Maqbool WAHAIBI
CEO
Oman Data Park
DECK: The Energy Year talks to Maqbool Wahaibi, CEO of Oman Data Park (ODP), about the role the company plays in Oman’s digital infrastructure and how it is supporting the digitalisation of the oil and gas sector. Oman Data Park offers managed IT, hosting, cloud services and security services in Oman.
What role does Oman Data Park play in Oman’s digital infrastructure?
When we launched Oman Data Park back in 2012, our goal was simple: to build local capability, ensure data sovereignty and be early movers in the digital space. What began as a modest project is now a critical component of Oman’s digital economy. As technologies such as AI, IoT and robotics accelerate demand, data centres are no longer just supporting infrastructure. They’re at the centre of everything.
Today, ODP operates five data centres with 10 MW of power, and we aim to double that to 20 MW. But we’re not doing it in isolation. We’re aligning with the broader ecosystem, leveraging Oman’s strategic submarine connectivity, abundant and affordable power and the country’s push to make digitalisation 10% of GDP by 2040.
We have plans for expansion in Salalah and to scale our Duqm site, but timing is key. We’re tracking demand closely to ensure commercial viability.
What kind of international partnerships is Oman Data Park looking to build, and what makes Oman an attractive hub for global players?
When we talk about international partnerships, we’re not interested in short-term, transactional deals. What we seek are strategic, bilateral relationships where partners invest in Oman, leverage our infrastructure and actively contribute to our ecosystem – uplifting SMEs, enhancing local skill sets and gaining market reach in Oman and beyond.
Oman offers high connectivity via submarine cables, ample power availability and low latency, making it a prime location for data embassies and disaster recovery hubs. We have historical and logistical ties to East Africa and regional networks that partners can tap into.
Unfortunately, many look at us only through the lens of GDP, and that’s a mistake. The real value lies in our infrastructure and geolocation. Oman can be a hub not just to serve Oman but to serve broader markets across continents.
How is Oman Data Park supporting the oil and gas sector’s digital transformation?
We’re working closely with major oil and gas players – Oxy, PDO, OQ, SLB and Halliburton – because we understand that digitalisation is no longer optional for them. It’s embedded in their DNA. With SLB, we’ve deployed their Delfi solution locally, not just to serve Oman but potentially neighbouring markets as well. These companies are under constant pressure to optimise costs, and the capex- and opex-heavy model of the past no longer works.
With Oman Data Park, they’re moving to a service-based model that can reduce the total cost of ownership by up to 45% over five years. As GPU [graphic-processing-unit] demands surge with AI, rack power requirements are jumping from 8 kW to 120 kW.
This has a real impact on their bottom line. By shifting to our cloud-based services such as automated e-procurement or drilling software, we help these firms focus on oil and gas, not IT, while directly improving their P&L [profit and loss] performance.
What is Oman Data Park’s current market share in the energy sector?
Today, Oman Data Park holds a 75% market share in the energy sector, and we’re committed to deepening that impact. We’re bridging local energy operators with global hyperscalers such as AWS [Amazon Web Services], Microsoft, Oracle and Google, enabling them to manage digital workloads with high SLAs [service level agreements] while optimising costs and boosting agility.
We’ve already landed Oracle Cloud Infrastructure in our centres, including DR [disaster recovery] deployment in our Ibri site and in an upcoming facility in Nizwa. Both are designed to ensure high availability for the oil and gas sector.
We’re not just hosting; we’re investing upfront, identifying operational pain points through workshops and tailoring solutions, AI-based or otherwise. Our model is long-term and strategic. We carry the investment risk, offer these services locally and help lift gross margins, which in turn supports Oman’s GDP.
How are you incorporating renewable energy into your data centre operations?
Sustainability is no longer optional. It’s directly tied to cost and margins. We’re actively working to integrate solar power into our operations. We’re finalising a connection to the Ibri solar plant, planning to build our own plant for Nizwa and completing solar installation for Muscat data centres by Q4 2025.
While going green isn’t our core business, it’s essential for reducing power costs and maintaining profitability, especially as AI workloads, and their energy demands, accelerate.
Can you tell us about the National large language model (LLM) project that Oman Data Park is developing?
We’re currently building a national LLM in partnership with MTCIT. It aims to transform how Oman’s government operates by making services faster and more efficient through AI. The initial use cases are tailored for ministries such as health, legal affairs and finance, focusing on tasks such as document analysis and automated communication.
What makes this unique is that it’s fully Omani. It is built with local data, culture and context, ensuring sovereignty and relevance. The success of this national LLM will pave the way for a second phase dedicated to the energy sector, offering similar benefits around cost reduction and operational agility.
We’re also in talks with global AI leaders such as Nvidia, Cohere and OpenAI, not for one-off deals but rather to build strategic, bilateral relationships and attract meaningful investment into Oman as a regional AI hub.
What KPIs are you targeting as part of your growth strategy over the next decade?
By 2030, Oman Data Park aims to achieve three strategic milestones: reach OMR 100 million [USD 259.3 million] in revenue, rank among the top 10 data centre and cloud providers in the region, and, most importantly, evolve into a full end-to-end digital solutions provider.
We want to go beyond hosting to automating critical national and regional assets – such as ports – through IoT, the cloud and AI. This shift will position us as a key contributor to Oman’s digital GDP, aligning both with national priorities and shareholder expectations.
