Since 2020 Oman has pursued a swathe of wide-ranging economic reforms. Key aims are diversification away from hydrocarbons, cutting public debt, and privatizing state assets. And while Oman will remain dependent on oil and gas for the foreseeable future, Muscat has managed to pay down large amounts of debt thanks to windfall profits from recent high oil prices (MEES, 29 September 2023). Public debt ended 2023 at a six-year low $39.5bn and is forecast to fall further (see chart 1).