Oman to close land borders for one week

Oman has announced it will close its land borders for one week from tomorrow, in a move aimed at protecting its population from the spread of the more infectious strains of Covid-19 that emerged in several countries last month.

The decision may have a minor impact on transport fuel demand in the sultanate, but also possibly in neighboring Saudi Arabia, and the UAE with which Oman shares a border.

Oman's ministry of interior said today that the sultanate's land borders will be closed from 18:00 local time on 18 January for one week but warned that the closure may be extended if deemed necessary.

The sultanate had previously closed all of its air, land and sea borders for one week in mid-December for the same reason, but lifted its ban on 29 December as initially planned.

It is unclear what has prompted this move, particularly given that the Covid-19 situation in the country has been improving steadily since October. Oman has reported an average of 170 new Covid-19 cases daily since the start of December, down from 308 cases in November and 510 in October.

But the focus on land borders could point to concerns about the situations developing in its neighboring countries — namely the UAE, where average daily Covid-19 case numbers have risen sharply to above 3,200 on average in the past week, up from 1,258 on average in December and 1,208 in November. In Saudi Arabia, as in Oman, average case numbers have fallen to 128 so far in January, down from 336 in November and 409 in October.

In October Oman's domestic gasoline and gasoil consumption stood at 55,100 b/d and 35,500 b/d respectively, 4pc and 3pc lower than in September, according to the latest data from Oman's National Centre of Statistics and Information. The consumption fell after Oman introduced a nighttime curfew in October that lasted for one week.