Oil output in Bisat oil field rises to 60,000 bpd

Oman's global integrated energy company OQ Group on Thursday announced the commissioning of its third crude oil processing plant in the Bisat oil field in Block 60, raising the oil field's production capacity to 60,000 barrels per day (bpd).

OQ Group celebrated the commissioning of the Bisat oil field – located at Block 60 concession area in Abu Butabul – during a ceremony at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC). The event was held under the patronage of H H Sayyid Taimur bin Assad al Said, chairman of the board of governors of the Central Bank of Oman.

The Bisat oil field comes as part of OQ’S contribution to supporting the government’s efforts to maximise the use of Omani natural resources and enabling national companies to manage operations in the oil exploration and production sector.

The commissioning of the new crude processing plant makes OQ Group one of the largest oil producers in the sultanate, bringing the group’s production capacity to 220,000 barrels of equivalent oil per day, representing nearly 13 per cent of Oman’s total oil production.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Talal bin Hamed al Awfi, CEO of OQ Group, said, "We are delighted to inaugurate the Bisat oil field whose discovery represents a quantum leap in exploration operations, as the focus shifted to the production of crude oil. The filed recorded production growth rates from 5,000 bpd in 2019 to 55,000 bpd by 2022. Today, OQ Group celebrates a production increase that reached 60,000 bpd."

The Bisat oil field is one of the most important projects of OQ’S upstream sector and Oman Investment Authority’s national development portfolio. It comes as part of OQ’S efforts to promote the added value of Oman’s natural resources, support the development plans, improving the revenues and achieve the objectives and aspirations of Oman Vision 2040.

"This project contributes to enhancing the company's position and reputation as one of the oil field developers in the sultanate. This in turn bolsters the government's confidence in our ability to develop other oil fields. It will also allow us to create job opportunities for our local communities and support nation building efforts, one of the key goals of Oman Vision 2040,” Awfi noted. The In-country Value contribution from the Bisat oil field project reached about Ro157mn. In addition, the total amount spent on local SMES and contractors logged Ro34mn of the overall cost of the project. Products manufactured in Oman accounted for Ro60mn of the total procurement of the project.

Awfi said that the Bisat oil field applies advanced technologies and modern solutions such as the fabricated designs of the production stations.

This contributed to accelerating the production after two years only following the discovery of the field. As result, the return of investment was maximised within a record time.

“This reflects the efficiency of the strategy that has been adopted to accelerate the production using the latest technologies, the outstanding levels of national competencies working in the field, and the assiduous efforts exerted to support the targets and visions of our national economy," he added.

Commissioning of Bisat oil field makes OQ one of the largest oil producers in Oman, bringing group’s production capacity to 220,000 bpd