SuperESCO pushes Oman toward Net Zero goals

Muscat: Following the establishment of the first large-scale Super Energy Service Company (SuperESCO) in Oman last October, the Ministry of Energy and Minerals is preparing the ground to foster the proliferation of such energy-efficiency service providers to help advance the Sultanate of Oman’s net-zero goals.
A SuperESCO is a specialised entity — often supported or established by government or major energy stakeholders — that drives large-scale energy-efficiency projects using performance-based financing models. Instead of clients paying upfront for upgrades, a SuperESCO finances and executes the work and recovers costs over time from the guaranteed energy savings the projects deliver. This model allows energy efficiency to be treated as an investable service rather than merely a technical upgrade.
In October 2025, OQ Alternative Energy (OQAE) — a subsidiary of Oman’s integrated energy group OQ — launched Oman’s first SuperESCO project aimed at supporting energy efficiency and decarbonisation at the Muscat and Suhar facilities of OQ Refineries & Petroleum Industries (OQRPI). Entailing equipment replacement, system optimisation, operational improvements and full performance verification, the project is expected to deliver a substantive 22.5 GWh of annual energy savings, with around 9.4 kilotonnes of CO₂ emissions reduced per year.
Importantly, project implementation requires no upfront capital from the industrial partner: OQAE funds and manages the project and is paid back from the verified savings — a model that lowers the financial barrier to efficiency upgrades for large energy consumers.
In the Sultanate of Oman, the Net Zero Centre has identified energy efficiency as one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways to curb energy consumption and advance national decarbonisation. Accordingly, the government is stepping up energy-efficiency efforts across public buildings, major energy users and nationwide programmes. The success of these initiatives relies not only on supportive policies and financing mechanisms, but also on a strong pool of qualified professionals who can pinpoint, assess and structure efficiency opportunities. Large industrial, commercial and institutional consumers, in particular, depend on skilled energy auditors who can translate technical potential into robust, investment-ready proposals.
At the heart of the Ministry’s drive to grow the ESCO market in Oman is the National Energy Efficiency Programme (Kafa’a) — a significant initiative to support professional capacity-building and certification in the field of energy efficiency. The programme is implemented by the Sustainable Energy Research Centre (SERC) at Sultan Qaboos University in collaboration with the Oman Net Zero Centre and the Ministry of Labour.
Providing internationally recognised certification for the programme is the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), a US-headquartered global professional society dedicated to advancing energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainable resource management.
The Kafa’a programme is structured in three integrated phases, creating a clear pathway from foundational learning to professional certification and market readiness. Phases 1 and 2, delivered over a combined five weeks, concentrate on developing core and intermediate skills in energy efficiency and auditing. Phase 3 serves as the programme’s professional exit stage and takes the form of a one-week intensive designed to prepare participants for the Certified Energy Auditor (CEA) credential issued by AEE.
Since the launch of the programme, around 56 participants have been selected to complete the full training pathway from a pool of more than 300 registered candidates — underscoring robust market demand for ESCO and SuperESCO services in Oman.