Oman's OQEP Registers $2 Billion Sukuk Programme

Oman's OQ Exploration and Production has registered a $2 billion sukuk programme, giving the state-owned upstream operator a standing framework for future Islamic bond sales. The company set out the move in a bourse notice on Wednesday.

The programme is intended to widen OQEP's financing options and open a route into international debt capital markets, the company said in a filing to the Muscat Stock Exchange. Sukuk sold under it could be admitted to trading on the International Securities Market, a venue run by the London Stock Exchange. Whether any are depends on the company's funding needs, conditions in the market at the time, and the approvals it secures.

No money is being raised yet. OQEP said setting up the programme does not constitute an immediate drawdown and does not affect its approved capital expenditure or its business plan.

Gulf issuance keeps climbing

The registration lands in a busy stretch for Gulf debt markets. Borrowers across the GCC, corporates and government-linked entities alike, have been leaning on Islamic finance to broaden their funding bases. Primary bond and sukuk issuance in the region reached $102.69 billion in the first half of 2026, up 6.5% year on year across 161 deals, according to the Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz).

Oman's own backdrop has firmed. S&P Global Ratings recently affirmed the country's credit rating with a stable outlook and lifted its forecast for Omani GDP growth in 2026 to 3.5%. That is a friendlier setting for large state-backed issuers looking to raise money abroad.

Sukuk are debt-like instruments that comply with Islamic law. Instead of paying interest, they generate returns from an underlying asset or project, which is one reason energy and infrastructure issuers find them workable.

The company behind the programme

OQEP is Oman's largest pure-play oil and gas exploration and production company. It is also the only upstream operator owned by the government. It manages 14 upstream oil and gas assets across the country; nine of them are currently producing.

• Founded in 2009 as Oman Oil Exploration and Production LLC (OCEP).
• Rebranded in 2024 as OQ Exploration and Production, following its integration into OQ Group in 2019, Oman's integrated global energy group.
• Listed 25% of its equity on the Muscat Stock Exchange in October 2024, in Oman's largest-ever IPO, raising $2 billion.

OQEP ranks 55th in a 2026 ranking of the region's 100 most valuable companies.

For the company, the programme is plumbing rather than a deal. It creates a shelf OQEP can return to once it decides the timing suits a sale — and registering it against an international venue would put any issuance in front of institutional investors outside the region.

What the filing does not do is commit the company to borrowing. The programme sits there, unused, until OQEP decides otherwise.