of today's companies in Oman, they are all staff from here. Personally losing the people you have trained and nurtured is so tough,' she says. 'On the one hand, you appreciate that it will be good for them and they need to try out their wings, but on the other, you think to yourself, "oh I'd love to keep them". It is disappointing when your talent leaves but, at the same time, you are doing something for the nation, which is excellent.'

After such a long tenure at PDO, and a decade as finance director, Fatma says her role still presents new challenges but she acknowledges that she does not have long to retirement. This would give her more time to spend with her teenage son and to indulge in her love of travel, but you get the impression that, like PDO, Fatma is intrinsic to business life in Oman; her colleagues and the country may feel her absence keenly. As she puts it: 'In Oman, it's about what you do and if you do it well, that's what counts.' And she certainly has counted.