MRO Procurement Oman Oil & Gas: Complete Guide to Maintenance, Repair & Operations Supply Chain Management MRO procurement in Oman oil and gas operations is much more than just a purchasing process for all the oil and gas fields of Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) at Fahud and Marmul, the Sohar refinery of Oman's oil company (OQ), the Duqm refinery, and the gas processing plants in Block 61. It's the lifeline that keeps equipment moving, controls instrumentation, maintains pipeline integrity, and ensures production objectives are achieved. The International Energy Agency estimates that in 2024, Oman crude oil production reached about one million barrels per day, meaning it needs a large network of supplies to maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) into the field, refineries and processing plants to keep it flowing throughout the country. However, MRO procurement is identified by the Oman oil gas teams as the highest cost and most challenging procurement category. The variety and often volatile demand, the high level of complexity of the various equipment classes, the long lead times for specialist components, and the inherent challenges of unplanned downtime make it difficult to get MRO procurement right. There are thousands of SKUs across dozens of equipment classes, variable and sometimes unpredictable demand, long lead times for specialist components and the ever-present risk of unplanned downtime, making it hard to get MRO procurement right. It is a complete guide covering all aspects of the challenge: inventory classification, supplier qualification, digital transformation and management of procurement KPI. Have a procurement question? Talk to Our Specialist → What Is MRO Procurement? Maintenance, Repair and Operations procurement MRO procurement is the process of sourcing, procurement, management and supply of all materials, spare parts, tools and consumables needed to keep industrial equipment, facilities and production systems in operational condition. MRO procurement is a procurement approach that involves the procurement of goods and services that are required to facilitate the production of the product, but not actually part of the product itself (as is the case in direct procurement). Typically, MRO expenditure in the oil and gas industry is 10-25% of the total operating expenditure and can be much greater in the case of mature producing fields where the infrastructure is ageing. Still, MRO — which is often called "indirect" procurement — is extremely important to operations, even if it's large. A compressor failure without a critical spare part means immediate loss of production, a measurable loss of safety and the need to purchase an emergency compressor at an inflated price. Direct vs Indirect Procurement It is crucial to grasp the difference between direct and indirect procurement as part of developing a coherent MRO supply chain Oman strategy. To aid the understanding of the key differences in this context, the following table outlines some of the differences applicable to oil and gas operations. Characteristic Direct Procurement Indirect Procurement (MRO) Definition Goods that form part of the final product Goods required to maintain production capability Examples Raw materials, feedstocks, process chemicals Spare parts, lubricants, tools, consumables Purchase Frequency High — tied to production schedule Variable — demand-driven or scheduled Budget Category Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) Operating Expenditure (OPEX) Inventory Priority Driven by production planning Driven by asset criticality and failure risk Supplier Relationship Long-term, contractually structured Mix of frame agreements and spot sourcing Procurement Complexity Moderate — known specifications High — large SKU count, variable demand Impact of Failure Production shortfall Equipment downtime, safety incidents Why MRO Procurement Matters in Oman's Oil & Gas Sector Oman's conditions for hydrocarbon operations make oil and gas procurement a challenge to Oman. The fields that produce the country's oil and gas, many of them venerable machines situated in remote desert areas, rely on the steady performance of their rotating equipment, control systems and pipeline facilities. PDO's operations are located in some of the most widely spread zones of oil production in the GCC, ranging from the northern Hajar Mountains down to the Empty Quarter in the south. Supply lead times to remote field sites coupled with the impact of unplanned downtime on production targets make inventory management and procurement responsiveness a key operational priority. The economic diversification plans outlined in Oman's Vision 2040 and the growth of the Duqm Special Economic Zone continue to make waves in industrial procurement in Oman. The Duqm Refinery, one of the world's largest greenfield refineries, and downstream and petrochemical investments at Duqm are transforming the facility into a new industrial complex that will generate significant and increasi…