Predicted to run out of petroleum by 2050, Oman will suffer from the recent 40-per-cent dive in crude oil prices. The consequent spending cuts and business closures will hurt the already beleaguered Omani working class – 80 per cent of whom are migrants – and could incite the kinds of protests last seen during the Arab Spring.
In February 2011, activists took to the streets and targeted aspects of society they deemed corrupt and unjust. Some picketed a shopping mall for two days; others tried to block the export of oil products at Sohar port. With one hand, the Sultan waved in some limited political reforms; but with the other fist, he smashed down on critics of the regime, six of whom were jailed for writing ‘provocative’ blogs.
