Mohammed Al Barwani
Mohammed Al Barwani | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Mohammed Bin Ali Bin Mohammed Al Barwani October 30, 1951 |
| Education | Miami University Heriot-Watt University |
| Known for | founder, owner and chairman, MB Holding former owner, Oceanco |
| Spouse | Sharifa al Harthy |
| Children | 5 |
Mohammed bin Ali bin Mohammed Al Barwani (born October 30, 1951)[1] is an Omani billionaire businessman, the founder and chairman of MB Holding Group of companies, which operate in oil and gas exploration and production, oilfield services, engineering and mining.
Early life
[edit]Mohammed Al Barwani was born in Oman.[2] In 1975 he earned a bachelor's degree in Science from Miami University, Ohio, and a bachelor's in chemical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1981.[3] In 1980, he earned a master's degree, and in 2010 received an honorary doctorate in petroleum engineering, both from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, UK,[1] yet styles himself as "Dr. Mohammed Al Barwani".[4]
Career
[edit]Barwani started his career in the oil industry as a reservoir engineer for Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), a joint venture of Shell and the Government of Oman, where he worked from 1976 to 1986.[5]
Barwani founded MB Holding in 1982 to provide oilfield services. MB expanded into oil and gas exploration and production, and then engineering services[2] and subsequently founded Mawarid Mining in 1987 and Petrogas in 1999.[6] In 1997 he acquired KC Drilling in Hungary, in 2000, Erdol-Edgas Workover in Germany, and in 2004 United Engineering Services, in Oman. He also acquired Hyspec in the United Kingdom, in 2012.[7]
Barwani is the former owner of the Dutch yacht builder Oceanco.[2][8] He first visited the company in 2009,[9] and acquired it from Greek businessman Theodore Angelopoulos in 2010.[10] He sold Oceanco to Gabe Newell in 2025.[11] In 2015, Barwani bought the Turkish shipyard Turquoise Yachts.[12][13] He runs Musstir, a property developer with "stakes in several hotels in Oman".[2]
Barwani is a non-executive director of a number of publicly traded and joint stock companies, Al Madina Insurance co. SAOG, Al Madina Investments SAOG (Muscat Stock Market), Nautilus Minerals.[14] He was formerly a non-executive director of Oman Air, Shell Oman Marketing Company, Taageer Leasing Company, Oman, and National Bank of Oman.[15] He is a member of the International SeaKeepers Society.[9]
Barwani was included in the book Those Who Inspire Oman, published in November 2012 by the publishing house Those Who Inspire Ltd.[16]
As of May 2016, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$1.01 billion.[2]
In 2020, Barwani was appointed as chairman of Oman Air the national airline of Oman.[17]
Personal life
[edit]He is married to Sharifa al Harthy, who has always been involved in the company, and she is deputy chairman of MB Holding.[18] They live in Muscat, and have five children, all of whom work for MB Holding.[2]
Barwani owns several boats, with the 32-metre yacht Sharifa being the largest.[19]
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Mohammed Al Barwani - Creating Emerging Markets - Harvard Business School". www.hbs.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Mohammed Al Barwani". Forbes. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ↑ "Executive Profile Mohamed Bin Ali Bin Mohamed Al Barwani". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ↑ "Dr. Mohammed Al Barwani". mbholdingco. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ↑ "MB Holding Company LLC". www.mbholdingco.com. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
- ↑ University, Heriot-Watt. "Oil & Gas Guru visits Dubai Campus". www.hw.ac.uk. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
- ↑ "Strength In Diversity". The Business Year. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
- ↑ Zaltzman, Julia (2017-07-22). "Full Steam Ahead for Oceanco". Robb Report. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
- 1 2 The Interview
- ↑ "Meet Oman's mysterious oil billionaire builiding[sic] the world's most luxurious yachts". Al Bawaba. 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
- ↑ Artolli, Emy (2025-08-01). "NEW CHAPTER - GABE NEWELL". Oceanco.
- ↑ "Growing on instinct: Mohammed Al Barwani". ArabianBusiness.com. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
- ↑ "Insight: More than just business with Dr. Al Barwani". Retrieved 2018-09-23.
- ↑ "One in, one out at Nautilus Minerals". 2018-01-18. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
- ↑ "The World's 50 Richest Arabs 2016 - ArabianBusiness.com". ArabianBusiness.com. Retrieved 2018-09-29.
- ↑ "Dr. Mohammed Barwani". thosewhoinspire.com. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- ↑ "MB Holding founder Dr. Mohammed Al Barwani is the new chairman of Oman Air". The Arabian Stories News. 2020-07-19. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
- ↑ "The Pioneer". Business Today. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ↑ "Insight: More than just business with Dr. Al Barwani". Retrieved 2018-10-18.